Description
These Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies combine the warm spices of traditional gingerbread with rich cocoa and semisweet chocolate for a decadent holiday treat. Perfectly spiced and beautifully decorated with royal icing, they are ideal for gifting and festive cookie decorating parties.
Ingredients
Scale
Dry Ingredients
- 3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 3/4 cup dark brown sugar
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon ground ginger
- 3/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon orange zest
Wet Ingredients
- 12 tablespoons unsalted butter, soft but still cool and cut into 12 pieces
- 1 egg, room temperature
- 3/4 cup molasses
- 2 ounces at least 60% Cacao semisweet chocolate, very finely chopped
Royal Icing
- 3 tablespoons Meringue Powder
- 4 cups Powdered Sugar
- 4-8 tablespoons Water
- 1/2 tablespoon Vanilla Extract
Instructions
- Mix Dry Ingredients: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine the flour, cocoa powder, brown sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, salt, and orange zest on low speed until thoroughly combined.
- Add Butter: Add the chilled butter pieces to the dry mixture and mix on medium-low speed until the mixture resembles fine meal and is sandy in texture, about 1 1/2 minutes.
- Incorporate Chocolate: Stir in the finely chopped semisweet chocolate using the whisk attachment, then remove the whisk and switch to the paddle attachment.
- Prepare Wet Mixture: In a small bowl, whisk together the egg and molasses until well blended.
- Combine Wet and Dry: With the mixer on low speed, slowly pour the egg and molasses mixture into the flour mixture. Once the dough is moist, increase speed to medium and mix for about 15 seconds until smooth.
- Chill Dough: Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface, divide it in half, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour until firm but not sticky.
- Roll Out Dough: Roll one portion of dough between two parchment sheets to about 1/4 inch thickness. Repeat with the other half. Stack parchment-covered dough on a baking sheet and freeze until firm, about 15 minutes.
- Preheat Oven and Prepare Baking Sheets: Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Cut Out Cookies: Remove one dough sheet from the freezer onto a floured surface, peel off the top parchment, flip the dough, remove and discard the bottom parchment. Cut dough into 3 to 5 inch shapes (gingerbread people, snowflakes, etc.) and set scraps aside for reuse.
- Arrange on Sheet and Chill: Place cutouts on the prepared sheets with a metal spatula, spacing 3/4 inch apart. Return to freezer for a few minutes to firm before baking.
- Bake: Bake on middle rack at 350°F for 8-12 minutes, until firm. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.
- Reuse Scraps: Combine dough scraps, roll out between parchment sheets, freeze, and cut more cookies repeating the above steps until all dough is used.
- Prepare Royal Icing: In a large bowl, combine powdered sugar, meringue powder, vanilla extract, and 4 tablespoons water. Beat with a hand mixer, gradually increasing to high speed, for 1-2 minutes until smooth and flowing off beaters. Add more water as needed to reach piping consistency.
- Decorate: Transfer icing to a piping bag fitted with a small round tip for outlining and decorating cooled cookies.
Notes
- For a unique twist on classic gingerbread, adding cocoa and semisweet chocolate gives these cookies a rich depth perfect for holiday celebrations.
- Chilling the dough and freezing it before cutting helps maintain cookie shape and prevents spreading during baking.
- Use cookie scraps by recombining and rolling out again to minimize waste.
- Prepare royal icing just before decorating as it can dry out quickly.
- These cookies are wonderful for gifting or for festive decorating parties with family and friends.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 423
- Sugar: 36g
- Sodium: 187mg
- Fat: 14g
- Saturated Fat: 8g
- Unsaturated Fat: 5g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 70g
- Fiber: 4g
- Protein: 6g
- Cholesterol: 46mg
