Thanksgiving Cookies II

Chewy Gingerbread Cookies with Crystallized Ginger + Macadamia Nuts. I'm a big chewy cookie fan, so I had to bake these cookies. I guess gingerbread may be more appropriate for X-mas, but there's no cookie discrimination here! Personally, I did not find my cookies super chewy, maybe because the candy & nuts made it chunky, which do contribute to the overall texture of a cookie. Because they didn't seem chewy enough for me, I slightly underbaked them, which may have helped a little bit. Plus my oven was misbehaving & fluctuating greatly in temperature range. The gingerbread flavor is definitely strong & the aroma of holiday spices filled our house! I'm ready for Christmas baking, bring it on!

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Chewy Gingerbread Cookies
1 1/2 cup + 1 tblspn AP flour
1 1/4 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 tblspn cocoa powder

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature
1 tblspn freshly grated ginger

1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup unsulfured molasses
1 tsp baking soda + 1 1/2 tsp boiling H2O

1/3 cup crystallized ginger candy, chopped into small pieces
1/2 cup macadamia nuts, toasted & coarsely chopped

1/4 cup granulated/coarse sugar

• Chop ginger & toasted macadamia nuts; set aside.
  
• In a medium bowl, sift together flour, ground ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, & cocoa.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter & grated ginger until whitened, about 4 minutes.
  
• Add brown sugar; beat until combined. Add molasses; beat until combined.
• In a small bowl, dissolve baking soda in 1 1/2 teaspoons boiling water.
  
• Beat half of flour mixture into butter mixture.
• Beat in baking-soda mixture.
  
• Then remaining half of flour mixture.
  
• Fold in ginger candy & nuts; turn out onto a piece of plastic wrap.
  
• Pat dough out to about 1 inch thick; seal with plastic wrap; refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours.
• Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
  
• Roll dough into 2-inch balls; place 2 1/2 inches apart on baking sheets. Refrigerate 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, preheat oven to 325 degrees.
  
• Roll dough balls in granulated sugar & return to baking sheet.
  
• Transfer to oven & bake until surfaces crack slightly, about 15 - 18 minutes.
  
• Let cool 5 minutes; transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
• Makes ~24 cookies

**My boyfriend's grandfather called me Thanksgiving night to tell me how much he enjoyed these...it's always rewarding to get positive feedback.