With their sparkly, crinkly tops and super soft chew, these chocolate ginger sparkle cookies are as delicious to eat as they are beautiful to behold. Dip these spiced cocoa molasses cookies in dark chocolate, and finish each with finely chopped crystallized ginger for extra flavor.
This recipe is part of my annual Christmas cookie countdown called Sally’s Cookie Palooza. Every year since 2013, I work on a handful of new Christmas cookie recipes and publish the 10 best ones for readers to enjoy! You can browse dozens of recipes on the Sally’s Cookie Palooza page. 🙂
This cookie recipe was, quite simply, a JOY to create. It only took a couple of test batches to get it right, and how often does that happen? (The answer is: not nearly often enough.) The flavors of chocolate, ginger, and molasses come together so perfectly—an underrated flavor trio!
Why You’ll Love These Chocolate Ginger Sparkle Cookies
- So soft & chewy—and stay that way for days
- Chocolate & ginger pair beautifully, just like these chocolate gingerbread sandwich cookies, for a slightly sophisticated flavor profile. A unique addition to any platter of Christmas cookies!
- Flavorful warm spices balance the sweet
- An elevated twist on classic ginger molasses cookies
- Dip in melted dark chocolate for a truly luxe cookie
- Roll in sugar + finish with crystallized ginger for double the sparkle!
This is a classic drop cookie dough that comes together with basic ingredients. Pick up a few holiday baking spices like ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves—all ingredients you need for a batch of gingerbread oatmeal cookies, too!
Here Are the Ingredients You Need & Why
- Flour: All-purpose flour provides the main structure in this cookie dough.
- Cocoa Powder: We’re adding just enough cocoa powder to the dough to give it a chocolatey flavor, while still letting the other flavors come through. Don’t expect a fudgy chocolate flavor like a batch of chocolate crinkle cookies; it’s mild here.
- Baking Soda: A touch of extra baking soda helps the cookies puff up in the oven, then fall and develop that crinkly texture when they cool. Don’t worry if yours don’t crinkle—you can see in the photos that they all look a little different.
- Spices: This careful blend of ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves is exactly what every molasses cookie needs! Fresh grated ginger is too strong for these cookies—in testing, we found that its sharp flavor overpowered the chocolate.
- Salt: To balance the sweetness.
- Butter: Creamed butter forms the base of these soft cookies.
- Dark Brown Sugar: Brown sugar is what helps produce the softest cookie ever. You can use light or dark brown sugar, but I like using dark for the extra molasses flavor it provides.
- Molasses: Make sure you’re using a dark molasses, aka “robust” molasses, but avoid blackstrap, which is too intense.
- Egg: For structure and richness.
- Vanilla Extract: Feel free to use homemade vanilla extract in these cookies.
- Granulated Sugar: To coat the dough balls before baking. Sweetness and sparkle!
- Chocolate: Melt chocolate once the cookies are cool, and dip or drizzle to take the chocolate-ginger flavor to the next level.
Plus, an optional garnish: Finely chop candied ginger for a dazzling (and flavorful!) finishing touch. I love using crystallized ginger in baking for that unexpected sweet-yet-spicy flavor, like in these lemon ginger cookies and this ginger pear galette.
Step-by-Step Photos
Like many cookie doughs prepared with molasses (looking at you, gingerbread cookies) this is a sticky dough mixture and must chill in the refrigerator before you shape it into balls:
It solidifies after a 2-hour nap in the refrigerator, and a cookie scoop makes portioning the dough really easy. Use about 1.5 Tablespoons of dough per cookie, roll into a ball, and then coat generously in granulated sugar just as if you were making a batch of peanut butter blossoms.
Arrange 9–12 cookie dough balls on a lined baking sheet. If you’re shopping for new baking supplies, I use and love these baking sheets.
The cookies will puff up in the oven from all the baking soda, and then fall as they cool. The rising and falling helps create those beautiful crinkles. Some will have more cracks than others.
Don’t Forget the Chocolate Dip!
These neapolitan cookies and pinwheel cookies will tell you… a chocolate dip is the best finishing touch.
The best chocolate for dipping is the “baking chocolate” bars found in the baking aisle of the grocery store. I typically use Bakers or Ghirardelli brands, either semi-sweet or dark. Do not use chocolate chips because they contain stabilizers, which prevent them from melting into the correct consistency.
Make sure the cookies have fully cooled before you dip them into the melted chocolate. I had extra chocolate, so I drizzled the rest on top. Sprinkle the finely chopped crystallized ginger onto the chocolate-dipped cookies while the chocolate is still melty, then let dry.
Once the chocolate has set, the cookies can be stacked, stored, transported, or gifted.
Can I use white chocolate instead? Absolutely! White chocolate is another delicious pairing with ginger, like in these soft white chocolate chip molasses cookies.
3 Success Tips for Perfect Chocolate Ginger Cookies
- Use proper room temperature butter. Cold or melted butter can’t cream properly.
- Chill the dough for at least 2 hours. Unless you want over-spread gingery puddles.
- Melt pure chocolate, not chocolate chips. Save those for chocolate chip cookies!
Chocolate Ginger Cookies
- Prep Time: 2 hours, 30 minutes (includes chilling)
- Cook Time: 12 minutes
- Total Time: 3 hours
- Yield: 24
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Perfectly spiced cocoa ginger molasses cookies come together with basic baking ingredients, and taste even better after a dip in melted chocolate. The cookies will puff up in the oven from the baking soda, and then fall as they cool. Some will have more crinkles and cracks than others.
Ingredients
- 2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1/4 cup (22g) natural unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 and 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup (170g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 3/4 cup (150g) packed light or dark brown sugar (I recommend dark)
- 1/3 cup (100g) unsulphured dark molasses (not blackstrap)
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup (67g) granulated sugar, for rolling
For Dipping:
- 4–6 ounces (113–170g) semi-sweet or dark chocolate, finely chopped (see note)
- optional: 2 Tablespoons (30g) finely chopped crystallized ginger
Instructions
- Whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and salt together in a medium bowl until combined. Set aside.
- In a large bowl using a hand-held or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and brown sugar together on high speed until creamy and combined, about 2 minutes. Add the molasses, egg, and vanilla extract and beat until combined, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl and beat again as needed to combine. The mixture may look a bit curdled; that’s ok.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix on low until combined. Dough will be thick and sticky. Cover dough tightly and chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours and up to 3 days. Chilling is imperative for this sticky cookie dough.
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside.
- Remove cookie dough from the refrigerator. If the cookie dough chilled longer than 2 hours, let it sit at room temperature for 10 minutes. The cookies may not spread in the oven if the dough is that cold. Roll cookie dough into balls, about 1.5 Tablespoons (30g) of dough each (I use this medium cookie scoop). Roll each in granulated sugar and arrange 3 inches apart on the baking sheets.
- Bake cookies for 12 minutes or until edges appear set.
- Remove from the oven and allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely.
- Dip in chocolate: When the cookies are cooled, melt the chopped chocolate, either in a double boiler or use the microwave. Microwave in 20-second increments, stirring after each until completely melted. Dip half of each cooled cookie into the chocolate, and use any leftover chocolate to drizzle on top, if desired. Sprinkle chopped crystallized ginger on chocolate.
- Allow chocolate to completely set at room temperature or in the refrigerator.
- Cover leftover cookies tightly and store at room temperature for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: You can make the cookie dough and chill it in the refrigerator for up to 2–3 days. Baked cookies, cooled but undipped, freeze well for up to 3 months. (For best taste and texture, chocolate dip should be fresh!) Follow recipe through step 7 before freezing. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and bring to room temperature before continuing with step 8. Unbaked cookie dough balls (before rolling in sugar) will freeze well for up to 3 months. Let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes, preheat the oven, then roll in granulated sugar. Bake as directed. Read my tips and tricks on how to freeze cookie dough.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Electric Mixer (Stand Mixer or Handheld) | Medium Cookie Scoop | Baking Sheets | Silicone Baking Mats
- Molasses: I use and recommend dark molasses. (I like Grandma’s brand. The kind I use is labeled “original” molasses.) Blackstrap molasses is extremely bitter and not ideal in this recipe.
- Chocolate: The best chocolate for dipping is the “baking chocolate” bars found in the baking aisle of the grocery store. I typically use Bakers or Ghirardelli brands, either semi-sweet or dark. Do not use chocolate chips because they contain stabilizers, which prevent them from melting into the correct consistency. 4 ounces is enough for a light dip and 6 ounces is plenty for a dip and a little drizzle on top, too. You can use white chocolate if desired instead.
- Be sure to check out my top 5 cookie baking tips AND these are my 10 must-have cookie baking tools.
Keywords: chocolate ginger cookies
These cookies are so delicious! They are very festive too. 🙂
★★★★★
Hi Sally,
Once again, another fabulous recipe. I made these the other day and they are wonderful. A nice subtle chocolate flavor with that wonderful kick from ginger. I admit, I didn’t dip them in chocolate (we prefer less “adorned” cookies) but they were fantastic none the less. I may have underbaked them by a small bit (my timer turned itself off so I guessed) but the consistency was like a brownie inside and a crispy edge outside. Perfect! I have never had much success with cookies but between your Seriously Soft Molasses cookies, Iced Gingerbread Oatmeal cookies (without the icing and with added raisins) and these, I feel like an expert and my cookie lover husband is very happy. I look forward to all your new recipes. Thank you for all your hard work!
★★★★★
I pretty much exclusively bake with Sally’s recipes and WOW this one is an absolute home run. The warm spices with the molasses and chocolate is an amazing flavor combination I have never had. The texture is spot-on as well. It’s a soft, almost cakey feel (not in a bad way, they are delightfully moist. The 12 minute cooking time in my oven was perfect.) I made these as a test run this evening for a Christmas gathering and I will definitely be taking them to my holiday dinner!
★★★★★
Please consider updating the ingredient list to show Original molasses — I made a mistake in not reading your tips when you mention not to use Blackstrap which is what I pulled out. Hoping they are still edible.
OUTSTANDING recipe Sally, thank you. Even very picky husband (I call him vanilla boy!) loved these cookies! I followed your instructions precisely and they turned out perfectly.
★★★★★
Hi Sally, thank you so much for this recipe, they are heavenly! 🙂 I need to keep them “fresh” for three days now as I baked them for a team event. How would you recommend storing them? I am assuming air-tight container, room temperature or refrigerated? Thank you very much in advance.
★★★★★
Hi Jo, cover them tightly and store at room temperature for up to 1 week. Enjoy!
Just finished making these and yum!!!!! I used a spatula to put the chocolate on half of each cookie. I ended up with 30 cookies and wouldn’t have had enough chocolate to dip all of them.
★★★★★
Hi Sally, I made these today but they did not turn out very chewy. Can you help me? I used grandma’s brand for molasses, light brown sugar (I didn’t have dark), KA’s all purpose flour, and I think everything else is on par with this recipe. It tastes delicious but more cakey vs chewy. Could over whipping my butter & sugar cause this? Or maybe overchilling my dough? Or overbaking? Will try making them again, so any input is appreciated. Thanks!
Hi Mimi, the cookies will taste nice and chewy if they puff up in the oven, and then slightly fall or deflate into a crinkly cookie when cooling. Did yours deflate at all? If not, there’s two things you can do for next time. First, reduce the chill time to just 1 hour. This means you’ll have a softer dough, and a cookie that spreads a bit more. Second, make sure you are spooning and leveling (or weighing) the flour. Packing flour into the measuring cup may lead to too much flour in the dough, and then the cookies could turn out dry and cakey, instead of moist and chewy.
Finally, over-baking could also be the issue. Try reducing the bake time by a minute.
Let me preface this by saying I am an avid baker and have been selling my baked goods for years. I made these after making Sally’s Gingerbread cookie recipe (not sweet enough), thinking these would taste better. I was wrong. Both recipes tasted terrible! They looked and smelled amazing but, that’s it. Both batches went straight into the trash.
★
Hi Sarah, I wonder if it’s the molasses taste you don’t like. Because both recipes have molasses and a fair amount of spices. Gingerbread cookies aren’t particularly sweet (which is great so you can add icing!). And these cookies, did you roll them in sugar? Thank you for the feedback.
I’m not a huge ginger fan, but was inspired to try these cookies anyway. I omitted the crystallized ginger on top. They were truly outstanding, beautiful, and definitely remained soft. I brought them to a pot luck last night and they ALL disappeared with rave reviews.
Made with dark chocolate cocoa the ginger flavor is dominant over the chocolate flavor, left off the chocolate glaze this time, but can see how the dip would be needed to enhance the chocolate flavor over the ginger.
The texture is soft with slight crunch from the sugar. Very good cookie.
★★★★
I used treacle as we don’t have molasses where we live and they were divine, everyone loved them. Definitely will make again next year!
★★★★★
Hi there just making a batch now! Wondering if these can be frozen even if dipped in Chocolate.
Thanks
Hi Alexis, For best taste and texture, the chocolate dip should be fresh.
Hi Sally! I made the dough and just put it in the refrigerator. I would like to put the dough in zip lock bags and freeze to make next week without making the balls until after defrosting, would that be a problem with this dough?
Shouldn’t be a problem!
Can these be made dairy free–like using coconut oil for butter? Thanks!!
Hi Marie, we haven’t tested it that way, but you can try creaming the room temperature butter with the brown sugar. Of course, the final taste of the cookie will be a bit different. Let us know if you give it a try!
These are amazing! I love the chocolate addition to this cookie. I did add some crystallized ginger to the batter. I also rolled them oblong and set them outside for a bit to firm up (28 degrees here) and then put them right in the oven. The baked cookies look just like Sally’s picture. Definitely a keeper!
★★★★★
Have to admit that I am not a chocolate cookie fan but these cookies are truly divine! The subtle combination of the ginger, chocolate, and molasses coupled with the chocolate dipping and candied ginger pieces just works. And it works well.
For a truly festive presentation, suggest rolling the candied ginger in a bit of sugar (granulated or turbinado) after chopping and adding in on top of your dipped chocolate for an added but of sparkle. Too, they present beautifully in a clear bag with gold ribbon and festive decoration to highlight the sparkled ginger.
This cookie is really something special for those “someone special” people in your life.
★★★★★
I decided to make every cookie that comes out in the cookie palozza, whether it was in my flavor comfort zone or not. This was the first recipe and I was nervous! Ginger is it one of my favorite flavors. I’m so glad I made them because they are so delicious!!! All the flavors meld together so well and they are so soft!! Will make again for sure!!
★★★★★
These came out so festive looking. They have SO MUCH FLAVOR. What a fabulous recipe. Thanks so much.
★★★★★
Can this recipe be doubled or is it best to make in separate batches? So excited to try this recipe, all your recipes are fantastic and a success. My family always wants more:))) Thank you!
Hi Veronica, so long as your mixer can withstand the added volume of ingredients, it’s typically fine to double cookie recipes (while it’s best to do separate batches for bread doughs and cake/muffin batters!). So glad to hear you enjoy our recipes and hope you enjoy this new one!
Unfortunately there is no crystallized ginger at my local grocery store. I did add orange zest as I had an orange I needed to use . One of the best cookies I have made. Look forward to making more of your recipes!
★★★★★
So glad you enjoyed these, Susan!
I love this recipe they taste great but these cookies came out very flat/spread out for me. Like flatter than a pancake. I refrigerated for 3 hours and didn’t wait the 10 minutes to warm up. Any suggestions for this?
Hi EJ, thank you so much for giving these cookies a try! Did you start with proper room temperature butter (it’s cooler than we usually think)? Here’s our best tips for preventing cookies spreading for your next batch.
I made these for a cookie exchange. I made a total of 75 and they came out a little on the cakey side, not something that I really like I prefer chewy. I was a little disappointed, but have to take them to the cookie exchange anyway since I don’t have time to make something different.
I’d love to make these . Is crystallized ginger soft or more like a nugget of sugar . I don’t want the ginger to be chewy
Thanks
Hi Vicki! It depends on how thick the candied ginger is. If it’s a thick chunk, it will be chewy in the center. You can buy flatter pieces, which would be a bit crunchy.
Did you make these with a low protein AP flour (like white lily) for these cookies or something with higher protein (like king arthur)? Thanks!!
Hi Victoria! When I’m using all-purpose flour, I almost always bake with King Arthur brand. Just a big genuine fan!
Hi Sally! I look forward to your Cookie Palooza so much every year! I’m making all-Sally Christmas cookies this year and just when I think I’ve chosen the ones I want to make, I get a beauty like these chocolate ginger sparkle cookies in my in-box today! They look amazing, and I think I’ll add them to my Christmas cookie list this year!
Thank you so much for following along! It’s my favorite time of year for baking, and I love creating new cookie recipes!
Yet another excellent cookies recipe from your Christams Coolie Palozza.
I look forwad to adding this to my cookie baking list.
I have taken to using the Trader Joe’s one pounf chocolate bar for baking. It is geat quality and a very good value price wise. Five litte squares equal 2 ounces so I break the bar into 2 ounce units and freeze for future use.
Oh yes, I love Trader Joes “pound plus” bars. Great quality chocolate!
Can’t wait to make these! Can I use raw sugar instead of granulated to roll them, for a bit more crunch?
Absolutely!
Can I replace the flour in your cookie recipes with a one for one gluten free baking mix? I’m recently diagnosed with celiac
Hi Teresa, Although some readers report using an all-purpose 1:1 gluten-free flour in many of our recipes with success, you should expect slightly different results anytime you substitute ingredients. If you’re interested, here are all of our naturally gluten-free recipes. Hope you find some to enjoy!
Can you freeze these cookies?
Hi Harris, absolutely. See Make Ahead instructions in the recipe Notes section for details.
Hi Sally.
Is it possible to make these cookies without the molasses?
I can’t find molasses locally where I live but would love to make these cookies and various other recipes on your blog which use molasses in particular the Gingerbread Muffins.
Are there any substitutes for molasses that you know of? Maybe black treacle?
Hi Liam, I’d love to help. Half black treacle and half golden syrup would be the best alternative in this particular recipe. Use equal parts both to get to 100g. The same (half of each) should also work wonderfully in the gingerbread muffins.