Chewy Chocolate Gingersnap Cookies Recipe

Cookies are a clear winner in the dessert category, thanks to the infinite ways you can customize them. While personalized gingerbread or gingersnap cookies often involve unique shapes and decorations, Tasting Table recipe developer Jessica Morone's version includes chocolate. This chewy chocolate gingersnap cookie recipe will satisfy your cravings for chocolate and spice cookies, which pretty much checks off all the boxes as far as we're concerned.

"Gingersnaps are such a Christmasy type of cookie to me," Morone says, which is why she adds, "They are perfect for this time of year and for cookie exchanges." This cookie recipe is sure to be welcome at any type of gathering. Aside from their deliciously chewy consistency, Morone (correctly) points out, "the addition of chocolate just makes them even better (because chocolate makes everything better)." For a novel take on a holiday classic, whip up this easy gingersnap recipe to savor with your loved ones.

For this recipe, get all-purpose flour, unsweetened cocoa powder, salt, ground cinnamon, allspice, ground ginger, cream of tartar, unsalted butter (at room temperature), brown sugar, granulated sugar, an egg, and molasses. 

Morone explains, "The cream of tartar keeps the sugar from crystalizing, which is what keeps these chewy rather than crispy." She also notes that some of the granulated sugar is used for rolling the dough, "[which] is what helps draw out the moisture in the cookie and causes the cracking on top that is traditional with gingersnaps." If desired, she suggests, "You could definitely dip the finished cookies in melted chocolate and add some sprinkles for an extra festive flair to them."

In a large bowl whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, salt, cinnamon, allspice, ginger, and cream of tartar until combined. Set aside.

Add the butter, brown sugar, ½ cup granulated sugar, egg, and molasses to a separate large bowl.

Use a stand mixer or electric mixer to beat the wet ingredients together until smooth.

Add the dry ingredients into the bowl with the wet ingredients and beat until just combined.

Add the remaining ½ cup granulated sugar to a small bowl. Roll 2 tablespoon-sized balls of cookie dough in the granulated sugar.

After rolling each ball in sugar, place on parchment paper-lined baking sheets. Refrigerate the cookie dough for at least 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

Bake the cookies in the preheated oven for 13-15 minutes, until set and the tops start to crack.

Let cool slightly, then serve warm.

There's nothing sadder than stale cookies, and chances are that this batch will never see that fate thanks to its moreish quality. Nevertheless, if your cookie consumption is modest or you want to prepare these ahead of time for an occasion, you'll want to store them in the right conditions to ensure optimal freshness. "You can keep leftovers in an airtight container for up to a week," Morone advises.

On the counter or in the pantry at room temperature is fine unless you want a longer-term option. In that case, you'll want to consider freezing the cookies. "I prefer to freeze the cookie dough unbaked, which you can keep frozen for up to 3 months," Morone comments and adds, "but you can also freeze baked cookies in an airtight container or freezer bag for up to a month." If you want to have more immediate access to cookies at any moment, bake them before freezing.

This cookie recipe is super straightforward; just mix the dry and wet ingredients separately then together, roll dough balls in sugar ... chill the dough before baking? Of course, there's a legitimate reason to slow down the process of getting cookies into your mouth fast. Morone explains the purpose of this method: "Refrigerating cookie dough helps it to retain its shape and not go totally flat when you are baking it." Although not all recipes call for refrigerating cookie dough, in this case, it helps to maintain the puffy chewy quality consistency.

"If you want to save time you can put the dough in the freezer for about a quarter of the time instead of refrigerating it," Morone acknowledges. If you're in a rush and forgot to bake something to bring to a potluck, for example, you can use this shortcut to speed up the prep time. That also goes for if you're craving chewy chocolate gingersnap cookies and can't imagine waiting an extra half an hour.