These might not be the most colorful cookies on your holiday tray, but they’ll be among the most flavorful! Spicy oatmeal cookies are crispy on the outside, soft and chewy on the inside, and contain the irresistible surprise of chocolate-covered ginger! There’s just something cheerfully salubrious about them, as well. I’m sure I’ve read somewhere that chocolate and oatmeal are natural anti-depressants. Ginger is good for everything. Molasses has lots of iron. So grab yourself a plate of these, a bottle of red wine and a big warm blanket, and head into hibernation for the winter!

I liked to half-dip them in melted dark chocolate. Because more chocolate is always better, they look pretty, and they reminded me of chocolate covered hob nobs, which is surely the most comforting cookie on the planet! They’re good without that extra touch, though, if you’re not in the mood to play with melted chocolate.

Here’s Michigan and Smiley with Little Drummer Boy. Rappa pom pom, eh!!

1/2 cup, one stick, 4 oz. butter
1/3 cup dark molasses
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 t. vanilla
1 egg
1 1/4 cups flour
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
1/2 t. baking soda
pinch salt
1/2 t. ginger
1 t. cinnamon
1/4 t. allspice
dash nutmeg
3/4 cup chocolate covered ginger
1/2 cup chocolate chips
(You can substitute both with 1/2 cup candied ginger and 1 cup chocolate chips)

1 cup dark chocolate chips

Cream the butter. Add the sugar and molasses and vanilla, and mix till it’s quite fluffy. Add the egg and beat well.

Add all of the dry ingredients and mix well.

Stir in your chocolate covered ginger and your chocolate chips.

Drop by teaspoons onto lightly greased cookie sheets.

Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for about 12 minutes, till they’re starting to brown slightly on the edges. Move to a cooling rack to cool.

Melt the chocolate chips over boiling water. Dip each cookie halfway in to the chocolate (More on the top, so they don’t stick to the plate too much!) Let them cool and set, and then gobble them up!