A delicious twist on the classic holiday cut-out cookies, these chocolate gingerbread cookies made with Endangered Species Chocolate’s oat milk baking chips require no chill time before rolling out, and they have all the spiced goodness of original gingerbread—just with chocolate!
chocolate gingerbread cookies
Recipe developed by Alyssa Adams, @floralapronblog Yield: 5-6 dozen cookies Prep time: 45 minutes Cook time: 10 minutes Additional time: 1 hour
ingredients:
For the Chocolate Gingerbread Cut-Outs
8 ounces dark chocolate, like Endangered Species Chocolate oat milk + 55% dark chocolate (130 g)
4 cups all-purpose flour (540 g)
½ cup cocoa powder (48 g)
1 teaspoon baking soda (6 g)
4 teaspoons ground ginger (8 g)
4 teaspoons cinnamon (8 g)
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg (4 g)
½ teaspoon ground cloves (1 g)
½ teaspoon ground allspice (1 g)
½ teaspoon salt (2 g)
1 cup brown sugar (210 g)
12 Tablespoons butter, softened (170 g)
½ cup molasses (170 g)
2 large eggs
For the Icing
1 ½ cups sifted powdered sugar (220 g)
2-3 Tablespoons water (30-45 ml)
directions
To Make the Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies
Preheat the oven to 350°F/175°C and line at least two baking sheets with parchment paper to cycle between. (This recipe makes 4-5 dozen cookies.)
Melt the chocolate chips in a medium bowl until smooth in the microwave for 30-second intervals, stirring after each, or in a double-boiler. Set aside at room temperature to cool slightly.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the beater attachment, stir together flour, cocoa, soda, spices, salt, brown sugar, and butter until fully combined and no large pieces of butter remain. The mixture will look sandy.
To the bowl of melted chocolate, add the molasses. Combine with a spatula or fork until the mixture is only slightly warm to the touch, then stir in the eggs.
With the mixer on low, pour the chocolate mixture into the flour mixture. Beat until the cookie dough comes together into a ball, about two minutes.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured workspace* and roll out until the dough is about ¼" to ⅜" (6 to 9 mm) thick. Use cookie cutters to cut out shapes, then carefully peel the cookies off your workspace and place onto your lined baking sheet at least 1" (25 mm) apart. Thin, delicate shapes are best peeled off with the help of a bench scraper at the start, but less intricate shapes like circles can be removed easily with just your fingers. Combine all the leftover scraps and reroll a few times, if needed.
Bake for 9-13 minutes, until the tops of the cookies are matte. Thinner cookies will be fully baked around 9-10 minutes; thicker cookies will take closer to 12-13 minutes to bake.
To Ice the Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies
Let the cookies cool completely, then whisk together the powdered sugar and water in a medium bowl. For different colored icings, divide the prepared icing into separate bowls and dye with a few drops of food coloring. Transfer to piping bags and decorate the cookies as desired. Enjoy!
notes:
*Stone countertops and workspaces may not require flouring, but plastic or wooden boards likely will. You can also roll out the cookie dough between two sheets of parchment paper if you are worried about the dough sticking. I did not need to use flour when rolling out the dough on my quartz countertops; it peeled right off!
Thanks to the molasses, these cookies stay soft and delicious for days! Best enjoyed within two weeks of baking, or freeze for up to three months.
This recipe can easily be halved to make a smaller batch: Simply reduce all ingredients by half!
