the holiday decorations are already up...

can you believe it?!

i happened to catch the martha stewart show one day while she was making these cookies and i was hooked. i had to make them.

i know nothing about martha's stock scandal nor do i have an opinion on it...but dayam, that woman knows cookies. i think i made these on at least *3* separate occassions last holiday season...and it takes a lot to remake a recipe when your stack of to-make recipes keeps spilling over onto the floor!

especially when these require quite a bit of work to make...the dough is incredibly sticky, uses an ingredient i use NO WHERE else and requires two hours to chill. i hate having to wait longer for goodness in my belly!!

but gawd, these are worth it!! (i also double the recipe to minize the pain...)

chewy chocolate gingerbread cookies

from martha stewart

7 ounces best-quality semisweet chocolate*
1 1/2 cups + 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

1 1/4 teaspoons ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 tablespoon cocoa powder

1/2 cup unsalted butter

1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger

1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed

1/2 cup unsulfered molasses

1 teapoon baking soda

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1. chop chocolate into 1/4-inch chunks and set aside. in a medium bowl, sift together flour, ground ginger, cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon and cocoa.
2. in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat butter and grated ginger until whitened (about 4 minutes). add brown sugar and beat until combined. add molasses and beat until combined.
3. in a small bowl, dissolve baking soda in 1 1/2 teaspoons of boiling water. beat half of the flour mixture into the butter mixture. beat in baking soda mixture and then add the remaining flour mixture. mix in chocolate. turn dough out onto a piece of plastic wrap. pat dough out to about 1 inch thick and seal with plastic wrap. refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours.
4. preheat oven to 325 degrees. line two baking sheets with parchment paper or nonstick baking mats. roll dough into 2-inch balls. place 2 inches apart on baking sheets. refrigerate for 20 minutes. roll dough balls into granulated sugar and return to baking sheets. transfer to oven and bake for about 18 minutes until surfaces crack slightly. let cool 5 minutes and transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

NOTE: if you have to get these into your belly quickly, you can use chocolate chips instead. they don't have the same texture and you won't get the small pieces that will just melt into the batter but they're still pretty darn good. =)