Crinkle Cookies
Christmas is not “the most wonderful time of the year” without holiday baking. The making and sharing of Christmas cookies is part of what makes the season magical to me. While we cannot gather to decorate cookies as we did in the past, I will continue to bake, drop off porch sweets, and have my munchkins lick batter off of spatulas as I do every year. That said, I was pickier about what cookies I baked this year, wanting to avoid having too many and needing to excessively work out in January.
I have always loved the look of a crinkle cookie- with its dark crackly edges that appear to be covered in snow. In the past, I have chosen recipes with espresso and cocoa powder. They were good, but nothing to write home about. This year I turned to the expert in cookies: Ms. Greenspan, and what resulted may be (drumroll please) “the tastiest Christmas cookies I have ever made” (no offence Grandma Hughes’ Shortbread)
These are really brownies in cookie form, all fudgy, soft, and decadent. In a brilliant move, Dorie has us reserve some chopped chocolate, which is stirred in at the end, resulting in little pockets of melted chocolate amidst the fudgy dough. Make sure not to over-cook these. We want them soft and chewy on the inside.
These were so good, they may not survive long enough for porch drop-offs. Oh well!
Crinkle Cookies
From Dorie Greenspan, Dorie’s Cookies
Makes 18-24
5 Tbsp unsalted butter, cut into 10 pieces
8 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 cold large eggs
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp fine sea salt
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
Confectioners’ sugar, for rolling cookies
Fit a heatproof bowl over a pan of gently simmering water, making sure the water doesn’t touch the bottom of the bowl, and put the butter in the bowl. Coarsely chop 6 ounces of chocolate and scatter it over the butter. Finely chop the remaining 2 ounces of chocolate and set it aside. Leave the bowl over simmering water, stirring occasionally, until the ingredients are just melted, taking care that they don’t get so hot that they seperate. Remove the bowl from the pan.
Using a whisk or heatproof spatula, stir in the sugar. The mixture will turn grainy, but that is ok. One by one, add the eggs, whisking energetically after each one goes in and then for a minute or two more. The dough will become smoother, shinier, and thicker. Whisk in the vanilla and the salt and then, less vigorously, the flour. Stir in the finely chopped chocolate. Transfer the dough to a bowl, cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours.
When ready to bake, center a rack in the oven and preheat to 350F. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.
Put confectioners’ sugar in a small bowl. Using a medium cookie scoop, scoop out level portions of dough or use a tablespoon to get rounded spoonfuls. Roll each into a ball and drop into the bowl of sugar. Gently toss the dough around in the sugar until well coated. Place the ball on one of the baking sheets and repeat, giving the balls about 2 inches of spread space.
Slide the baking sheet into the oven and bake the cookies for 12 minutes, rotating the baking sheet after 6 minutes. The cookies will have spread and cracked, their sides should feel set and their centers should still be a little soft. Put the baking sheet on a cooling rack and wait 2 minutes, then carefully transfer the cookies to the rack using a broad spatula. Let the cookies cool completely.
Repeat with the second baking sheet and the remaining dough.
Store cookies in an airtight container on the counter for up to 3 days.