Soft Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies are the perfect holiday cookie! They’re a great blend of chocolate and gingerbread flavors, with a chocolate star in the middle, and they keep their soft and chewy texture for days. 

Soft Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies - close picture of cookies stacked together on a plate | From SugarHero.com
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I first shared this recipe four years ago, and since then, these cookies have become a yearly tradition with my family. This year, I’ve updated the post with bigger photos and a video recipe showing how to make them. I hope you’ll check out the video showing how it’s done, and then try them yourself–I know you’ll love them!

Put down the cookbooks! I have found the perfect Christmas cookie. Bold words, I know. But hear me out.

First of all, they’re cute. Some might even say “cute as a button.”

Second, they’re packed with holiday flavors like cinnamon, ginger, molasses, chocolate (chocolate is an every-time flavor!), and orange zest.

Third, one batch make a ton—about 5 dozen cookies. That’s going to go a long way toward filling holes in your cookie plates!

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Soft Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies - close-up of cookies | From SugarHero.com

And finally, these cookies have the most desirable holiday trait of all, which is that they stay moist for a crazy long amount of time. Like, a week later, after being stored at room temperature in a plastic tub, they’re still soft and delicious with nary a stale crumb. If I didn’t make them myself, I would suspect preservative shenanigans.

But I did make them myself, and I practically ate all of them myself, so I can vouch for the stay-softiness, and easy-of-makingness, and just general deliciousness of these cookies.

Soft Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies - cookies tumbling out of a gift box | From SugarHero.com

They may not look like the fanciest cookie—in fact, Jason said several times, with an almost insulting amount of surprise in his voice, “Wow, these taste way better than they look!”*—but they do have a certain sweet charm to them, especially when topped with a star-shaped chocolate button. I used Brach’s milk chocolate stars, which can usually be found in the Baking aisle around the holidays. If you can’t find them, then unwrapped Hershey’s kisses would be a good substitute.

*A classic example of the complisult, the love child of a compliment and insult. Hurts so good! However, Jason does an unholy amount of dishes for me, so he gets a complisult pass every now and then.

Soft Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies - close-up of cookie with a bite taken out of it | From SugarHero.com

The flavor of these cookies is heavy on the gingerbread, and lighter on the chocolate. I based them on a gingersnap molasses cookie recipe from Sally’s Baking Addiction, but added cocoa to the dough, as well as a little orange zest. The orange may seem out of place, but I think it ties together the ginger and chocolate elements, while adding a light, fresh flavor that keeps the ginger taste from becoming too intense. If you’re suspicious, you’re welcome to leave it out…but really…don’t you trust me?

And thus ends the quest for the perfect holiday cookie. Now you’ll just have to take all that time you were going to spend testing recipes and devote it to online shopping instead. You’re welcome!

P.S. Just can’t get enough of that chocolate-gingerbread flavor combination? You’ve got to try these Gingerbread Chocolate Chip Cookies!

 ❤️ MUST-MAKE CHRISTMAS RECIPES:

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Gingerbread Cheesecake

This Gingerbread Cheesecake features a spice filling nestled on top of a gingersnap cookie crust and topped with swirls of whipped cream and adorable gingerbread men cookies. It’s perfect for a holiday gathering!
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Three Gingerbread Chocolate Chip Cookies on an embossed white plate.

Gingerbread Chocolate Chip Cookies

Gingerbread Chocolate Chip Cookies are a holiday twist on an old familiar favorite! Classic chocolate chip cookies are filled with cozy flavors like molasses, ginger, and other spices. These are guaranteed to be the new favorite on your holiday cookie plate. 
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Soft Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies on a white plate.

Soft Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies

4.34 from 3 votes
This is the perfect Christmas cookie! It’s packed with gingerbread flavor, but with a chocolate twist and a big chocolate button in the center.
Prep10 minutes
Cook8 minutes
Total18 minutes
Yields60 cookies

Ingredients

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Instructions 

  • In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, all spices, and salt. Set aside for a moment.
  • Place the unsalted butter and both sugars in the large bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Beat them together on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 1 minute.
  • Add the molasses, egg, vanilla extract, and orange zest, and beat until well-mixed. The mixture might look a little broken at this point. Stop the mixer and add the dry ingredients. Mix on low speed until just a few streaks of flour remain. Finish mixing by hand, scraping the bottom and sides of the bowl well with a spatula.
  • Turn the dough out onto a piece of cling wrap, and wrap it well. Chill for at least 2 hours, preferably overnight.
  • Preheat the oven to 350 F. Pour some granulated sugar into a shallow bowl. Roll the chilled cookie dough into small 1-inch balls and roll the balls in granulated sugar. Place them 2 inches apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake at 350 F for 7-8 minutes, until puffed and dry in the center, but still soft.
  • Remove the tray from the oven, and immediately press a chocolate star or unwrapped chocolate kiss into the center of each cookie. Let them cool completely on the baking sheet. These cookies keep amazingly well and, if stored in an airtight container at room temperature, will be soft and moist for up to a week after baking.

Video

Recipe Notes

These cookies are adapted from the Soft Gingerbread Cookies from Sally’s Baking Addiction. 

Measuring Tips

Our recipes are developed using weight measurements, and we highly recommend using a kitchen scale for baking whenever possible. However, if you prefer to use cups, volume measurements are provided as well. PLEASE NOTE: the adage “8 oz = 1 cup” is NOT true when speaking about weight, so don’t be concerned if the measurements don’t fit this formula.

Want to learn more about baking measurements and conversion?

Nutrition

Serving: 60g | Calories: 63kcal | Carbohydrates: 9g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 8mg | Sodium: 53mg | Potassium: 48mg | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 75IU | Calcium: 10mg | Iron: 0.5mg
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Meet Elizabeth!

Hi, I’m Elizabeth — a trained pastry chef, cookbook author, video instructor, and your new Baking BFF! I’m going to teach you everything you need to know to be a sugar hero. ❤️

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4.34 from 3 votes

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56 Comments

  1. Yeah, I’m also gonna join the “whatevs Jason, you cray” chorus. These are pretty, pretty, pretty little pretties.

    And you know I love orange zest in everything! These are so up my alley.

    1. I think he’s just spoiled. 🙂 Too used to painstakingly handcrafted desserts to recognize a perfectly decent cookie when he sees it.

      I know this is your jam–just need to add some fresh herbs and booze and you’d be in heaven!

  2. I absolutely love chocolate with spices. It combines the best of both worlds for a holiday cookie. These sound SO good, not to mention they’re pretty and seem very sturdy…a perfect holiday cookie for sure! I think it must be the orange zest that keeps them moist. hehehe, a complisult 🙂

    1. Thanks Amy! I think I stole “complisult” from Community, which also gave us the gem “explanabrag.” (Explanation + bragging…I think we all have friends who are experts in this, right?)

  3. Oh wow these look so soft and delicious! I really like that you added the orange zest – I’ve been using it a lot more lately and can’t get enough! Have a great weekend!

  4. They certainly do look like the perfect Christmas cookie! I’ve never seen gingerbread AND chocolate together but it looks like a match made in heaven!