Christmas time again, and I had to make my firstborn’s favorite holiday cookie… Chocolate Crinkles. Yes, Joe loves these cookies! But, I’ve collected a number of recipes for this classic cookie, and each year I’ve had to test a few to find our favorite. And then combine and adapt elements to make it a cookie worth making. Well no more, because I’ve identified the one, the best recipe (in our humble opinions). Yes, we all agree. THIS IS THE ONE! Now this isn’t the prettiest chocolate crinkle on the block, nor is it the easiest, or least messy to make. No, this cookie is not for the faint of heart.
You’ll have to melt chocolate, and mix it into a gooey, sticky dough. Then you’ll have to freeze it, and shape it into balls, getting your hands pretty full of sticky chocolate batter. It takes some time, and again… it’s really messy to make! But if what you’re after is a deep, dark chocolatey flavor, I think you might just agree with us that these are worth it. And while these cookies do get those crackly powdered sugar sections on top, I won’t lie. They don’t look as perfect and beautiful as other chocolate crinkle recipes I’ve tried. But the flavor and texture is far superior (at least to our palates). After all, for me, it’s more about the taste than the appearance. The texture is light and tender, but not dry. And the flavor is like a deep, dark brownie with a touch of espresso.
The good news is that you can do all the messy part in advance, by rolling up balls of dough ahead of time and keep them in the freezer so that when you are craving these yummy treats (or when you need them for guests or a gathering), they’re easy to pop in the oven and bake.
But seriously, don’t even try this recipe if you’re happy with pretty cookies that don’t exactly have a lot of flavor. You have to love a deep, dark, chocolate flavor (with a hint of espresso) to enjoy these.
I’ve added a bit more espresso to these cookies, but if you’re not a fan, you can decrease the amount or delete it, but I do think it adds a lovely complexity to the flavor without screaming coffee. I also recently deleted a couple tablespoons of milk from the last recipe I was using… totally accidentally… I just forgot it. And it was just as good, if not better. Plus, the dough is such a sticky, loose batter, that it didn’t need that extra liquid.
These cookies are super tender and light, so make sure to bake them on parchment, and let cool on the parchment (transferred to a cookie rack), before removing the cookies.
Print
PinDescription
One of our favorite cookies to make at Christmas time, these tend to be a bit messy to make, but they’re oh, so good, and so worth it!
Ingredients
- 1 cup flour
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 Tablespoons instant espresso powder
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 4 ounces (8 tablespoons or one stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled a bit
- About a cup of powdered sugar
Instructions
- In a medium size bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, espresso, baking powder, and salt.
- In a large bowl, beat butter until creamy. Add brown sugar and beat until light and fluffy.
- Add egg and beat until well incorporated.
- Gently beat in cooled, melted chocolate.
- Slowly stir in dry mixture.
- Scrape dough onto plastic wrap or waxed paper. Wrap tightly and freeze for at least an hour, or refrigerate for a few hours.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Place powdered sugar into a small bowl.
- Form dough into one-inch balls, doing this in batches, and roll dough into the bowl of powdered sugar and place on a parchment lined baking sheet.
- Bake for 10 to 14 minutes, checking them at 10 minutes, and allowing them to bake until they are crackled on top, and they are getting a bit firm but still have a moist sheen on the cookie dough in between the powdered sugar. If you press into them gently they should have some give, and be somewhat moist. Watch carefully at the end to avoid over-baking.
- Remove the cookie sheet and allow cookies to cool for a few minutes on the cookie sheet, then transfer the parchment to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Recent Comments