Chewy Chocolate Ginger Cookies

Have you guys seen all The Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap? Lindsay from Love and Olive Oil and Julie from The Little Kitchen teamed up to organize this huge cookie swap for food bloggers. We each made three dozen cookies and shipped a dozen to three different food bloggers. The best part was that Hubby and I got to try three new kinds of cookies! We loved checking the mail every day to see if there was a new box of cookies waiting for us.

For my contribution, I decided to make these Chewy Chocolate Ginger Cookies. When Hubby tried one straight from the oven, he thought the ginger taste was too overpowering. After sitting in the fridge for a couple days, the ginger flavor became more subtle. They honestly mellowed out into an amazing flavor combination.

I shipped these cookies off to Peanut Butter and Peppers, Chrysanthemum, and Brave New Food. I hope everyone enjoyed these cookies!

And now on to the good stuff, the cookies that Hubby and I got to enjoy. I totally forgot to take pictures of the cookies, so be sure to click through to each blog to see the photos and recipes. That Skinny Chic Can Bake sent Raspberry White Chocolate Bars. Peanut Butter and Julie sent some Cranberry Lemon Biscotti. And last but not least, Reetsyburger’s Refuge sent some Simple Shortbread cookies.

As a reminder, everyone who participated in The Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap should email Cookies for Kids Cancer with the number of cookies swapped (3 dozen here) so that Glad can donate $0.10 for each cookie.

Two Years Ago: Mint Brownies
Three Years Ago: Fudge and Cranberry Orange Cookies
Four Years Ago: Easy M&M Treats

Chewy Chocolate Ginger Cookies

Yield: Makes 2.5 dozen cookies

Ingredients:

7 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups plus 1 Tbsp flour
1 1/4 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1 Tbsp unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
8 Tbsp (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 Tbsp freshly grated ginger
1/2 cup dark-brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup unsulfured molasses
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup sugar

Directions:

Line two baking sheets with parchment. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, ground ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and cocoa.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and grated ginger until whitened, about 4 minutes. Add brown sugar; beat until combined. Add molasses; beat until combined.

In a small bowl, dissolve baking soda in 1 1/2 teaspoons boiling water. Beat half of flour mixture into butter mixture. Beat in baking-soda mixture, then remaining half of flour mixture. Mix in chocolate; turn out onto a piece of plastic wrap. Pat dough out to about 1 inch thick; seal with wrap; refrigerate until firm, 2 hours or more.

Heat oven to 325 degrees. Roll dough into 1 1/2- inch balls; place 2 inches apart on baking sheets. Refrigerate 20 minutes. Roll in granulated sugar. Bake until the surfaces crack slightly, 10 to 12 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes; transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe from Martha Stewart