Description
These Ginger Brownie Cookies combine the fudgy richness of brownie with the warm, spiced flavor of gingerbread in a beautifully marbled swirl. Soft, chewy, and perfect for holiday cookie trays, they feature layers of chocolate and classic gingerbread spices and are freezer-friendly, simple to make, and delightfully festive.
Ingredients
Scale
Brownie Cookie Dough
- ½ cup (84 g) semi-sweet chocolate chips
- ¼ cup (½ stick / 57 g) unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons Dutch-process cocoa powder
- ⅔ cup (133 g) light brown sugar, packed
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- ⅔ cup (83 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
Ginger Cookie Dough
- ¾ cup (1 ½ sticks / 170 g) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup (200 g) light brown sugar, packed
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- ¼ cup (84 g) molasses
- 2 ½ cups (312.5 g) all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon cloves
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
Instructions
- Brownie Cookie Dough – Melt chocolate and butter. In a microwave-safe bowl, melt chocolate chips and butter in 30-second intervals, stirring until smooth.
- Whisk in cocoa powder. Add Dutch-process cocoa powder to melted chocolate and butter, whisking until fully combined. Set aside.
- Whisk brown sugar and egg. In a separate small bowl, vigorously whisk brown sugar and egg for about 1 minute, until slightly thickened and lighter in color.
- Combine chocolate and sugar mixtures. Stir the chocolate mixture into the sugar mixture thoroughly.
- Add dry ingredients. Fold in flour, baking powder, and kosher salt gently with a spatula until no streaks remain, forming a thick brownie batter-like dough.
- Freeze dough. Freeze the brownie dough for 10-15 minutes until firm enough to scoop.
- Ginger Cookie Dough – Cream butter and sugar. In a stand mixer with paddle attachment, cream softened butter and light brown sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
- Add egg and molasses. Mix in the egg and molasses until smooth.
- Whisk dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, kosher salt, ground ginger, ground cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg by whisking together.
- Combine wet and dry ingredients. Add dry mixture to wet mixture in the mixer and mix on low speed until just combined; dough should be soft but hold shape.
- Chill dough if needed. If dough is sticky or too loose to roll, chill for about 10 minutes.
- Assemble dough balls. Scoop 3 tablespoons ginger dough and 1 ½ tablespoons brownie dough each. Split each portion in half to create four pieces. Alternate ginger and brownie pieces in your palm (ginger → brownie → ginger → brownie), press together, and roll into a smooth ball.
- Repeat and chill. Repeat for remaining dough balls and chill all balls for 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven and prepare baking sheets. Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C) and line baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Arrange dough balls on sheets. Place dough balls at least 3 inches apart on prepared baking sheets.
- Bake. Bake for 12-14 minutes, until edges are set and centers appear slightly underbaked (they will finish cooking on the pan).
- Cool and optionally shape. Let cookies cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes. Optionally, “scoot” edges with a round cutter for perfectly even edges.
- Transfer to wire rack. Move cookies to a wire rack to cool completely before serving or storing.
Notes
- Both doughs can be made 1-2 days ahead and refrigerated until ready to scoop and assemble.
- Dough balls can be frozen on a sheet pan until firm, transferred to freezer bags, and baked from frozen; just add 1-2 minutes to baking time.
- If brownie dough feels too soft after initial freezing, chill it longer until scoopable.
- Chilling the dough balls before baking helps maintain the marbled pattern and reduces spreading.
- Use unsalted butter for best control over salt level; if using salted butter, reduce kosher salt slightly.
- For gluten-free version, substitute a 1:1 gluten-free flour blend in both doughs.
- Increase ground ginger or add crystallized ginger pieces for more ginger spice.
- Add chocolate chunks, white chocolate chips, or nuts for variation.
- Store baked cookies in airtight container at room temperature for 3-4 days, refrigerate up to 1 week, or freeze for up to 2 months.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 12-14 minutes
- Category: Dessert, Cookies
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: Ginger Brownie Cookies, marbled cookies, holiday cookies, brownie cookies, gingerbread cookies, spiced cookies, Christmas cookies
