I have this little crush on cookies. Not the coy kind of crush that lends itself to sweet little nibbles and quiet, playful stares. No, the kind that leads you into in a closet by yourself where you compulsively eat 15 cookies before coming to the realization of what just happened. Yeah, that kind of crush; the 7-minutes in heaven type.
I also have a wee little crush on Joy the Baker. So when she posted a recipe recently for ginger walnut chocolate blondies, I started drooling all over the keyboard and simultaneously kneeling down of my computer with arms raised chanting, “All hail Joy! All hail Joy!” Or something like that.
And then I promptly scuttled off to the kitchen to figure out how to candy ginger and then pump it into cookies – bite-sized pillowy little clouds of butter-infused goodness. Come to mama.
It turns out candying ginger isn’t that difficult. DON’T LISTEN TO WHAT ANYONE ELSE SAYS.
All you need is some fresh ginger, sugar, water and patience.
Chop, boil, simmer, dry, and coat in sugar – it’s as simple as that.
Then throw the little gems into cookie batter and wait anxiously as they cook to perfection in the oven.
See that bite right there? Down there? It took all the self control in my cookie-loving body not to inhale that entire thing along with the other half dozen on the rack. I mean, candied ginger and sea salt chocolate chip cookies? COME ON.
If you’re a fan of ginger, you must make these cookies.
If you’re not a fan of ginger, you must make these cookies.
Trust me, you might just fall in love. My unassuming coworkers wolfed down the entire bag I set out in the break room with nothing more than a suspicious hot pink sticky note vaguely indicating what they were. Project mystery cookie drop, SUCCESS.
Note: Recipe updated 10/29/2019 for improved texture.
Candied Ginger & Sea Salt Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
COOKIES
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp ground ginger
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 stick butter (softened)
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup brown sugar (packed)
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 cup sea salt dark chocolate (chopped* // or sub dark chocolate chips)
- 1/4 cup candied ginger (chopped*)
CANDIED GINGER
- 4-5 small-medium pieces fresh ginger
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup sugar
Instructions
- To candy ginger, peel and thinly slice fresh ginger, then add to a saucepan with equal parts water and sugar. Bring the mixture to a boil then reduce to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes.
- Next, drain and place ginger on a plate or other flat surface to dry, preferably overnight but at least 5-6 hours. Lastly, toss in white sugar.
- To make the cookies, preheat oven to 350 degrees F (176 C).
- Cream butter and sugars together. Then add egg and vanilla and mix again.
- Add dry ingredients to a sifter or fine mesh strainer and sift over the wet ingredients. Then mix. Lastly, fold in chocolate chunks and chopped candied ginger. Cover and chill the batter for 20-30 minutes while the oven is preheating.
- Scoop chilled dough into rounded 1 Tbsp balls (we like this cookie scoop) and place on cookie sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until set in the middle – they should hardly be brown.
- Leave on the tray for a few minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. Store in an air-tight container or bag for up to 4 days. Alternatively, place in freezer to store longer.
Notes
*Alternatively, buy candied ginger at the store, although making it is fun and much cheaper.
*Questions about substitutions, equipment, or troubleshooting? Check out our Recipe FAQ page.
*Nutrition information is a rough estimate.
erin says
… modify… the ratio is as per my second batch…I hope this helps.
1/3 c white sugar
1/2 packed brown sugar
1tsp soda
I egg
add 1/4 c molasses
1 stick butter
2 cup flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp powdered ginger
1/4 cup chopped stem ginger in syrup
roll into balls and roll into 1/4 cup sugar and chopped pure chocolate chunks and Himalayan salt
ENJOY!
Thanks for sharing, Erin!
Mary B-MacL says
I made these today using flax and vegan spread, and I made them quite large. They were probably the best vegan cookie I’ve ever made. thick chewy and very delicious. The only thing I think I would do different is to use a bridging spice to help bring the chocolate and the ginger together maybe a touch of cinnamon, thanks!!
Love the idea of adding cinnamon, Mary! Thank you so much for the lovely review! xo
The Vegan Goddess says
I would love to try this and switch it to a GF VG recipe.
I am thinking of swapping:
– your GF AP flour for regular flour;
– apple sauce or coconut oil for butter;
– coconut sugar for regular sugar;
– flax egg or “scant 1/4 cup pumpkin puree for egg”;
– more coconut sugar or date sugar for brown sugar?
Thoughts?
Hi, we think they will turn out more tender and less crispy with those modifications, but might be okay in terms of flavor! We’d suggest the flax egg and maybe using more GF flour as needed to achieve the right consistency. Let us know how they turn out!
The Vegan Goddess says
Even better, I could make your GF VG chocolate chip cookies and add candied ginger to them. : )
Sounds yummy! Let us know how it goes! xo
kia says
I just made these cookies and they were OUTSTANDING! And I had to leave a review because I so appreciate other’s reviews for finding great recipes. I’m a ginger fanatic and put that with chocolate and sea salt, and I am so in! I completely agree with the comment on “making the homemade candied ginger”, it was easy, definitely fun, and made such a difference. Its certainly not an essential but really did add that lil “extra” ooomph. These cookies were gone in one sitting and already requested for our next event. Thank you so much for another terrific recipe, so very appreciated. (I already passed the recipe along to 2 friends as well!) :)
Lovely! Thanks for sharing, Kia!!
Lora says
I found the baking soda flavour overpowering and it outshined the ginger. I like a more powerful ginger flavour. But, it did inspire me to just add chocolate chips to the soft ginger cookie recipe I usually make from epicurious. They also have cyrstalized ginger in them. This is why we try new things. Thanks for the inspiration!
Hi Lora, sorry to hear that was your experience! We’ve heard that baking soda can taste more bitter to some people than others. We wonder if reducing the baking soda to 1/4 tsp and increasing the ground and/or candied ginger would be preferred? Better luck with the next one!
Dorothy says
I made these cookies last Christmas and LOVED them! This year I am only baking vegan, so I’ll need to replace the egg. Do you know if a flax egg would work for this recipe?
That should work!
Elaine says
I added pecans to my first batch and walnuts to my second batch, and I used candied/crystalized ginger from Whole Foods bulk aisle. I took each batch to a different event, and at both, they disappeared like lightning. Delicious!
Lora says
Good idea!
Elaine says
Great recipe. I made the cookies for New Year’s Eve party. They disappeared like lightning. Making them again today for another event. I used the basic recipe but added 1/3 cup chopped pecans. I bought the candied/crystalized ginger from the Whole Foods bulk aisle—just a bit over the amount called for in the recipe, delicious, and already cut into small pieces, it cost only $1.15, with no leftovers. Ditto the pecans.
Thanks so much for the lovely review, Elaine. We are so glad you enjoyed them! Next time, would you mind leaving a rating with your review? It’s super helpful for us and other readers. Thanks so much! Xo
hana says
I made these and they were absolutely delectable! I wanted them vegan, so I used a vegan butter stick and one flax egg. We didn’t have dried ginger, so we just put in a little bit of fresh ginger, about 1/4 of a teaspoon (we didn’t want too much moisture, so be careful!)
Anyways, they turned out great! They tasted perfect and are not too big, which is nice when you’re craving something a little sweet. Perfect perfect perfect!
Whoop! Thanks for sharing, Hana!
Jules says
can you tell me how much candied ginger you would use if using store bought? (I already have some and is why I sought out a recipe to use it)
1/4 cup
Connie says
These are delicious! I made the recipe as written except added some chopped walnuts as well. They came out perfect and will be making them again soon. Thanks for sharing it with us.
Whoop! Thanks for sharing, Connie!
Heidi says
I want to make these but would need to replace the butter as I can not have dairy. Do you have any suggestions? If vegan butter, what kind? Thank you.
Rachel says
Agreed! Mine also turned out flat. I am so confused by all of the people saying that theirs turned out great!
Hi Rachel, thank you for your feedback and sorry to hear yours turned out flat! We have retested and modified the recipe to address this issue. Better luck next time!
betty says
Well, I kept going without changing the recipe and they aren’t working out. The dough seemed a little better after adding the chocolate and ginger. But they turned out flat, so you can’t cook the center at all without browning the edges. I have a Sazarac cookie recipe that does turn out rounded with no to little browning and it uses 1 and 3/4 cup of flour. That’s for 24 cookies. This recipe is for 30 cookies. I think there’s just something wrong with the dry vs. wet proportions.
Hana says
I agree. I followed the recipe and mine came out flat. I think 1 cup of flour to 1/2 a stick of butter is not right.
Next time I’d bump up the flour to 2 cups. (Or decrease the amount of butter).
I loved the potential of the cookie… the flavor was so delicious!
Jenna says
I agree I think the ratio is off, I found mine to be a bit greasy and were much flatter than the picture
Hi there! I haven’t made this recipe in quite some time and am not sure what might be off with the ratios. But, I’ll give it a test and see if we can make improvements!
Hi Jenna, We have retested and modified the recipe to address the issues you were having. Better luck next time!
Katelyn says
Thoughts on keeping the liquid from the candied ginger for simple syrup? I am thinking about keeping it for a week or so and maybe making a cocktail but not sure if it has cooked too long or anything like that. Thanks!!! Cant wait to try these cookies
Carly says
Delicious! Cookies typically don’t turn out for me, but these were so simple and turned out perfectly. I baked for 11 minutes and the cookies turned out a lovely brown and slightly chewy. Dana’s baking recipes are always awesome. :)
Joel says
Hello, Qs: re making candied ginger: by ‘small to medium piece’ of ginger, do you mean thumbs, or larger? Also, ‘lastly, toss in white sugar = to coat candied ginger & not portion of specified 1 c.?
Thnx!
Thumb-size should work! As for the white sugar, just enough to coat the ginger!
Shaili Parekh says
I will say, this recipe made 18 cookies for me, not 30.
Delicious though.
April says
You’re right, making candied ginger was crazy easy. I made tons of these cookies and gave them to friends as little Christmas gifts this year. I will vouch for the fact that even people like my partner who aren’t crazy about ginger, love these.
Alyssa says
Hi! I just made these cookies, and while they are delicious, they turned out a different consistency/texture than yours that are pictured! They are much flatter… any thoughts on what to do differently next time? Should I have refrigerated the dough?
Dawn says
Simply amazing! Two of my favorite things in the world dark chocolate and candied ginger!
Abi says
Hi, may I know if there is a mistake in the ingredients?
It says
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar, packed
and then 1 cup sugar again?
What’s the difference between the 1/3 cup and the 1 cup? thanks :)
Kate says
The 1/3 is for the cookie, the 1 cup is for the candied ginger.
Debbie Clark says
Please tell, just how much candied ginger to I need to add to the recipe?
I have purchased ginger chocolate chip cookies and an anxious to these!
Chelsie says
Challenge: What would you do to replace the egg to make these vegan but keep the same great texture you have here? I am pretty skilled in making pretty much all recipes vegan and for other cookies I replace the eggs with a chia egg, flax egg or add things like arrowroot and I almost always have luck but creating a vegan chocolate chip cookie continues to stoop me! One chia egg (3 tbsp water & 1 tbsp chia) did NOT work. These became a runny mess all over my cutting board… I’m going to continue to experiment but let me know if you a tip!
Chelsie says
And by cutting board… I mean baking sheet…
Gabrielle says
Did replacing the egg with pumpkin puree work? I’m vegan also and would love to try these out if it did!
Carol says
Just wondering what you replaced the butter with. There is a fair bit of butter in this recipe. I have had good success making chocolate chip cookies with a flax egg.
I would recommend replacing the egg with scant 1/4 cup pumpkin puree!
Frankie says
I know this website provides quality based content aand other data,is there any other web page which gives
these data in quality?
Alanna says
I never thought to candy my own ginger, or put it in chocolate chip cookies. Mind=blown. These look like the perfect thick, chewy chocolate chip cookies, too. I can imagine how good the spicy ginger tastes against dark chocolate. Mmm…
Ruth F. says
Made these at Christmas and twice since, (it’s mid- Feb.) and they’ve become a great favorite. I added an additional Tablespoon of flour for more crunch and a handful of chopped walnuts. Used chocolate chips and coarse sea salt broken up with a pestle. I like the yield- makes two cookie sheets worth and makes up quickly. The tiny pops of sea salt with the dark chocolate and bits of ginger are wonderful. Made them today in the early hours of a mammoth snow storm. The house smells so good…candles, cards, good books, great cookies and a pot of chili. Winter, do your worst!
Carrie R says
I just found 4 packages of Trader Joes candied ginger in my cupboards when I moved. I will be making these tomorrow when I pick up some chocolate!
Beth says
I’ve made these cookies several times and posted them on my blog. They are PHENOMENAL! Kudos!
Seth says
I’m making these for an end of the world potluck tomorrow. There was outcry for one of my old standbye party recipes (black bean brownies), but I’m mixing it up with these–end of the world and all. These look like a great way to combine rest-of-the-year cooking with gingery holiday zest. I’m excited and will post back how they turned out.
Alexandra says
These cookies look out of this world. I totally know what you mean about having a love affair with cookies. I look forward to the fall and winter seasons so I have an excuse to make cookies for family parties.
Angie@Angie's Recipes says
These cookies look fabulous. I love the addition of candied ginger in these chocolate cookies.
Hannah says
I made these in my dorm kitchen yesterday and they were delicious. Thanks for the great recipe! I made a lot of extra candied ginger too, and have been snacking on it…so perfect and so much fun to make.
Cinnamon says
Oh! Ohhhhhhh?! I <3 the ginger/choco combo! This is dangerous. I'm fully addicted to the frappe, and now I'm scared of what's going to happen if I try these.
Laura @ LauraLikesDesign says
Ah, everything you make looks and sounds better than the last!
Katie says
Have I told you how much I adore this simple little blog of yours?! I adore it. A lot.
Heather says
I like your style. These look fabulous.
Tricia C. says
Oh wow. This must be some sort of fate. My mother JUST came home from the store with two big ginger roots, demanding that I candy them for her. Also, I am on a lifelong mission to find the perfect chocolate chip cookie — I’m infatuated with them and slightly racist against all other cookies. Im definitely going to have to try this as soon as I get a chance. Thanks!
Oh, and did I mention that if i had to choose between dark chocolate with sea salt and, like, fresh drinking water on a deserted island, I would take the chocolate? You are awesome for incorporating it in a cookie.
natalie@thesweetslife says
I’m obsessed with candied ginger (though I’ve never made my own) so I will absolutely be making these! So excited!
Deb says
I have got to try candied ginger again! The first time I made it I over dried the poor delicate slices resulting in scraps of hard chunks. I too am always on the prowl for the elusive, best of Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe. This might be an excuse to keep making cookies! Adding candied ginger to the mix is worthy of another batch, a scrumptious recipe!
Kay S says
Seriously, Dana, how fat do you want me to be? All your recipes look so good and I love every one I’ve tried. Thanks, I think. ;-)
Tricia C. says
Oh wow. This must be some sort of fate. My mother JUST came home from the store with two big ginger roots, demanding that I candy them for her. Also, I am on a lifelong mission to find the perfect chocolate chip cookie — I’m infatuated with them and slightly racist against all other cookies. Im definitely going to have to try this as soon as I get a chance. Thanks!
Jessica@AKitchenAddiction says
I’ve never tried ginger in chocolate chip cookies but it sounds like a great combo! I like how you made your own candied ginger!