Chocolate Gingerbread Biscotti

1 Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a large baking sheet with a nonstick baking mat or parchment paper, and set aside.
2 In a large glass bowl, cream the butter, freshly grated ginger, brown sugar and molasses together until smooth using a hand mixer (or a stand mixer.)
3 Break the eggs, and add them to the wet ingredients. Beat until smooth.
4 In a separate bowl, sift together the cocoa powder, flour, baking powder and salt.
5 Slowly pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, mixing at a low speed until the dough is smooth. It will be slightly sticky, but not overly so.
6 (Optional) Using a hand spatula, gently fold in the chocolate chips.
7 Transfer the dough to the prepared baking sheet. You may either divide it in half to make two shorter logs or make one longer and wider log, patting it down until the dough is in a rough rectangular shape that is about 4”-5” across (and about 16”-20” long) and 1" tall.
8 Sprinkle with the turbinado sugar, and transfer to the oven.
9 Bake the dough for 25 minutes, then remove from the oven, and let cool for 5-10 minutes.
10 When the biscotti has cooled enough to touch without burning yourself, use a pastry scraper to cut the biscotti into ½” to ¾” slices.
11 Place the biscotti slices on their sides, and arrange on the baking sheet for the second baking.
12 Return the cookies to the oven, and bake for an additional 15-20 minutes minutes, or until the biscotti have crisped up.
13 The exterior of the cookies should be pretty crispy, but they should break apart easily, so transfer them to a cooling rack with care. (The cookies will firm up as they cool, too, but they should not become too hard.)
14 Enjoy when cool with a glass of milk or your favorite holiday beverage.