Virtual Cookie Exchange: Chewy Chocolate-Gingerbread Cookies

I was chomping at the bit to get going on my Christmas cookie baking, and all the better to do it with (virtual) friends. I'm participating in the second annual virtual cookie exchange hosted by Di of Di's Kitchen Notebook. Head over to Di's blog for a roundup of everyone's treats - the entire roundup should be there by the 11th - and you'll definitely be inspired to break out the butter and sugar.

But then there was a little problem: what to make? Family recipe? Old favorite? Something new and exotic? Looking for inspiration, I flipped open my copy of Martha Stewart's Cookies, bibliomancy-style, and there they were: Chewy Chocolate-Gingerbread Cookies. (I'm linking to the recipe because it's on Martha's website, but if you are a cookie-lover, please consider buying or borrowing a copy of this book. It's amazing. If you have the book, you might recognize this cookie from the cover.)

Chocolate and ginger together - you either love it or hate it. Or maybe you just feel a little "meh." (I am in the pro-chocolate-and-ginger camp, myself.) These cookies carry a one-two punch of powdered and fresh ginger, along with a good dose of semisweet chocolate and cocoa. They are very similar to the Chocolate Crackle Cookies which I've made several times, but are coated in granulated sugar rather than powdered sugar after the dough is chilled and rolled into balls.(Due to time constraints, I skipped chilling the dough after shaping the balls, and they came out just fine.)

I made a batch for a group of friends and their kids, thinking that the adults probably would like them, and the kids probably would not. Wrong! Everyone liked these cookies - the ginger is not so assertive that picky little palates would reject them, but it's definitely there. If you really, really like ginger, you could add a smidge more powdered and/or fresh, and you'd be very happy.

These will definitely be a part of my regular Christmas cookie rotation - and I think you'll enjoy them, too. (Unless you're one of those chocolate-ginger separatists.) Thanks to Di for hosting this event!