I would never have made these cookies, had I not first made those amazing Gingerbread Pear Muffins. 
When I tasted the bittersweet chocolate with the gingerbread muffin, I knew I had been translated to heaven. So when I saw this recipe, combining gingerbread with the bittersweet chocolate once again, I knew I would like them. And I do. They're not as heavenly as the gingerbread pear muffins that will probably be my lifelong top fave of everything. But these are very good. Do be careful not to overbake them, or you'll have dry gingerbread. For the holidays, the size is perfect: small (2") cookies, with crispy edges and soft middles. Cherries and 
chocolate are perfect complements for sweet gingerbread.
When I tasted the bittersweet chocolate with the gingerbread muffin, I knew I had been translated to heaven. So when I saw this recipe, combining gingerbread with the bittersweet chocolate once again, I knew I would like them. And I do. They're not as heavenly as the gingerbread pear muffins that will probably be my lifelong top fave of everything. But these are very good. Do be careful not to overbake them, or you'll have dry gingerbread. For the holidays, the size is perfect: small (2") cookies, with crispy edges and soft middles. Cherries and 
chocolate are perfect complements for sweet gingerbread. I halved the recipe to get seventeen 2" cookies. If you want to make the full recipe, you can find it at the Better Homes & Gardens website. Following is my slightly adapted version of this great holiday cookie recipe.
Chocolate Gingerbread Drops
Chocolate Gingerbread Drops
Adapted from Better Homes & Gardens
Rating: 9 out of 10
INGREDIENTS:
1/4 cup Smart Balance 50/50 Butter Blend (or butter or shortening)1/4 + 1/8 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp. powdered ginger
1/2 tsp. allspice
1/8 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. molasses
1/2 egg (2 tsp.)
1/4 + 1/8 tsp. baking soda
1 cup all-purpose flour, lightly spooned
1/4 cup dried cherries
1-1/2 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped
2 Tbsp. crystallized ginger
Preheat oven to 375F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In large mixing bowl, by hand, beat Smart Balance till smooth. Add brown sugar, spices, salt and molasses and continue to beat till again smooth. Beat in egg and baking soda till smooth. Stir in flour, cherries, chocolate and crystallized ginger. Drop dough by rounded teaspoons onto prepared cookie sheets. Bake about 6-8 minutes, or till just barely done. (Test cookies with a toothpick inserted in cookie -- not into chocolate -- when it returns with just a few crumbs, cookies should be removed from oven.) Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool. Yield: 17 two-inch cookies
Store in airtight container at room temperature up to 3 days. Freeze up to 3 months.
2 comments:
At first I thought that read, "two 17-inch cookies" and I thought, wow, those are huge!!!
Those look delicious though! I feel like there's a large amount of people who don't appreciate gingerbread. I did a quick consensus of my family and friends and was surprised to find out that most of them dislike gingerbread which I thought was really strange! I love gingerbread!
MC - I'm not a huge gingerbread fan myself. In fact I never think about making gingerbread; it just doesn't excite me. But the gingerbread pear muffins made me look at gingerbread differently. They are so amazing -- moist, sweet, with the pear slice and the bittersweet chocolate. Check it out on my category list. That's what made me make these -- and they're worth making. The bittersweet chocolate and the cherries go so well with the gingerbread.
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