Name: Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
Prep time: 15 min
Total time: 90 min
Yield: makes 45 cookies
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 225 g melted chocolate (60% cacao) (8 oz); 165 g all-purpose flour (1 1/3 cup or 5.8 oz); 50 g unsweetened cacao powder (1/2 cup or 1.8 oz); 1 tsp baking powder; 115 g butter, at room temperature (1 stick); 100 g sugar (½ Cup or 3.5 oz); 100 g brown sugar (½ Cup or 3.5 oz); 2 eggs; 60 ml milk (1/4 cup or 2.1 oz); 1 tbsp rum (optional); 1 tsp vanilla extract (optional); 50 g sugar (1/4 cup or 1.8 oz); 50 g icing sugar (1.8 oz)

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

Photogenic and delicious. These Chocolate Crinkle Cookies win every time. I don’t remember when and how exactly did we start baking these Chocolate Crinkle Cookies every year. Probably my mom got a recipe from a friend and then she just started baking them. We kind of took over and now we created our own recipe and our own version that we have been making for the last 8 years. You just can’t get tired of making these for Christmas. Our friends and family loved them and it’s truly nice to hear “Oh yay, Chocolate Crinkle Cookies, so glad you made them, I love them” every year. Those kind of words just make us even more excited to bake them every year. On the other hand these are also great because the cookie dough freezes really well. That way we can prepare the dough weeks in advance, freeze the dough and then bake the cookies just before Christmas to get that chewy, soft texture. What makes them special is the texture, that beautiful, black and white crinkle texture and the deep chocolatey flavor. The inside is nice and chewy and the outside crunchy and sugary. The ingredients used in this recipe are simple, you probably already have them at home, just make sure you use a good, high quality chocolate, because these are after all, chocolate cookies. Let’s jump into the recipe.

How to make Chocolate Crinkle Cookies?

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies are super easy to make. They are chewy and best served with hot milk.
Chocolate - Use dark chocolate, preferably use chocolate that has around 60% - 70% cacao. Why? Because these cookies are rolled in sugar and they might turn out too sweet if the chocolate used has more sugar than cacao in it. It’s also important that your melted chocolate is cool before using in a batter.

All-purpose flour - It’s best to use all-purpose flour or plain flour because we want our chocolate crinkle cookies to be nice and chewy and not stiff.

White and Brown Sugar - Use a mixture of white and brown sugar. Brown sugar tends to make cookies chewier, which is what we want.

Rum - You can optionally add rum to the dough, it will give it a nice, extra kick in flavoring.

Can I freeze my cookie dough? Do Chocolate Crinkle Cookies store well?

Yes and Yes. You can freeze Chocolate Crinkle Cookies dough for up to a month. We usually make the cookie dough in the beginning of December, then freeze it and bake the cookies a few days before Christmas just to have them fresh from the oven. They also store well. Up to 14 days in a cookie box, which makes them perfect as an edible Christmas gift.

METHOD

make the cookie dough

In a small bowl combine all purpose flour, unsweetened cacao powder, baking powder and pinch of salt. In a large bowl (or in a bowl of a stand mixer) cream together the sugar, brown sugar and butter to get a nice, creamy mixture. Optionally add a teaspoon of vanilla extract. Mix for about 5 minutes. Add one egg at a time, beating after each addition. While mixing, pour in the melted chocolate. Gradually mix in the milk and dry ingredients until completely incorporated. Optionally mix in one tablespoon of rum for flavor.
Place in a fridge or freezer

Divide the dough in half and wrap in cling film. Place in a fridge for 2 - 3 hours, or overnight or place in a fridge for 1 hour. That way the cookie dough will be easier to work with.
Shape into cookies

Preheat your oven to 180 °C / 350° F. Combine sugar and icing sugar in a small bowl or in a deep bowl. Between your hand roll the dough in a walnut sized ball. (approx. 3 cm in diameter or 20g). Roll the ball in the sugar mixture and place on a large baking sheet, lined with parchment paper. Make sure to leave enough space between each cookie, because they will spread.
Bake and Serve

Place the baking sheet with cookies in your oven and bake for about 12 minutes at 180 C / 355 F. Transfer baked chocolate crinkle cookies to a wire rack to cool. Serve or store in a cookie box for up to 14 days.