Oh, Merry Christmas to everyone! A few weeks ago I met the kitchen writer at a new freelancing job, and she used to work for Martha Stewart. She said this was the best cookie recipe ever produced in the MS kitchens, and she happened to have a stack of these made for a cookie swap. AND SHE SHARED THEM. She is good people. And these cookies were eyes-roll-back-in-your-head amazing. I couldn’t stop thinking about them, and it’s been a long time since a recipe has stuck with me like that.

I’ve made them twice now. The first time I was a little heavy-handed with the molasses, and they were a little too smoky. But I made them again to pack away into gifts for H’s therapists, and the second time…they were everything amazing and magical that I remembered. We’re leaving a plate of them out for Santa tonight, and Santa will love us forever. Happy holidays to everyone who loves things that are delicious!

7 ounces best-quality semisweet chocolate
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1/2 cup packed dark-brown sugar
1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
1 1/2 cups plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
1 1/4 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 cup unsulfured molasses
1/4 cup granulated sugar

Chop chocolate into 1/4-inch chunks; set aside. In a small bowl, dissolve baking soda in 1 1/2 teaspoons boiling water; set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter with brown sugar until combined. Add fresh ginger and mix until combined. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, cocoa, ground ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg. Slowly add to butter mixture, mixing until well combined.

Add baking soda mixture and molasses; mix to combine. Stir in chocolate; Transfer to refrigerator. Refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours.
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Using a 2-inch ice cream scoop, scoop dough onto baking sheet, 2 1/2 inches apart.

Refrigerate 20 minutes. Roll dough balls in granulated sugar and return to baking sheets.

Transfer to oven and bake until surfaces crack slightly, about 18 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes; transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.