Desserts

The Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap 2013: Soft-Baked Gingersnap Molasses Cookies, 3 Ways

cookie swapThis past year has been filled with many extraordinary experiences for the Baked Chicago blog, from publishing my first cookbook to winning grand prize in the State of Louisiana’s Sweet Potato Recipe Contest. And participating in the 3rd Annual Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap ranks right up there among them all because so many passionate food bloggers came together to support a great cause and to spread some baking love around the world.

The Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap brings together food bloggers from all over the world in celebration of all things cookie. This is my first year participating; last year the Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap had nearly 600 participants and raised $4,400. For 2013, there were 619 confirmed participants in 8 countries, and together with our phenomenal partners (OXO, Dixie Crystals, Gold Medal Flour and Grandma’s Molasses) we raised over $13,000 for Cookies for Kids’ Cancer.

The premise is simple: bake 3 dozen cookies using a new recipe that you’ve not tried before. You’re matched up with three other food bloggers to whom you’ll send one dozen cookies. The food bloggers get to stretch their creative muscles by trying out a new recipe and in return get one dozen cookies from three other food bloggers. In the process of learning and sharing, you also get to know (perhaps for the first time) three other incredible food bloggers who share you passion for baking and blogging.

I found my inspiration for my cookie recipe from one of my favorite blogs, Sally’s Baking Addiction. I’ve done crunchy gingersnap and molasses cookie recipes galore, but (to my surprise) I’ve never done a soft-based gingersnap molasses cookie. When I got Sally’s recipe for soft-baked gingersnap molasses cookies 4-ways, I had to try it – giving it my own stamp of individuality with some of my favorite cookie garnishes. I decided to do the recipe three ways:

gingersnap molasses original

Original

gingersnap molasses with dark chocolate2

Topped with Bittersweet Chocolate

gingersnap molasses with dark chocolate and granola topping

Topped with Bittersweet Chocolate and Dark Chocolate-Cranberry Granola Clusters

This recipe makes about 5 dozen cookies. If you don’t need that many, simply halve all of the ingredients to get about 2 1/2 dozen cookies. I recommend getting all of your ingredients in place, measured first to make execution easy and seamless. You’ll want to work with the dough chilled to make it easier to shape and manipulate. And you’ll want to work quickly when adding toppings after the baking process because you want the heat of the cookies fresh out of the oven to melt the chocolate.

Start by whisking together all of the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Set aside. Cream the butter in the bowl of your stand mixer. Then add the brown sugar and beat until fluffy. Add molasses, egg and vanilla, beating well. Slowly add dry ingredients, on low-speed. DO NOT OVERMIX. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill for at least 2 hours.

use small cookie scoop

roll cookie ball in sugar

flatten cookie balls and slight indent

Preheat your oven to 350F degrees. Using a cookie scoop for consistent cookie sizing, shape the dough into 1-inch balls. Roll cookie balls in granulated sugar. Place on prepared baking sheets and flatten with your thumb, leaving a slight indentation.

Bake one sheet of cookies at a time for about 12 minutes, or until edges are brown. Cookies will be puffy and appear soft in the middle. Remove from the oven and immediately press four chocolate chips into the center of the cookie and allow them to melt.

After a few minutes, transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. With the back of a teaspoon, smooth out the melted chocolate. Add one heaping teaspoon of the granola on top of the melted chocolate. Let cool completely before storing in an airtight container.

Soft-Baked Gingersnap Molasses Cookies, 3 Ways

Cook Time: 12 minutes

Yield: 5 dozen cookies

Soft-Baked Gingersnap Molasses Cookies, 3 Ways

Ingredients

2 teaspoons baking soda
4 teaspoons ground ginger
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups dark brown sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
4 teaspoons vanilla extract
2/3 cup granulated sugar, for rolling

Instructions

In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and salt. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter for about 1 minute on medium speed. Add the brown sugar and beat until fluffy. Scrape down sides of the bowl, as needed. Add the molasses, egg and vanilla. Beat well.

Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, on low speed. Be careful not to overmix. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and chill for at least 2 hours (and up to overnight).

Preheat your oven to 350F degrees. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.

Take cookie dough out of refrigerator. Shape the cookie dough into 1 1/2-inch balls. I use a cookie scoop for consistent cookie sizing. Roll the cookie balls in granulated sugar. Place on the prepared baking sheet, about 2 inches apart. Lightly flatten cookies with your thumb, leaving a slight indentation to hold topping (applied after baking).

Bake for about 12 minutes, or until edges are just turning brown. The cookies will be puffy and appear soft in the middle. Remove from the oven and immediately add topping(s), as desired. Press 4 chocolate chips into the center of the cookie and allow to melt.

After a few minutes, transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. At this point, take a teaspoon and use the back of the spoon to smooth out the melted chocolate. Add about 1 heaping teaspoon of the granola, if desired, on top of the melted chocolate.

Store in an airtight container for about one week at room temperature.

Notes

Adapted from a recipe by Sally's Baking Addiction

http://bakedchicago.com/soft-baked-gingersnap-molasses-cookies-3-ways/

12 Comments

  • Chrystal M.
    December 11, 2013 at 4:00 pm

    Those look simply amazing! This was my first year participating as well. I hope next year goes a little smoother for me!

    • Harvey Morris
      December 11, 2013 at 7:58 pm

      Chrystal ~ I’m with you on being a bit more organized next year. I waited until the day before to bake so I had one day to run around for packaging (I went to 3 post offices before I found a flat-rate box!).

      • Chrystal M.
        December 12, 2013 at 9:45 am

        Oh for shame! I’m glad I wasn’t your swap partner! j/k

  • Megan Turner
    December 11, 2013 at 7:10 pm

    I love the ones topped with granola. I bet all the varieties are delicious!

    • Harvey Morris
      December 11, 2013 at 7:59 pm

      Thanks, Megan. The granola has just enough of a cranberry flavor to give it a little kick for the holidays!

  • korenainthekitchen.com
    December 11, 2013 at 10:44 pm

    Those melty puddles of chocolate in the middle look so good! I bet whoever got your cookies was thrilled!

    • Harvey Morris
      December 11, 2013 at 11:38 pm

      Thanks, Korena. I have to admit when they were fresh out of the oven and the chocolate was liquid, it was so good. If I hadn’t committed to shipping them to other food bloggers, I might have eaten them all!

  • Ashleigh
    December 13, 2013 at 10:06 pm

    Yum! I wish I got some of these. They look great 🙂

  • Karen | 2teaspoons.com
    December 14, 2013 at 11:49 am

    Thanks for checking out my apple cookies! This was my first year participating in the cookie swap and I had a great time. Your cookies looks super yummy! The liquid chocolate looks fantastic and molasses cookies are perfect this time of year 🙂

  • Gill Bland
    December 16, 2013 at 2:55 am

    Thanks for looking at my blog – it’s lovely how the Cookie Swap connects people. I’ve enjoyed reading yours, and rather fancy some of those cookies! I’ll follow you on Bloglovin’ now so I don’t miss any future posts. x

  • Kelly B
    December 18, 2013 at 11:37 am

    My favorites are the ones topped with bittersweet chocolate. I mean that makes any cookie infinitely better!

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