Double Ginger Chewy Chocolate Chip Molasses Cookies

GINGER ?... MOLASSES ?....summertime?

YES...why not?  there are no holiday flavor police. 

i love ginger and i love molasses...i love both fabulous flavors all year 'round.
why does molasses only come around during the Christmas holidays?....
it seems everyone forgets how to use it  'til the "holiday spice fest" rolls around.  these delicious flavors pop at specific times of the year, then get stashed in the back of the pantry and we quickly move on.  
what's wrong with...say...
pumpkin pie in the summer...
lemon tart in the dead of winter...
or fruity popsicles when it's pouring rain...?!

i know there are a zillion molasses/ginger cookie recipes out there and you've probably tasted each one during the winter holiday months, but i didn't see too many with chocolate. 
 i'm on a chocolate kick right now and i always love the zing of ginger so i thought the two would be a good combo with the deep molasses...and that, it is.  something a little different for the normal summer cookie line up.  move over lemon bars and macaroons.

i'll be quick about it and get to the recipe.

NOTE...i made mine a little smaller than usual so i could stretch the recipe, but when you make them large they really are good and chewy in the middle with that slight crunch on the sugar coated edges.
i made 4 1/2 dozen from this batch, but 3 dozen would make a nice large cookie.

CHEWY MOLASSES with CHOCOLATE CHIPS and CRYSTALLIZED GINGER

my apologies to the person i got the base recipe from.  i ALWAYS like to give props to the original.  it's hand written in my file drawer and i don't have any info at all to pass on.  it might have evn been good ol' Betty Crocker.
i changed it up a little by lowering the sugar content with a little splenda,  substituted with 1/2 white whole wheat flour, added some crystalized ginger bits AND added chocolate chips.

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 cups white sugar...i substituted with 1/2 cup splenda (no one knew)

1 cup unsalted butter, room temp.

1 CUP MOLASSES!

2 eggs, room temperature

4 cups AP flour...i substituted with 2 cups white whole wheat

1 Tbsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground cloves

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1.5 - 2 oz of crystallized ginger, diced or baking pieces

1/2 cup (or more) semi sweet chocolate chips...more would have been better

HOW TO...
preheat to 350 F degrees.

using a paddle attachment on your mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

add molasses and eggs...mix thoroughly.

in a separate bowl mix all the dry ingredients with a whisk.

add dry to wet 1/3 at a time.  mix until well combined...dough should be soft and smooth

chill at least 30 minutes.

form dough into balls 1' - 1 1/2" in diameter.

roll balls in sugar...i used raw Tubinado sugar for a good extra crunch

bake on parchment (allow room for spreading) at 350 degrees till edges are firm...approximately 13 minutes depending on the size of your cookies

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