Say… hypothetically speaking… you have six dollars in your wallet and very close to zero dollars in your bank account and you need to make something for lunchdinner.
Also… you have a very daunting blank Word document in front of you that you’re supposed to fill with words and pictures and recipes and more words.
You’ve run out of people to text message as a distraction.
You can’t waste another minute of time on Twitter… you’ve tried… seriously.
You’ve exhausted your brain by imagining every combination of human and animal body part…. your favorite being a chubby, blue-eyed toddler with cocker spaniel ears. huh!?
Oh! And you found one lonely egg in your fridge. Hypothetically speaking of course.
So.
Q: What would you do with yourself?
A: Make cookies.
I mean… come on… it’s the only logical/delicious option.
Would it be considered an overshare if I told you that these cookies make me feel good about myself? They’re good for the baking self-esteem.
Well it’s true.
This jar of molasses helps. It’s bright and blue and reminds me of tropical vacations that I’ve never taken.
Then there’s the part when I open the oven door and a giant puff of warm spiced oven-cookie-air hits my face, and I pull of a tray of these soft, chewy, spiced, chocolate studded cookies.
Chewy cookies. Man. Instant self esteem booster in my book. I dunno. They make me feel good about my kitchen skills. It’s just true.
Chewy Ginger Chocolate Cookies
makes 4 dozen cookies
adapted from Big Fat Cookies
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
1 large egg
1/4 cup molasses
1/2 cup chocolate chips (milk chocolate or semi sweet)
1/4 cup granulated sugar, for rolling dough balls
Position a rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or just spray lightly with cooking spray.
Sift the flour, baking soda, spices and salt into a medium bowl and set aside. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter and brown sugar until smoothly blended, about 2 minutes. Stop the mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl as needed during mixing. Add the egg and molasses and mix until blended and an even light color, about 1 minute. On low speed, add the flour mixture, mixing just to incorporate it. Fold in the chocolate chips.
Spread the granulated sugar into a small bowl. Roll a heaping tablespoon of dough between the palms of your hands into a ball, toss the ball in sugar to coat and place on the prepared baking sheet. Continue making cookies, spacing them about 2 inches apart.
Bake the cookies one sheet at a time until the tops feel firm but they are still soft in the center and there are several large cracks on top, about 12-14 minutes. Cool the cookies on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then use a wide metal spatula to transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
The cookies can be stored in a tightly covered container at room temperature for up to 4 days.
Karen
I truly think this is the best cookie I’ve ever eaten! Chocolate AND gingerbread together – wow!
Gayl Gray
I hope I am writing to Joy, the lovely woman I saw when I clicked on meet Joy. I needed a ginger chocolate coookie recipe and I found this and will try it. But I really wanted to comment on the personal and fun way this recipe is written up. Gayl Gray, Boulder, CO 11/12/11
M
Made this with my boyfriend last night – it was cakey more than chewy, and we were wondering why it had turned out that way. We thought that maybe it’s because we made big dough balls before baking…? It was still delicious!
Jeannette
I just made these but I only used 2 cups of flour and added 1/4 cup of cocoa powder. I also used mini chocolate chips instead of regular chocolate chips and used turbinado sugar instead of granulated sugar to roll the cookies in. They were DELICIOUS!! Thank you so much for the wonderful recipe!
Alex
The bad news is I didn’t have any granulated sugar to roll them in.
The good news is I have managed to resist eating half the biscuit dough before I baked them.