This post is sponsored by ALDI USA. My chocolate gingerbread sandwich cookies combine gingerbread cookies with thick & creamy chocolate ganache. These linzer-shaped Christmas cookies are extra flavorful, extra special and beyond festive for the holiday season!
Happy National Cookie Day and day 3 in Sally’s Cookie Palooza!!! Yes, today December 4th is National Cookie Day and that’s a holiday we take VERY seriously around here. To celebrate this joyous occasion, I made a recipe where you literally eat two cookies at once. Is there really a better way to celebrate this day?
These Chocolate Gingerbread Sandwich Cookies Are:
- Adorably shaped & extra festive
- Flavored with robust molasses
- Spiced with plenty of ginger, cinnamon, allspice & cloves
- Crunchy on the edges, soft in the centers
- Filled with 2 ingredient chocolate ganache
And they combine linzer cookies, chocolate ganache and my most popular Christmas cookie recipe: gingerbread cookies. Have you ever had the pleasure of chocolate and gingerbread in one? Maybe you have tried these chocolate ginger cookies? Forget peanut butter this season (Wait. Am I really saying that?) because gingerbread is chocolate’s new best bud.
Chocolate Gingerbread Sandwich Cookies & ALDI!
The other week, I stocked up on all my baking products from my local ALDI. Many of you have been raving about their affordable prices in my Facebook group (thanks everyone!), so I was extra excited to check it out. They recently remodeled the store by us, so it was really easy to find everything I need for today’s recipe and all of my Christmas cookie baking. Butter, molasses, chocolate chips, spices, confectioners’ sugar, cream cheese, sugar and so much more. If you haven’t shopped at ALDI before, I urge you to find a store near you not only to shop for your holiday baking products, but for fun snacks, affordable organic produce and everyday essentials.
Some Items You Need:
- Baker’s Corner Molasses
- Baker’s Corner Confectioners’ Sugar
- Baker’s Corner Semi-Sweet Morsels
How to Make Linzer-Style Gingerbread Cookies
- Make the cookie dough: This gingerbread cookie dough uses kitchen staples like butter, egg, flour, spices and brown sugar. You need a lot of flour to offset the sticky molasses and don’t be afraid to use more when you’re rolling out the cookie dough.
- Chill the cookie dough: This cookie dough needs to chill for 3 hours. Give yourself enough time or make the cookie dough ahead and chill it overnight. You want your cookie dough firm so it’s easy to work with and so the cookies hold their shape. Best way to chill it: divide it in half, flatten into 2 discs, wrap each up and place in the refrigerator. Smaller sections chill quicker and make rolling out easier.
- Roll it out: The cookie dough is firm coming out of the refrigerator, so take your time rolling it out. Use extra flour on your work surface, too. I use parchment paper or a silicone baking mat– that’s how I roll out my sugar cookies, too.
- Cut into shapes: Remember my raspberry pistachio linzer cookies and caramel hazelnut linzer cookies? We’re cutting this gingerbread cookie dough the same way. Half will be whole cookies and half will have a festive shape in the center like a star or a Christmas tree.
- Bake: Bake the whole cookies and “donut” cookies on separate baking sheets. (I call the cookies with the hole in the center donut cookies!) The donut cookies take a minute less because of their smaller surface area.
- Dust half with confectioners sugar: Dust those donut cookies with a little snowfall in the form of confectioners’ sugar. 🙂
- Fill with chocolate ganache: Spread your chocolate ganache on the underside of the whole cookies, then sandwich with a dusted donut cookie.
These are almost too pretty to eat. (I said almost.)
Chocolate Ganache Filling
Remember when I told you that chocolate ganache is best with pure chocolate bars? Turns out that Baker’s Corner Semi-Sweet Morsels make an unbelievable ganache and you don’t need to chop them up beforehand. Pour 1/2 cup of warm heavy cream over 2/3 cup semi-sweet morsels. Let it sit for a couple minutes, then stir until thick and smooth.
Foolproof and only 2 ingredients.
More Festive Cookies
The National Cookie Day celebration doesn’t end here! If you need more recipe inspiration after you stock up at ALDI, here are plenty of recipes to try next:
- Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
- Spritz Cookies
- Snowball Cookies
- Peanut Butter Cookies
- Soft Molasses Cookies
- Cinnamon Roll Cookies
- Spiced Eggnog Oatmeal Cream Pies
See all cookie palooza recipes.
Chocolate Gingerbread Sandwich Cookies
- Prep Time: 1 hour
- Cook Time: 14 minutes
- Total Time: 4 hours, 30 minutes (includes chilling & cooling)
- Yield: 30 cookie sandwiches
- Category: Desserts
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
My chocolate gingerbread sandwich cookies combine gingerbread cookies with creamy, thick chocolate ganache. The cookie dough must chill, so you can get started the day before if desired!
Ingredients
- 3 and 1/2 cups (438g) all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling (spoon & leveled)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 Tablespoon ground ginger (yes, 1 full Tablespoon!)
- 1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 10 Tablespoons (2/3 cup; 145g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 3/4 cup (150g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 2/3 cup (200g) Baker’s Corner Molasses
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Topping & Filling
- 3 Tablespoons (23g) Baker’s Corner Confectioners’ Sugar
- 1/2 cup (120ml) heavy cream
- 2/3 cup (120g) Baker’s Corner Semi-Sweet Morsels
Instructions
- Whisk the flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, allspice, and cloves together in a large bowl. Set aside.
- In a large bowl using a hand-held mixer or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and brown sugar together on medium speed until combined and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add the molasses and beat on medium speed until combined. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Beat in egg and vanilla on high speed for 2 full minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. The butter may separate– that’s ok.
- On low speed, slowly mix the dry ingredients into wet ingredients until combined. The cookie dough will be quite thick and slightly sticky. Divide dough in half and place each onto a large piece of plastic wrap. Flatten into a 1-inch disc and wrap each up tightly. Chill discs for at least 3 hours and up to 3 days. Chilling is mandatory for this cookie dough. I always chill mine overnight. If chilling for longer than 3 hours, allow to sit at room temperature for at least 20 minutes before rolling because the dough will be quite hard.
- Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
- Remove 1 disc of chilled cookie dough from the refrigerator. Generously flour a work surface, as well as your hands and the rolling pin. The dough may become sticky as you work, so keep extra flour nearby to use as needed. Alternatively, the dough may crack when rolling out. Wait a few minutes for it to soften back up. The more you work with it, the softer (and easier to work with) it will become. Roll out the disc until 1/4 inch thick. Using a 2.5-inch round or fluted cookie cutter, cut dough into circles. Re-roll the remaining dough and continue cutting until all is used. Repeat with the second disc of dough. You should have about 60 circles.
- Using a smaller cookie cutter or 1-inch fluted cookie cutter, cut a hole into the center of half of the circles. Let’s call these the “donut cookies” because of that center hole.
- Arrange the whole circles and the donut cookies 2 inches apart and on separate baking sheets (because the donut cookies take 1 less minute to bake).
- Bake the whole circles for about 12-14 minutes, or until set around the edges, and bake the donut cookies for about 11 minutes. Rotate the baking sheets halfway through the bake time. Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer all of the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely before assembling.
- Once cool, dust the “donut cookies” with confectioners’ sugar.
- Make chocolate ganache: Heat the cream in a small saucepan over medium heat until it begins to gently simmer. (Do not let it come to a rapid boil– that’s too hot!) Pour over chocolate chips, then let it sit for 2-3 minutes to gently soften the chocolate. Very slowly stir until completely combined and chocolate has melted. If it’s not melting, do not microwave it. Just continue to stir until smooth. Cool ganache for 10 minutes before using on the cookies. Ganache thickens as it cools and sets after a few hours.
- Spoon 1 teaspoon of ganache on the underside of each whole cookie. Carefully top each with a donut cookie and press down gently to create a cookie sandwich.
- Cookies stay fresh covered at room temperature for 2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: Baked cookies, before or after sandwiching, freeze well up to 3 months. Unbaked cookie dough discs (just the dough prepared through step 3) freeze well up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator then continue with step 4. To make the ganache ahead of time, cover tightly and store ganache in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. It will be thick after refrigerating, so warm it up for a few seconds in the microwave to make it spreadable again. Once ganache cools completely, you can cover it tightly and freeze it for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator.
Keywords: gingerbread, Christmas cookies, ganache
Oh my goodness! I was looking for a gingerbread sandwich cookie and here it is! I can’t wait to try these. I was wondering two things:
1) Can I use Linzer cookie cutters for these delicious cookies?
2) Can I use a buttercream, lemon curd, or jam for the filling?
Thank you o much for all you do 🙂
Hi Hannah, yes! And you can try a different filling! Let us know what you try and how it turns out!
in making the gingerbread cookies I had a few questions when mixing the wet and dry ingredients I don’t have a stand mixer only a hand-held mixer so at first, the dough was getting sticky together but once all the dry mix was in the dough become more crumbly than sticky is there anything that I did wrong
Hi Cloe, At that point try turning the dough out onto a nonstick surface and bring the dough together with your hands (almost like kneading bread dough). Sometimes this helps finish up a thick cookie dough when you don’t have a stand mixer. Also take a look at how you measured your flour – always spoon and level, or weigh, instead of scooping dry ingredients so that you don’t end up with too much.
Hi Sally,
I suspect that these are not suitable for shipping, but am hoping that I am wrong. What do you think? Looking for cookies that I can ship to family members for Christmas. Thanks!
Hi Lisa! We only recommend letting these cookies sit at room temperature for up to two days. This post should have some good ideas for you and be helpful!
Made these, but with left over salted caramel I had from the salted caramel apple pie bars I made for Thanksgiving. Sooo good! Really compliments the spices in the gingerbread ❤️❤️❤️ Thanks Sally!
★★★★★
I am intrigued by your comment about using leftover salted caramel instead of chocolate Gamache. LOVE Sally’s salted caramel!! Since it was already made, did you warm it up prior to using or left as is? When done, any issues with stickiness or storing?
Hi Sally,
I am hoping to do these with colored ganache – would white chocolate with food coloring work well with these cookies? Would you recommend any adjustments to the cookie recipe? Thanks!
Hi Paige! Yes, that sounds like it would be a great combination!
I have rolling pins that have the design embossed on them. Would this be a good dough to get a design on?
Hi Sara! We haven’t tried an embossed rolling pin with these cookies, so we’re unsure of exactly how well it will hold the shape. After rolling and cutting the cookies, you may want to pop the dough back into the refrigerator for a bit to help “set” the design to hold better when baking. If you give it a try, we’d love to know how it goes!
My husband is not a dessert person (everyone has their flaws). When I asked him what cake he wanted me to make for his birthday he responded that he didn’t want a cake, he wanted cookies. So I made this recipe and used letter cookie cutters to spell out Happy Birthday and stuck candles in some of the cookies. The presentation was great and he asked me to make them again for Christmas. Thank you Sally.
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What a fun idea, Marie! So happy these sandwich cookies were a hit.
Hi Sally!
I have made gingerbread white chocolate thumbprint cookies in the past and love the flavor combination! I read in a previous comment that you would not recommend using white chocolate chips for the ganache for this recipe, but would you recommend a different type of white chocolate (bakers bar?) to substitute for semi-sweet chocolate? I would love to make half with semi-sweet, half with white if there’s a good way to do it! 🙂
Thank you!!
Carrie
Hi Carrie, You can use a white chocolate baking bar but since it’s softer you will need to reduce the amount of heavy cream. You can try using one 4oz bar of white chocolate with 1/3 C (80ml) of cream.
I have been staying in to keep my elderly Mother safe. Every day I let a family member pick a recipe from your website. Yesterday it was hohos for my Brother. Today is your cranberry scones for my Grandson. Tomorrow it’s Thin Mints for my Sister. You have been like a fairy that has helped me bring joy to my family. THANK YOU!
Hi Sally, I made these a couple of days ago and my daughter came over so we could decorate them together…we’ve always done standard cutout gingerbread cookies but these were a new take and THEY ARE DELICIOUSLY BEAUTIFUL!!!! thanks for another full-proof recipe. I used your Royal Icing recipe for decorating the cutouts we made. I used the tiny cutouts for mini cookies for my grandson, he loved them!!
Merry Christmas
★★★★★
My new favorite holiday cookie! Thank you for a great recipe and easy to follow instructions.
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Thank you so much for this recipe. I made them yesterday for a neighbourhood get together and they got eaten so quickly I didn’t get time to take a pic! The cookies got rave reviews and everyone loved them. The flavours were delish – chocolate and gingerbread – who knew they would taste so good together. I also appreciated your clear instructions as it made the process so much easier. One small tip for your fans – I baked up the cutouts left over from the “donut”, and put them in a small bowl in the center of the tray. A sweet tidbit! Thank you from Salt Spring Island, BC!!!
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Hi Sally, I have been following your blog for years and I can always rely on your recipes for a perfect result. I made two batches of these cookies for today’s cookie exchange at the office. I had a few people taste them and absolutely everybody loved it! My dough was quite soft although I had it in the fridge overnight (could be the high humidity here in Florida) but working with some flour to roll it out, they came out perfectly moist and tender. I am sure I will forward your site to many colleagues after today’s cookie exchange And thank you for recommending Aldi; I am a huge fan (since I come originally from Austria) and it is the best place to get your basic ingredients at a good price (with a fast check out as a bonus). Keep up the great work!
★★★★★
Hi Christine! I’m so glad you made these cookies AND that they were loved! They’re one of my favorites from this holiday season. Thank you in advance for sharing my site with others too. I appreciate that so much! Thank you for the kind comment. 🙂
I hope you love these! Happy baking 🙂
I made these cookies yesterday & they are absolutely lovely!!! I wasn’t sure about the gingerbread with chocolate combo but its so yummy. The cookies pack such great spice flavor that I even get a little kick of heat at the end from the ginger. And bonus they are so so pretty. Another winner!! Thanks Sally!!
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Thrilled you loved these! Thanks for your positive feedback 🙂
Hi Sally! I’m planning to make these for my Youth Group’s Christmas Party coming up this Friday, since everyone is supposed to bring a treat, and I love how the star and tree cut-out shape looks on these cookies! It’s very Christmas-y, and I was wondering if I could recreate this look if I carefully measured the cookies and cut out the shapes from paper and pressed it too half of the unbaked cookie rounds and used a very sharp knife to cut them out? I did this two years ago to create gingerbread men without a cookie cutter and just wanted to check if it would work here. Thanks!
Hi Sarah, It’s a pretty small shape to cut out with a knife but you certainly can! I hope your group loves them!
I pre made a batch of your soft ginger snap molasses cookies last week and it’s currently in my freezer. I just saw this recipe and would like to make it. Will it work if I substitute it with the dough for soft ginger’s molasses cookies?
Hi Sara! Unfortunately that cookie dough will not roll out to cut into shapes. I recommend sticking to the baking instructions for those– they’re best as drop cookies.
Hi Sally, is there a suitable alternative to liquid molasses? It’s hard to find in the UK
Thanks!
Hi Alice! None that will produce the same exact flavor and texture, unfortunately. Sorry!
Hi Alice! Black treacle will be somewhat similar, not quite, but worth trying, I think!
If the ganache is made with a chocolate bar vs. these chocolate chips, will it also dry and set so the cookies can be stacked? I know chocolate chips contain stabilizers and the chocolate bar doesn’t.
Yes! The ganache will thicken & set after a few hours if using pure chocolate or the recommended chocolate chips.
Hey Sally! I Already Commented But I Started The Cookies Now And Was Wondering Do These Chocolate Chips Come In The White Chocolate Variety? If So, Do You Think Those Could Be Used To Make A White Chocolate Ganache? Thank You!
Hi Kayla! I do not recommend using white chocolate chips for this ganache– stick with regular semi-sweet chocolate chips. White chocolate chips are a different texture and will create a very thin ganache. You’ll have to adjust the heavy cream amount.
Omg Sally! These Look So Good! I Love That You Have Unique Flavor Combos On Your Blog Like The Gingerbread Lemon Muffins! Apparently Gingerbread Goes With A LOT lol. Thanks For Another Great Recipe And I’m Excited To See What Other Recipes Cookie Palooza Has In Store!
Hi. Do you think I can use Nutella for the filling? Thanks
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Absolutely!
Hi Sally! Silly question – do you find that the confectioner’s sugar sets in/gets absorbed by the cookie at all or does it stay on top? I’m looking to make these a couple of days ahead of time so I’d love for them have that dusted sugar look when I bring them to the party.
Actually, no! These cookies aren’t moist like, say, muffins or cake, so the confectioners’ sugar does not seep into the tops or become absorbed. I made these a few days before serving them too. No one knew!
Can you substitute another brand of semi-sweet chips for the Aldi brand?
Hi Melodie, I recommend a pure chocolate baking bar. Pure chocolate is sold in 4 ounce bars in the baking aisle near the chocolate chips. For more information, here’s my chocolate ganache tutorial. 🙂
Hey, Sally!
I am going to be trying this recipe in two days’ time and wondered if I could half the recipe/ingredients to create 15 cookies?
Kind regards,
Shibani
Hi Shibani, that should work just fine!
Thank you so much for replying so quickly, Sally! I noticed your comment at the time and have been meaning to thank you – I ended up making the full amount in the end although I managed to get 34 cookies out of the dough! And they tasted AMAZING I love the subtle spicy kick the have to them that levels them up from normal gingerbread biscuits – I shared amongst friends who appreciated them just as much so thank you! ☺️
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Gingerbread Linzer Cookies, what a great idea, Sally!
How much does the chocolate ganache set when cooled completely? I’m unsure about that und was wondering how to store them without making a medium-sized mess, if the ganache stays rather soft and rubs off onto other cookies, making them somewhat chocolate-sticky…
Thanks in advance 🙂
Hi Sina! It sets after several hours. I stack them after it sets with no problem. 🙂