Ginger Cookies with Chocolate Filling

IMG_5047This entire holiday season, I’ve been dreaming of a particular type of ginger cookie. The soft, pillowy kind that you could take a nap in. Or just eat a lot of. I found a recipe for “Soft Vegan Ginger Cookies” on Joy the Baker and since I trust everything she does, I knew these had to be great. I also believe that all desserts should be as close to a molten lava cake as possible, so these happen to have an ooey gooey chocolate surprise waiting for you at the center! They’re also vegan and relatively healthy, as well as tasty. So you can eat a billion! Sweet.

The easy part is making the dough. The hard part is waiting an hour for the dough to firm up in the refrigerator. The fun part is stuffing them with chocolate…
steps to cookie…and rolling them in sugar.steps to cookie2It’s like stuffing a turkey at Thanksgiving, but people expect there to be stuffing in there, whereas here, they don’t see it coming. They don’t really change shape, so make sure you flatten them out before popping into the oven. Kind of like giving them a slow, horizontal high five. You could easily make these in the original version without the chocolate in the middle, but I think it adds a nice touch, and the chocolate and ginger flavors play nicely together.

They harden up a bit after cooling, so make sure not to overbake. And when you’ve gotten over feeling full from the first 5 cookies and want more, stick them in the microwave for just a short bit (13 seconds worked perfectly for me) and they taste just like they did when they first came out of the oven- which is soft, perfectly gingery, and so delicious.
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Ginger Cookies with Chocolate Filling adapted from Organic and Chic Cookbook via Joy the Baker

Makes ~28 cookies

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

1/2 cup crushed ginger snaps

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp ginger

1 cup sugar

2 Tbsp ground flaxseed

1/2 cup applesauce

1/4 cup canola or vegetable oil

1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

1/4 cup sugar to roll the cookie balls in

approx. 1/4 cup chocolate chips (use vegan ones if you’re sticking with the vegan theme

In a large bowl, combine all the dry ingredients except for the sugar and flaxseed (flour x2, crushed ginger snaps, baking powder and baking soda, salt, ginger). In a separate bowl, combine the ground flaxseed, sugar, oil, applesauce, and lemon juice.

Add the wet mixture into the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Started off with a spoon, but eventually turned to using my hands for optimal squishiness and mixing. Highly recommended. When dough forms, wrap it in plastic wrap in a disc-like shape and refrigerate for 1 hour.

When the dough is chilled, remove it and preheat the oven to 350℉, lining 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Break off little pieces of the dough and roll into walnut-sized balls. Poke a hole in the middle and fill with 4-5 chocolate chips. Form the balls back into shape and roll in granulated sugar. Place on baking sheet and use your palm to slightly flatten the dough ball.

Bake for 15-18 minutes, until the edges are slightly golden but the cookies are still a bit soft in the middle. Cool on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes before nomming. Enjoy!


IMG_5057 …I sat at my kitchen table with the entire plate of cookies and went through about 7 to get a good picture of the gooey chocolate innards. Oops but nom.