Tessa’s Recipe Rundown
Taste: Gingerbread + chocolate = bliss!
Texture: These cookies are perfectly chewy, gooey, and decadent with a slight crunch from the sugar coating.
Ease: There’s more prep work involved with this recipe – but it’s worth every second, promise!
Pros: My all-time favorite Christmas cookie. It isn’t December without these cookies.
Cons: No immediate gratification here unless you freeze the dough balls for baking off whenever the craving hits (which I definitely do).
Would I make this again? I’ve been making this recipe every Christmas for about a decade now!
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Chewy Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies are the ultimate Christmas cookies!
They’re bursting with perfectly-spiced flavor, loaded with gooey chunks of chocolate, and are ultra soft and chewy throughout.
Plus, the sugar coating makes these cookies sparkly and crunchy and so beautifully Christmassy – perfect for gifting or any cookie exchanges.
Struggling with Flat or Dry Cookies?
My free guide shows you how to fix texture problems and bake cookies you’ll love.
Sadly I cannot claim this recipe’s genius as my own creation. I adapted it from Martha Stewart’s Cookies cookbook, one of the first baking cookbooks I ever owned! I first made and shared this recipe in 2009 and I’ve made it every holiday season since.
I hope you love these fabulous cookies as much as I do!
Sprinkle of Science
How to Make Chewy Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies
Tips for Soft, Chewy Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies
- Be sure to measure your flour correctly by weighing it with a digital scale. If you don’t have one, use the spoon and level method to avoid creating cakey, dense, or tough cookies that don’t spread.
- Measuring your dry ingredients accurately is one of the best ways to improve your baking.
- If you don’t measure your flour correctly, you could end up with crumbly dough and dry, hard cookies lacking in flavor.
No Eggs?
Yes, this is an egg-free recipe, so it’s perfect for friends or family members who can’t eat eggs!
The Best Baking Pans for Cookies
I always use an unlined aluminum half-sheet pan, like this one, for baking cookies. Additionally, I always use parchment paper for baking cookies. Never use dark-colored pans to bake cookies, as they tend to overly brown or even burn the bottoms of the cookies. Learn more about the best baking pans here.
What Can I Use Instead of Molasses?
If you cannot get molasses where you live, you can try substituting golden syrup, honey, or dark corn syrup, though the results will not be the same.
Do I Have to Use Fresh Ginger?
Yes! I promise it’s seriously worth the extra effort, and it gives these cookies the most incredible taste and aroma.
The Spices
Check your spices to ensure they’re not expired. Even if they’re not expired, check they’re still very aromatic. Older spices carry less flavor and fresh spices will carry much more flavor. So, just be aware of that and feel free to adjust accordingly.
The Chocolate Chunks
I recommend purchasing a bar of baking chocolate and chopping it up, for the most delicious, ooey-gooey chocolate chunks throughout the cookies. You can use prepackaged chocolate chunks if you prefer.
Do I Need to Chill Chewy Chocolate Gingerbread Cookie Dough?
This Chewy Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies dough must be chilled for at least a couple of hours, but overnight is even better. Here’s why:
- Chilling cookie dough is very similar to marinating meat – things just get so much better!
- The texture becomes chewier and thicker and the flavor intensifies.
- If you don’t have time, no worries. You can bake the dough off as soon as it’s firm enough to portion out (about 2 hours), but note that your cookies may be a little thinner that the pictures here.
- Learn more about the magical things chilling cookie dough does here.
How to Store Chewy Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies
Store Chewy Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days. The cookies are gooey when warm, but become more chewy as they cool.
Chewy Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies
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Ingredients
- 2 ¼ cups (286 grams) all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup (22 grams) Dutch-process cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 1/4 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 stick (113 grams) unsalted butter, at cool room temperature (67°F — warm butter will make your cookies spread)
- 1 tablespoon peeled and grated fresh ginger
- 1/2 cup (100 grams) lightly packed dark brown sugar
- 1/2 cup (170 grams) unsulphured molasses
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 8 ounces (227 grams) semisweet chocolate chips, divided
For rolling:
- 1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, salt, cloves, and nutmeg until combined.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and fresh ginger on medium speed until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add the brown sugar and beat until light and fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.
- Add the molasses and beat until combined. Then add the egg and vanilla, beating until very well combined. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl again.
- On low speed, gradually add the flour mixture. Stir in three-quarters of the chocolate chips (170 grams) until just combined. Dough will be sticky.
- Using a medium spring-loaded scoop, divide the dough into 1 1/2-tablespoon-sized scoops.
- Place sugar in a shallow dish and roll each scoop in the sugar. Gently form each scoop into circular balls before placing on baking sheets. Dot each scoop with a few chocolate chips.
- Bake for 10 minutes, or until the tops are set.
- Let cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes before removing to cooling racks to cool completely. Cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Recipe Notes
The Ultimate Cookie Handbook
Learn the sweet SCIENCE of cookie baking in a fun, visual way to customize your own recipes frustration-free. Plus, my best 50+ homemade cookies!
This post was originally published in 2009 and has been updated with recipe improvements, additional baking tips, and a new video.
Reader Chewy Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies Photos
If you make any HTH recipe, post it to Instagram, tag me, and use the hashtag #handletheheat – I love to see your creations! Check out lovely HTH reader Alikane’s beautiful Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies:
10/10!
Texture, flavour, appearance, and still great after being frozen for over a month!
I love ginger. I love chocolate. I love these cookies!
I made a double batch and experimented with two sizes, (8min for 1tbsp) and also added a bit of dried ginger powder to the sugar coating.
Thanks!!
Great addition! Thanks for the comment, so happy you love this recipe!
So yummy! Very gingery and spicy, but I love it! I rolled them in sugar plus greens me red sprinkles and they look so Christmasy! I didn’t follow the instructions and left the cookies in the oven longer than specified because they still looked so soft. But after they cooled, they were too crunchy, so be sure to follow Tessa’s instructions and only bake them for 10-12 min.
What can i use instead of molasses?
(I think probably honey would work but my 9mo may want a small bite and i won’t be able to offer him)
What do molasses give to the recipe?
It’s not an ingredient i can easily find in Greece. We have petimezi though which is a syrup made from boiled grape juice.
The results won’t be exactly the same, but you can try honey or dark corn syrup instead!
Absolutely INCREDIBLE. Do not try faking this recipe without using fresh ginger. The marriage of chocolate and ginger is perfect and ever lasting till death (or till you eat them). Make these and you will be a Christmas kitchen Goddess:-).
I’m so happy you loved these cookies, Cindy!
Wow! I can’t resist such a delicious cookies. Sure I will try them.
Great recipe! Followed it to the letter except I used gluten-free flour. Turned out as described but – they could have used more chocolate to up the goo factor, ha!
I made these today for my company picnic. Prizes are awarded for best cookie. I added dark chocolate covered crystalized ginger pieces to the mix and topped with a nice chunk of crystalized ginger….hoping I take home the grand prize again this year!
Oh, Tessa!!! These cookies were easily my favorite that we baked this Christmas season. Oh my word. They were absolute HEAVEN!! Thank you, thank you!!!
Hi Tessa!
They look so appealing!
I have a question, would it work if I used coconut oil instead (because lactose) or vegan butter?
Thank you
Just made these today and they are sublime!!! I’ll definately be making again – great recipe
We just made this recipe and this might just be my new favorite chocolate cookie recipe! Only thing is we didn’t have fresh ginger so we did about 1 cup chopped candied ginger and OMG OMG OMG. Those chewed pieces, with the chocolate chips….amazing. Seriously make this recipe if you love ginger and chocolate!