Dark Chocolate Gingersnaps

    Over Thai food one night last week, my friend Kim and I were discussing food.  Now I should mention that Kim loves food, but doesn't cook very well.  I should also mention that we've been friends for years and I've never made her anything, which normally doesn't happen and I'm not sure how it did manage to happen.  I guess I can only blame it on us knowing each other during our undergraduate years when it was hard to bake cookies without an oven and the heating pipes didn't really get hot enough to cook anything.  So poor Kim is one of my few friends to gets to hear all about my great cooking but has yet to taste anything I've made.  Well, that ended this past week.  As we sat savoring our Thai, Mee Ka Ti for me and Pad Thai for her, we began discussing cookies.  Our conversation went a bit like this:
  Kim: I like hard cookies
  Me: what?!?!
  Kim: I like hard cookies; cookies that are hard, rock solid, crunchy.  I HATE soft cookies, their texture creeps me out.
  Me: Really? followed by a shocked look
  Kim: Yeah, so now what kind of cookies are you going to make me?
From that point on our discussion consisted of what kind of cookies constituted hard cookies.  She mentioned molasses cookies that her mom would leave in the oven a little long and then let set out all night as one of her favorite kinds.  Super crisp gingersnaps also ranked up there, as did overly done and left out chocolate chip cookies.  I was stunned, but figured why not, it would be a cookie challenge for me to invent something that was crisp, delicious and as close to a rock as humanly possible. 

   I went home that night and started racking my brain for cookie recipes that would work.  That night, in my sleep (no kidding, sometimes I dream up recipes in my sleep) I decided on chocolate gingersnap cookies.  The next morning just happened to be my morning off and so I decided to play around with one of my gingersnap cookie recipes, figuring that it might take me three or four tries to make something edible.  As I was mixing up the batter, I went to grab the cocoa powder out of my pantry, I was suddenly struck by the idea to use dark chocolate cocoa powder instead of milk chocolate cocoa powder.  I figured that the dark, sweet chocolate would be a wonderful foil for the spicy, clove, cinnamon foil of the gingersnap cookie.  With no idea how much to add or what other adjustments to make, I began playing about with proportions and spice ratios.  The recipe that emerges is a chocolaty, spicy, cookie with a lot of snap.  Kim was delighted and ate six within the first ten minutes of receiving them.  Needless to say, give these a shot, I'm sure your family will love them.  Also, they make your house smell AMAZING, so I highly advise baking them when you have friends coming over or just need the house to smell like chocolate and spice.  If you're not into hard cookie, I would not squash them flat with a glass and I would also cook them for less time.  Either way you like your cookies, these are definitely a winner in my book and will become a cookie regular. 

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon ground cloves
2 teaspoons of ground ginger
2 Tablespoons of dark cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/4 cups packed dark-brown sugar
1/4 cup unsulfured molasses
1 large egg
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, dark cocoa powder, and salt; set aside.

In a large bowl, beat butter, brown sugar, and molasses on medium-high speed until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg until smooth and combined. Add flour mixture, and beat on low until just combined. Transfer dough to a bowl and wrap in plastic; refrigerate until well chilled, about 1 hour or overnight.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F, with racks in the center and lower third. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Place granulated sugar and cinnamon in a shallow bowl; roll balls in sugar until completely coated, and place about 2 inches apart on the prepared sheets and then smash with the flat end of a glass until they are 1/3 inch thick or to your desired thickness.

Bake until cookies are deep golden all over and centers are firm, 15-18 but for the crispier cookies I baked for 20 minutes.  Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.