Description
These Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies blend classic gingerbread spices with rich cocoa and semisweet chocolate for festive holiday treats. The dough is rolled between parchment sheets, chilled, and cut into charming shapes before baking to perfection. Finished with a smooth meringue-based royal icing, these cookies are perfect for decorating and sharing during the holiday season.
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 & Mix-ins
- 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
- Combine Dry Ingredients: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, stir together the flour, cocoa powder, brown sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, salt, and orange zest on low speed until well combined.
- Add Butter: Stop the mixer, add the butter pieces, and mix on medium-low speed until the mixture is sandy and resembles fine meal, about 1 1/2 minutes. Then stir in the finely chopped semisweet chocolate.
- Prepare Wet Mixture: Remove the whisk and replace it with the paddle attachment. In a small bowl, whisk the egg and molasses until combined.
- Mix Dough: With the mixer on low, slowly pour the molasses mixture into the flour mixture. Mix until the dough is moist, then increase speed to medium and mix until thoroughly combined, about 15 seconds.
- Chill Dough: Scrape the dough onto a lightly floured surface, divide in half, wrap each tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least one hour until firm but not sticky.
- Roll and Freeze Dough: Roll each portion between two sheets of parchment paper to 1/4 inch thickness. Stack rolled dough on a baking sheet and freeze for 15 minutes until firm.
- Preheat Oven and Prepare Sheets: Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Cut Cookies: Remove dough from freezer, peel off top parchment, flip dough, remove bottom parchment, then cut into 3 to 5-inch Christmas shapes. Save scraps for reuse.
- Arrange and Chill: Transfer cut cookies to prepared sheets using a wide metal spatula, spacing cookies 3/4 inch apart. Return trays to freezer briefly to firm cookies before baking.
- Bake Cookies: Bake on the middle rack for 8-12 minutes until edges are set. Let cookies cool on the sheet for 2 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.
- Reuse Dough Scraps: Combine all scraps, roll and freeze again, then repeat the cutting and baking process until all dough is used.
- Make Royal Icing: In a large bowl, combine powdered sugar, meringue powder, vanilla, and 4 tablespoons water. Beat on high with a hand mixer for 1–2 minutes, scraping the sides as needed, adding more water 1 tablespoon at a time until icing flows smoothly off the beaters but holds shape.
- Decorate Cookies: Transfer icing to a piping bag fitted with a small round tip and decorate cooled cookies. Use icing immediately as it can dry out quickly.
Notes
- Ensure butter is soft but cool to achieve the sandy texture in dough.
- Use parchment paper to roll dough for easier handling and cleanup.
- Freezing dough between steps helps maintain cookie shape and prevents spreading during baking.
- Scraps can be re-rolled multiple times but avoid overworking dough to prevent toughness.
- Adjust water in icing carefully to get the perfect pipeable consistency.
- Cookies must cool completely before icing to prevent melting the decoration.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie (approx. 30g)
- Calories: 140
- Sugar: 14g
- Sodium: 90mg
- Fat: 6g
- Saturated Fat: 3.5g
- Unsaturated Fat: 2g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 22g
- Fiber: 2g
- Protein: 2g
- Cholesterol: 20mg
