Cinnamon cookies get jazzed up with half a batch of gingerbread fudge baked directly into the dough! The resulting cookie is a soft and chewy gingerbread masterpiece!
These cookies were a result of a fudge fail. I was trying to make some fudge for my annual holiday gift giving when the fudge I made never set. I even put the fudge in the freezer for several days, and it was still too runny. Rather than throw it out or just eat it with a spoon, I decided to incorporate it into some cinnamon cookies.
My fudge disaster turned out to be a happy accident because these cookies were awesome. While I enjoy gingerbread cookies, I don’t like the hard, snappy kinds. I like my cookies to be soft and chewy, and these cookies were exactly that.
I baked some cinnamon cookies and mixed half a batch of the failed fudge into the cookie dough base. These cookies were not overwhelmingly sweet but still had a great gingerbread flavor. Since the fudge isn’t full set, you won’t get chunks of fudge in your cookies. It’s more of a subtle fudge flavor in these cookies, and I am perfectly happy with that.
I gifted some of these cookies to my skating friends and coach, and one person said that it was “da bomb.” Ha ha. If you’re still looking for a cookie recipe to make for family, teachers or friends, consider this fudge cookie. It’s a fun way to incorporate fudge into a traditional cookie.
Gingerbread fudge cookies
Ingredients
Cookie base
- 2 and 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- pinch of salt
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 egg
Gingerbread fudge (full recipe is listed below; you will only need 1/2 a recipe)
- 2 cups white chocolate chips
- 1 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
- 1/4 cup molasses
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
Instructions
- First, make the fudge. In a large microwave-safe bowl, melt the white chocolate chips, sweetened condensed milk and molasses. Mix well until the chocolate chips have completely melted. Add the cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves and mix until everything is well incorporated. Pour into a greased or lined 8"x8" pan and chill for at least 2 hours and up to overnight. The fudge will not completely set (this is expected).
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats and set aside.
- In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. See aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl if using a handheld mixer, cream the butter and sugars together on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Turn the mixer to low and slowly add in the dry ingredients. Add the egg and mix well.
- Add in half of the chilled fudge (remember, it will sticky and will not set like regular fudge). Mix well.
- Using a medium cookie scoop or spoons, portion out about golf ball sized dough balls and place them on your prepared baking sheet, leaving at least 2 inches in between each piece of dough.
- Bake in your preheated oven for 9 minutes. Then rotate the pans, front to back and top to bottom and bake an additional 2 minutes or until the bottoms start to turn golden. The tops may appear to be underdone, and that's OK. The cookies will continue to set as they cool.
- Allow the cookies to cool for about 5-10 minutes until transferring to a wire rack to set completely.