Chewy Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies of Magical Deliciousness

I prefer chewy cookies over crisp ones, gingerbread over sugar, frugal over extravagant, Coke over Pepsi, Martha over Julia, Nabokov over Tolstoy, cake over death. Hold on, that got away from me somewhere. My point is: Martha Stewart's chewy chocolate gingerbread cookies have blown my mind. Did you know chocolate kills in gingerbread? Because it does. Kills. It. Dead. Or at least it mortally injures your sweet tooth, rendering you incapable of eating any other holiday desserts. I do, of course, mean that in the best way.

To be honest, J & I aren't particularly big on ginger. I suspect that if you love ginger, this recipe is even better, and if so, you should make the version posted on Martha Stewart's site, and not mine, which omits the fresh variety. I should also confess that the main reason I left it out is monetary - when you're just scraping by, it's hard enough to justify keeping cocoa powder or chocolate chips around, let along a strange root that you'll only use in a cookie recipe and probably never touch again. But enough about me - I know what you're really here for.

Chewy Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies of Magical Deliciousness
(makes 24)

• 1 heaping cup semisweet chocolate chips
  
• 1 1/2 cups plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon all spice
  
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 tablespoon Dutch process cocoa powder
• 1 stick unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 cup unsulfured molasses
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons boiling water
  
• granulated sugar, for rolling cookies

Note: I've simplified these instructions a bit in an attempt to address some of the issues from the comments on Martha's site.

1. Cover two baking sheets with parchment paper (or silpat). In medium bowl, sift together flour, ginger, cinnamon, all spice, nutmeg, and cocoa. Place a small amount of water in a tea kettle, and heat on high.
2. Afix paddle attachment to electric mixer. In bowl of mixer, beat butter until whitened, about 3 minutes. Beat in brown sugar, mixing until combined. Pour in molasses and beat until combined.
3. In a separate bowl, dissolve baking soda in 1 1/2 teaspoons boiling water. Taking turns, alternately beat half of flour mixture into butter/sugar/molasses, then all of the dissolved baking soda, then the rest of the flour. Mix in chocolate chips, then turn dough out onto a piece of plastic wrap. Pat into a 1 inch thick rectangle, seal the plastic wrap, and refrigerate until firm (at least two hours).
4. Heat oven to 325 degrees. Cut dough into 24 equal parts using a serrated knife.
5. Roll each square into a ball, roll each ball in granulated sugar, then place on baking sheet.
6. If dough gets too sticky, put it back in the fridge for twenty minutes or so - I had to do this about halfway through. Also, to avoid a too-round final product, smush the balls a tiny bit with the flat of your hand.
   
7. Bake cookies until the surfaces crack slightly, 10 to 12 minutes. Let cool on pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack. Devour.

The combination of gingerbread and chocolate in these cookies is unbeatable. This is a holiday cookie win, no question.

Seriously guys, why are you not eating these right now?