Mix together oil, pomegranate juice, honey, sugar, and vanilla in a medium bowl. Mix in eggs and orange zest, if using. Stir in flour, baking powder, and salt to combine. Fold in chocolate chips and crystallized ginger. Batter should be quite thick.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees and line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper. Spoon the batter into two side-by-side rows on the sheet, each approximately 8 inches long by 4 inches wide. Brush the top of each row with beaten egg and sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar.

Bake until top of dough is firm and dry, about 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and reduce heat to 300. Slice into 3/4 inch thick pieces, and rearrange on the baking sheet so the pieces do not touch one another.

Replace the baking sheet in the oven for another 20-30 minutes to dry the cookies, turning once after 10-15 minutes.

*Instead of, or in addition to, chocolate chips and crystallized ginger, try these alternate fillings (mix-and-match): dried cherries, dried blueberries, dried pineapple, walnuts, sliced almonds, etc.

Recipe by Leah Koenig