As many of you know, Ray and I don’t eat refined white sugar. Therefore, I am always on the lookout for great recipes for cookies, cakes and pies that turn out well when I substitute the sweeteners we do eat: honey, maple syrup, maple sugar, agave syrup or fruit juice. This particular recipe is adapted from one I found on Martha Stewart’s website: https://www.marthastewart.com/1544437/chocolate-spice-cookies. Her recipe calls for brown sugar for the cookie dough and also has a frosting with confectioners sugar, butter and either Cointreau or strained orange juice. I substituted maple sugar and agave syrup for the brown sugar in the cookie dough and left off the icing. Martha’s recipe also calls for a cookie stamp, which I didn’t use. Instead, I just made round drop cookies.
These are perfect cookies to couple with a cup of hot tea or coffee. They are rich and satisfying. They also look as if they would store well for a few days so you could make them ahead or give them as gifts. I will definitely be adding them to my favorite cookie file to bake many times in the future.
Ingredients
Cookies
- 1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons Dutch-process cocoa powder
- 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
- 3/4 cup packed light-brown sugar (I used 1 cup maple sugar and 1/3 cup agave syrup instead since I didn’t make a frosting, which would add a lot of sweetness.)
- 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger (from a 2-inch piece) (I used 2 tablespoons of fresh ginger, which added a lot of flavor)
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 large egg, room temperature
Directions
- Step 1
Cookies: Preheat oven to 375°F. Whisk together flour, cocoa, salt, ground ginger, cinnamon, and cloves. In a large bowl, beat butter with brown sugar (or maple sugar & agave syrup), fresh ginger, and baking soda until creamy. Add egg; beat to combine. Reduce speed to low; beat in flour mixture.
- Step 2
Scoop a hefty tablespoon of cookie dough and place on parchment paper on cookie sheet. Place three cookies on each row, arranging cookies 2 inches apart. Give each cookie a light sprinkle of maple sugar.
- Step 3
Bake until firm to the touch, 11 to 13 minutes.
- Yield: 15 – 20 cookies
Be sure and let me know if you make these cookies. I love hearing how other people fare when they are trying one of the recipes I recommend.
Happy baking!
20 Minutes a Day 