Because you just have to make Chocolate Crinkle Cookies this Christmas, I'm posting my best, most favourite, easiest and most fudgy recipe ever!
I have had dry awful chocolate crinkles and it makes me want to cry.
Don't be the person to do that. Get rid of all your past crinkle cookie recipes and get with this one!
Few ingredients, easily double- or triple-batchable and made in minutes with a bowl and a whisk.
You will cherish this recipe.
These cookies have an almost brownie-like texture. They're like biting through a fudgy chocolate truffle if you bake them for 8 minutes and then like a tender soft cookie if you bake them the full 10 or even up to 12 minutes. This is all about your preference but holy heck, do I ever like them fudgy through and through!
What's so special about these particular crinkles aside from their ultimate fudge factor? They're hiding pools of peppermint white chocolate!
If you find peppermint chips then that's great, but I make my own.
Just melt down 3 oz of really good quality white chocolate (Lindt is my favourite) and stir in ¼ teaspoon of pure peppermint extract. Spread it out on a piece of parchment paper and then refrigerate until it sets up again. Then chop it up into little bits.
The nice part about making your own chocolate bits instead of using store-bought "chips" is that they will melt better, especially if you use couverture chocolate.
Couverture is the special high quality chocolate that confectioners and chocolatiers use for coating, enrobing and dipping when making candy. It has a high cocoa butter content which makes it very fluid when melted for smooth, thin coatings. Its wonderful melting quality means that it leaves these luscious pools of melted chocolate in the cookies instead of chalky sugary studs.
Now, there are a few tricks to getting those crinkles nicely defined.
How to make perfect crinkles on your crinkle cookies:
1) Chill the dough thoroughly. The longer you chill the dough the cracklier the cookies will be because this gives time for the flour to hydrate and there will be less surface moisture on the dough. A dry surface means more cracks.
2) Roll first in granulated sugar then in icing sugar. Granulated sugar will help to bind moisture at the surface of the dough to keep it dry and help with cracking. Icing sugar alone will readily dissolve with the moisture of the cookie dough so that it just melts away during baking, but the initial coating of granulated sugar will help it to adhere better without dissolving instantly.
So, these may look like all the other chocolate crinkles being passed around so many holiday tables this season, but I promise they will stand out in flavour and texture!
Happy Happy Holidays!
Peppermint Chip Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
Ingredients
Peppermint Chocolate Chips:
- 3 oz 85g white chocolate, finely chopped
- ¼ teaspoon pure peppermint extract
Cookie dough:
- ¾ cup 105g all-purpose flour
- ⅓ cup 28g cocoa powder (I prefer this one)
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup 100g granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ⅓ cup 75g butter, melted and cooled
For rolling:
- ½ cup 100g granulated sugar
- 1 cup 125g icing sugar
Instructions
- For the chocolate chips, melt the white chocolate gently in the microwave or over a double boiler until just melted. Try not to over heat it - I pull it off the heat when there are still a few unmelted pieces left and let the residual heat melt them down with stirring. Stir in peppermint extract and pour the chocolate over a piece of parchment paper on a baking tray or a dish. Refrigerate until set and then chop into little pieces.
- For the cookie dough, sift flour, cocoa powder and baking powder into a medium bowl. Whisk to blend evenly and set aside.
- In another medium bowl, combine egg, sugar, vanilla and salt and whisk vigorously until pale and thick. Whisk in melted butter. Stir in flour mixture gently until mostly combined and then fold in chopped white chocolate. The dough will be very soft and sticky. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
- When ready to bake preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Roll tablespoons of dough into balls, roll in granulated sugar then roll in icing sugar to coat. Place them onto prepared baking sheets and bake for 8-10 minutes until cracked on the surface. Let cool on the trays and then enjoy!
Anonymous
Made these but without the peppermint chips, just regular chocolate chips and they are really good. Made only half of the recipe because I was worried that I wouldn’t like it because of the sweet coating. But, the cookie itself is like the texture of brownies and just the right amount of sweetness, besides the sugar coating of course.
christina.marsigliese
Hi! I'm glad you liked them. Thanks for your comment.