Chewy chocolate-chunk ginger cookies

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This article was published 03/12/2012 (4672 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

DARLENE Smith sent in a recipe for her favourite ginger cookie, which combines the deep, dark flavours of chocolate, molasses and spice. There’s a bit more involved in making these chewy cookies, Darlene says, but everyone who tries them ends up asking for the recipe.

Chewy chocolate-chunk ginger cookies

510 ml (2 1/4 cups) all-purpose flour
5 ml (1 tsp) baking soda
5 ml (1 tsp) ground ginger
2 ml (1/2 tsp) cinnamon
1 ml (1/4 tsp) cloves
1 ml (1/4 tsp) salt
170 g (3/4 cup) butter, room temperature
250 (1 cup) dark brown sugar
1 egg
60 ml (1/4 cup) fancy molasses
5 ml (1 tsp) minced fresh ginger
2 ml (1/2 tsp) lemon zest
112 g (4 squares or about 3/4 cup) chopped dark or bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened)
75 ml (1/3 cup) granulated sugar for rolling

In a medium bowl, stir flour with baking soda, ground ginger, cinnamon, cloves and salt until combined. In a large bowl using an electric mixer, beat butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in egg, molasses, fresh ginger and lemon zest, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. (Don’t worry if mixture looks a little curdled.) Gradually beat in flour mixture until just combined. Stir in chopped chocolate. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate until dough is firm enough to roll, at least 20 minutes. Position oven racks in top and bottom thirds of oven. Preheat oven to 175 C (350 F). Lightly spray 2 baking sheets with non-stick spray and set aside. Scoop dough and roll into 15 ml (1 tbsp) balls. Coat with granulated sugar. Place on prepared sheets about 5 cm (2 in) apart. Bake, switching and rotating sheets halfway through, until cookies are puffed and lightly golden-brown, about 10-12 minutes. Remove to a rack and cool completely. (If you like crispy cookies, bake an extra 2-3 minutes, watching to ensure the cookies don’t burn.) Store cookies at room temperature in an airtight container up to 1 week or freeze up to 1 month. Yields about 4 dozen.

Tester’s notes: I love the chocolate-ginger combo, and using just a hit of fresh ginger gives real depth to the spice. I rolled my cookies in plantation sugar, which adds a mild caramel taste.

For our annual 12 Days of Cookies, we’ll publish a recipe every day to get you started on your holiday baking. To see last year’s recipes, and this year’s collection, go to wfp.to/cookies

Alison Gillmor
Writer

Studying at the University of Winnipeg and later Toronto’s York University, Alison Gillmor planned to become an art historian. She ended up catching the journalism bug when she started as visual arts reviewer at the Winnipeg Free Press in 1992.

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