creative cookies!

I have had chocolate and cherries on the brain lately. (Last week's ice cream, for example?) I had thought about making a double-chocolate, double-cherry cookie tonight, until the bag of crystalized ginger in the cupboard caught my eye . . . then I remembered I had some fresh ginger leftover in the fridge . . . and then I went a completely different direction with my cookies! Final product:

I described these to my friend Ann over the phone earlier, and she said, "sounds very chocolatey and very gingery!" So, I think that will be the title . . .

Very Chocolatey, Very Gingery Cookies
(recipe loosely based on "Chocolate Chip Mint Cookies" from Joy of Vegan Baking)

INGREDIENTS:
3/4 cup Earth Balance
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon Ener-G whipped with 2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 cup baking cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup chocolate chips
1/3 cup finely chopped crystalized ginger

DIRECTIONS:
1. Beat the margarine with an electric mixer until fluffy. Beat in the sugars, then the egg replacer mixture, fresh ginger, and vanilla.
2. Combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt in a seperate bowl. Beat the flour mixture into the butter mixture just until combined. Fold in the chocolate chips and crystalized ginger.
3. Drop by level tablespoon-fulls onto parchment-lined cookie sheets. Bake at 350 for about 10 minutes. Remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

Note that the ginger flavor develops more as the cookies cool to room temperature.

Hooray for creative cookies!

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QUESTION:
What has been your favorite creative baking adventure?

Mine? It would have to be a tie between the vegan, wholegrain, chocolate chip pecan cookie recipe I developed a long time ago, (BEST COOKIES EVER!), and the vegan eclairs I adapted for my August Daring Baker's Challenge!