Topic —  Baking

Holiday Cookies

November 07, 2011
Jan Scott

Pocket

This week’s holiday cookie is definitely a family favourite, combining the very best flavours of the season—chocolate and spice-infused gingerbread. I brought a bag of these cookies into SavvyHQ a few weeks ago, and I knew they were the perfect choice when the entire package lay empty before the hour-long meeting was over.

One of the benefits of these cookies is that they are healthier than what might normally grace your holiday sweet table. I’m working hard to create a healthier holiday in our home this year, and while I’m still baking up some of our family favourites, I’m also trying to inject a few cookies that I feel good about serving.

Soft and chewy, the addition of whole-wheat flour creates a welcome nutty flavour and these cookies freeze amazingly well, making them perfect for gift giving. I like to package them in cello bags fastened with pretty ribbon and a cinnamon stick.

Do you have a favourite spice cookie for the holidays? Would you add chocolate to your recipe?

Chewy Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies
(adapted from Martha Stewart)

You’ll Need

• 1 cup whole-wheat flour
• ½ cup all-purpose flour
• 1½ tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• ½ tsp nutmeg
• 1 Tbsp cocoa powder
• ½ cup butter
• ½ cup demerara sugar (or brown sugar)
• ½ cup unsulphered molasses
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp water
• 4 oz semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
• ⅓ cup coarse sugar (like demerara sugar)

Prep and Cook

1. Combine the flour, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and cocoa powder in a mixing bowl and set aside.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar on medium speed, until fluffy, for 4 to 5 minutes. Scrape down the bowl, add the molasses and mix well.
3. In a small bowl combine the baking soda and water, and set aside.
4. Add half the flour mixture to the butter mixture and stir. Add the baking soda, and the rest of the flour mixture and mix to combine. Add the chocolate and stir with a spatula to incorporate it in to the cookie dough.
5. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour, or overnight.
6. Preheat the oven to 325 and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
7. Roll the dough into 1-inch balls and roll them in the coarse sugar. Place the balls on the prepared baking sheets, 2 inches apart. Bake for 10 minutes, or until the tops of the cookies begin to crack. Allow to cool for 5 minutes.

Good to Know: Demerara sugar is less refined than granulated sugar making it a little bit healther. It has a molasses-like taste to it, making it a good choice for these cookies. Demerara can be purchased at bulk food stores or in the natural foods section of your grocery store.