the thing is
oh the thing is:
i don’t like molasses
i hate the smell of it
its burnt smell
that makes me gag
i even hate the way it
slowly pours out of the bottle
like,
hurry the fuck up already
and yet
inexplicably
i like me a good molasses cookie
chewy
snappy
a cloying sweet
that, if done correctly,
is cut by the sharpness of ginger
and maybe nutmeg
(which is something i also hate)
then the addition of chocolate
genius
i’m serious
the added creaminess that
the chocolate brings to the cookie
evens out the sharpness of the ginger,
which as mentioned before,
has to cut the cloyness of the molasses
which has lost its burnt odor
instead, there’s just cloves
and cinnamon wafting
every ingredient has a function
i made these cookies for
my foodie penpal alyssa
but i managed to steal 2 4
that didn’t fit in the box
when i make these again
i’ll see about keeping
the chocolate chunks bigger
Chocolate Ginger Molasses Cookies (vegan)
adapted from Martha Stewart
note: we don’t have cable anymore and i saw an episode of martha bakes on PBS and she made these. i made fun of her for only baking 3 cookies at a time. don’t do that, make fun of her that is. she knows her shit. these cookies spread. i was still smarting over it and baked 4 at a time. makes for more batches but trust me, worth it. correction, trust martha.
also, i doubled most of the flavor ingredients, cus i like a punch in your face impact.
7 oz best-quality chocolate, rough chopped
1 tsp baking soda
1 stick vegan butter, i use earth balance, at room temp
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
2 TBLS freshly grated ginger
1 1/2 cups plus 1 TBL AP flour
2 TBLS cocoa powder
2 1/2 tsps ground ginger
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 cup molasses
to roll dough in:
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/8 cup of sweet ground chocolate, i used ghiradelli
chop chocolate into chunks, set aside. (alternatively, you can use chips too, i won’t judge)
dissolve baking soda in 1 1/2 teaspoons hot water; set aside
using a mixer with paddle attachment, cream vegan butter and brown sugar until combined. add the fresh ginger and mix. in a bowl, sift all the remaining dry ingredients, in increments add to butter mixture, mix until combined
next, add the slow ass molasses and baking soda mixture. mix in the chocolate. transfer to fridge. ignore it for a few hours, i ignored it for about 24 hours. it happens
when ready, preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper
mix the granulated sugar and sweet ground chocolate on a plate. using an ice cream scoop, or whatever, scoop out dough and roll into balls, then roll around in the sugar + chocolate mixture. transfer balls onto lined baking sheets, fridge for 20 minutes. (martha reversed that step, good for her. i wanted to get that step over with, go from fridge to oven…) bake for 15-18 minutes, allow to cool for 5 minutes and then transfer to wire rack until cool completely.
BAM.
morestomach 
What an interesting combo of flavors – sounds amazing!! Celeste 🙂
hi celeste, it is, and it really works!
Love reading your posts! 🙂
thank you matt!
Wow! These look great. Nice pics.
thank you cheri!
i havent had these cookies in so long. thanks for the reminder, it sounds very warming with so many spices.
it is a very warming and winter-y cookie, the kind that calls for evenings on the couch with a lap blanket and a crochet project to do.
Haha, Lan! I so completely agree with everything you said about molasses — and yet also love molasses cookies. Ew, the smell. Ew, the viscosity that somehow makes the molasses get everywhere and it’s all sticky and you think it’s done pouring but nope there it goes. But UHMMMF COOKIE. These look like the perfect texture, too. Need to try very soon.
i still have half a bottle left of the stuff, i might have to wait till i have a stuffy nose from a cold before i try this recipe again…
These sound great! Wow, chocolate with molasses I would not have come up with myself. I love that you kicked up her flavors in these cookies — whenever I cook Martha, I always double the garlic she calls for and usually other spices/flavors too 🙂 AND I agree with you on how much her cookies spread. Sometimes to the point that I think I had the recipe wrong! Sometimes to the point I think I am a cookie-failure! I try to add extra flour on MS cookie recipes so they are a little taller, unless, like these, they should spread a bit. Your penpal is luckyyyyy!
i give martha props, she knows her stuff, i just like her stuff with more punch….
I like this chocolate food..
🙂
thanks!
I can’t stand the scent of molasses either – it’s an almost sulfuric mix of black tar and sweet kerosene…but the cookies!!! These look amazing! Lucky duck penpal.
P.S. Not sure if you read my Instagram reply – thank you for the camera offer! I found another p&s *eye-roll* on Amazon. The Boston cream pie pics were take with an iPad which apparently, when resized to fit blogging standards, are too narrow for foodgawker. :p
valerie, i did see your IG comment, i’m glad you’ll be shooting and blogging again!
PS. foodgawker has declined the vast majority of my pix, they don’t like my moody dark shots.
You’ve got two of my favorite ingredients here, chocolate and ginger. Pinning these cookies because they are gorgeous!
ginger, when used properly, really does make an excellent ingredient, and surprisingly it goes so well with chocolate.
Oh my gosh these cookies. I love how amazingly thin they are. Pinning!