Chocolate-Ginger Checkboard Cookies

Oooooo, I feel so bad! But yes, I am going to, um, sorta cheat but I'll call it taking a little shortcut! I'm combining my entry for Sugar High Friday and Donna Hay Day with this little contribution. I present the Chocolate Ginger Checkerboard Cookie!

The theme for this SHF, which is being hosted by Ruth, is ginger - an ingredient that I use to absolutely loath. I could not understand why mum would want to cook with it all the time. I'd find it in soups, chicken dishes, vegetable dishes and I'd insist that she fish out all the pieces so that I would not accidentally encounter it during my meal. I didn't understand how mum could enjoy eating the bits of ginger that she had removed from my plate but, y'know what, some tastes can be and are worth acquiring. I love ginger now, although I tend to use it more in savoury dishes than sweet.

I've been thinking about making the Chez Panisse Gingersnaps that Clotilde blogged about some time back but after reading that this Donna Hay Day's challenge was Checkerboard Snap Cookies, I got thinking. More specifically, I got thinking about crystallised ginger pieces coated with dark chocolate. Translate this to the checkerboard cookies - how about dark chocolate squares matched with ginger-flavoured squares. And why not add some small ginger pieces to the ginger squares? Hey, why not go all the way and add ginger to the dark chocolate squares too?

So, I amended the basic recipe to include 1/2 tsp ground ginger, 1/2 tsp ground cloves and 2 tbs cinnamon and 1 tbs stem ginger pieces in half of the dough and cocoa and Green & Black's organic dark chocolate with crystallised ginger pieces in the other half.

These cookies smell like gingerbread but for me, the dark chocolate parts were the best bit about these cookies - intensely chocolately with a hint of ginger. I would add even more ginger next time so there's a real zing to each bite.

Chocolate-Ginger Checkerboard Snap Cookies

185 gms butter, 1 cup of caster sugar, 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract, 2 1/2 cups flour, 2 eggs

1. Beat buter, sugar and vanilla until smooth
2. Add flour and eggs, beating until smooth
3. Halve the dough and add 1/2 cup cocoa powder and 1 tbs Green&Black's dark chocolate with crystallised ginger pieces to one lot. Add 1/2 tsp ground ginger, 1/2 tsp ground cloves and 2 tbs cinnamon and 1 tbs stem ginger pieces to the other half.
4. Divide each half into 2 lots and shape into logs. Place a ginger log next to a chocolate log, then top ginger log with the other chocolate log and top the chocolate log with the other ginger log.
5. Slice into 4-5mm thickness with sharp knife and bake 10-12 min at 180C.

SHF, Donna Hay Day, ginger,