It is cookie making week in my home.  Woo Hoo!

Making and decorating cookies together is one of our favorite family traditions.  It’s usually messy and someone inevitably eats too many of the decorations, but it’s the things family memories are made of.

This little cookie will be part of our dessert table this Christmas.  I really love the combination of chocolate and gingerbread, and this cookie has just the right balance of the two.  It’s a little sweet and bit spicy…but not too much of either.  They are very easy to make, and surprisingly, the small amount of dough that is made from the recipe below produces just about 2 dozen cookies…not too many, not too few.  I also really like the texture of these little gems.  The outside has a little crunch, but the inside is soft and smooth.  Don’t need a gluten free cookie?  Simply substitute an equal amount of your favorite wheat-based flour for identical results.

Gluten Free Chocolate Gingerbread Snowball Cookies
Yields 22 cookies

4 tablespoons butter, salted
2 tablespoons molasses
1/2 cup coconut sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 cup gluten free flour (I use Bob’s 1-to-1 Gluten Free Flour Blend)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 cup finely chopped crystallized ginger
1/3 cup milk chocolate chips
1 tablespoon almond milk

1 cup sifted powdered sugar

 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter until smooth.  Add in the molasses and coconut sugar and cream together until well incorporated.

In a separate bowl sift together the cocoa powder, flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ground ginger, cloves, and nutmeg.  Gradually add the dry ingredients into the wet, mixing until combined.

Add in the finely chopped crystallized ginger, chocolate chips, and almond milk.  Mix together until the dough comes together into one ball and easily holds together.

Using a one tablespoon sized spring loaded cookie scoop, scoop out level tablespoons of dough.  Roll the dough between the palms of your hands to form a ball.  Place the dough onto the baking sheet, leaving 1 inch of space between the cookies.

Bake for 8 minutes.

Allow the cookies to sit on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.

Allow the cookies to cool completely.

Sift one cup of powdered sugar into a small bowl.

Roll each cookie in the powdered sugar and coat thoroughly.