Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

November 26, 2010

Psst.

Is it safe yet?

Is it safe to officially break the holiday posts?!

I always feel a bit sorry for Thanksgiving. It’s sad when you walk into a store in mid-November and the one table of ceramic turkeys and pumpkin spiced candles is tucked in a far corner. Meanwhile the rest of the store is plastered with snowflakes, stockings and Santa.

I like to give Thanksgiving the respect it deserves, but once it is over bring on the red and green holiday season! Bring on the cookies, snowflakes, penguins and polar bears!

My husband and I were in Panera recently and he pointed out some festively packaged chocolate crinkle cookies. I’ve seen recipes for them before, but I’ve never gotten around to making them. Instead of buying one, I decided this year I would do just that.

The ones we saw were chocolate-peppermint, but I didn’t have any peppermint extract or fresh mint so I went with classic chocolate. I found a recipe for Chocolate-Ginger Crinkle Cookies posted on Leite Culinaria last year. I made changes in the sugars and flours and omitted the ginger to create my own crinkle cookie. I decided not to use white whole wheat flour in this recipe, but I did select an unbleached white flour.

These cookies are a cross between a cookie and brownie. I like the addition of the extra chocolate pieces because it gives you a little extra something in each bite.

The dough was more like a batter after I mixed it up and I got a little worried that it wouldn’t turn out like a cookie. After it sat in the fridge, however, it firmed up and I could easily roll the dough into balls.

I learned very quickly that the secret to making these cookies crinkle is to roll them heavily in powdered sugar (confectioners’ sugar) to the point where it looks like way too much. The first sheet I baked off I used too little and the white dusting quickly melted away into the cookie as it cooled. I rolled the cookies more heavily the second time and they turned out beautifully.

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
Adapted from Chocolate-Ginger Crinkle Cookies as posted on Leite Culinaria

¾ cup unbleached all-purpose flour (I use King Arthur’s)
¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
¼ cup unsalted butter, softened
6 oz dark chocolate chips, chopped (I used Ghirardelli 60% baking chips)
¾ cup Demerara sugar
¼ cup muscovado sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
Confectioners’ sugar

In a bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

Place the butter and 3 oz of the chopped chocolate in a microwave-proof bowl. Microwave in 20 second intervals, stirring in between, until the chocolate is melted and smooth. Allow the chocolate to cool for a few minutes.

Stir the Demerara and muscovado sugar into to the melted chocolate and butter. Add the eggs and mix well until they are combined. Stir in the vanilla and remaining chopped chocolate. Slowly stir in the dry ingredients until combined. Cover the dough and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat. Place about a ½ cup of powdered sugar in a shallow bowl or on a plate. (You will likely need more as you work your way through the dough.)

Roll the dough into balls. You can make the balls about 1 ½ inch balls or larger for big cookies, about 2 ½ inches. I did a mix of both. Roll the cookies heavily in powdered sugar and place at least 2 inches apart on your baking sheet. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes until the cookies spread and crack and the center of the cookies is firm.

Allow to cool on the cookie sheet 1 to 2 minutes and transfer to a baking rack to cool completely. The cookies will keep for 3 to 4 days in an airtight container, but are prettiest when served within 1 day of baking. Makes 24 to 36 cookies, depending on the size.

On an unrelated note, anyone else out there use Google and feel like it kills the resolution of your pictures? Once I get them in the post, they aren’t sharp anymore. I’m trying not to reduce the resolution too much before uploading them, but it isn’t helping. Anyone have any tips?

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  • kat November 26, 2010 at 12:43 pm

    Oh a version of these is a favorite in our house too! Thanks for holding off until after Thanksgiving for the holiday treats.

  • Debinhawaii November 26, 2010 at 1:12 pm

    These are one of my favorite cookies–so chocolaty and good. Yours look perfect. 😉

  • Skip to Malou November 26, 2010 at 5:10 pm

    I used to sell chocolate crinkle cookies in college… i’d pack it in a pretty basket and they sold fast… haha it brought back memories.

  • Marianne (frenchfriestoflaxseeds) November 26, 2010 at 9:06 pm

    See, that’s the beauty about the timing of Canadian Thanksgiving in comparison to Christmas – we have plenty of time to move from Thanksgiving to Hallowe’en then to Christmas without any of them getting the shaft.

    I don’t think I’ve ever had a chocolate crinkle cookie. I’ve always thought they looked nice, but never gave them the time of day when looking through recipes for something to bake. I think I should change that.

  • MelindaRD November 28, 2010 at 5:34 am

    They look awesome. I like the idea of chocolate and ginger much better than chocolate and mint. I am allergic to mint, and although I love chocolate and mint together (any other time mint really makes me cringe), I know I can’t do it. I have gone longer and longer between bites of this combo and of course the reaction has gotten worse. Last time I took a chocolate mint I was on a plane and I did not expect a reaction near as bad as what happened, and well, the flight attendant was not happy with me. Even when I smell mint my eyes start to burn and tear and my lips blow up like I’ve had botox. It is sad, sad, sad.

  • Joanne November 29, 2010 at 7:44 am

    I always thought these were harder, crisper cookies and so I steered clear of them. But now that I know that they’re brownie like – I WANT. I usually upload my photos to flickr and then just insert the flickr link to them into the post. This helps with the resolution I think and also takes up less space on blogger!

  • Angela November 29, 2010 at 2:12 pm

    These look like perfect holiday gift cookies! Can’t wait to try a batch.

  • 5 Star Foodie November 29, 2010 at 8:11 pm

    Yum, a cross between a cookie and a brownie? That sounds really good, they look absolutely scrumptious!

  • Juliana November 30, 2010 at 12:28 pm

    Lori, the cookies look perfect for the holidays…would love to try this ones for sure…the texture of this cookies sound amazing 🙂

  • Sagan December 1, 2010 at 10:06 am

    Wow. A combination cookie/brownie sounds delightful!

    And I’m totally with Marianne about our Canadian Thanksgiving 🙂

  • Mindy December 3, 2010 at 11:13 am

    My great grandmother used to make crinkle cookies with a box of cake mix, some eggs and some cool whip. Recently, I experimented with some “from-scratch” ingredients and it worked out great. These cookies bring back memories… 🙂

  • Olga @ MangoTomato December 6, 2010 at 7:56 pm

    the cookies are pretty by themselves, but they look even better with the penguin!

  • Tangled Noodle December 7, 2010 at 10:38 pm

    Love these crinkle cookies – they look so cool, like the first snowfall on the ground. 😎

    I’ve also noticed how my photos look somewhat more dull when uploaded onto my blog. If you find a satisfactory solution, please share!

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