It’s Day 2 of 12 Days of Christmas Desserts and a beautiful day for cookies. I don’t know about you, but my Instagram and Pinterest feeds have been inundated with Christmas cookies since the end of November. Little gingerbread people decorated with little royal icing outfits, very-structurally sound gingerbread greenhouses, and cookie boxes galore. My problem with Christmas cookies in general is that often, the prettier the cookie, the less delicious it is. (I know that this is a very broad stereotype, but I’ve found that 9 times out of 10, that’s the case.) When I was in culinary school, our pastry cohort spent six months building an entire gingerbread village. The finished product was intricate and detailed and absolutely amazing, but completely inedible. I’m not here for all of that. I like unassuming Christmas cookies with chewy centers and crunchy outsides. The slightly less-cute cookies are always the most delicious.

These chocolate espresso crinkle cookies definitely fall into that not as cute Christmas cookie category, but they deserve a place in your repertoire. A fudgy, brownie like interior is packed with dark chocolate and espresso and then each cookie is rolled in powdered sugar for that just-took-a-dip-in-freshly-packed-snow look. A Christmas classic. These also freeze beautifully, just wait to roll them in powdered sugar until just before baking.

Chocolate Espresso Crinkle Cookies

makes 24-28 cookies

Ingredients

11 oz (312 g) dark chocolate, chopped 

1 stick (113 g; 4 oz) unsalted butter, cubed

1 tbsp instant espresso powder

1 cup (240 g; 8.4 oz) granulated sugar

1/2 cup (100 g; 3.4 oz ) light brown sugar

2 tsp vanilla extract

4 eggs

2 cups (290 g; 10.3 oz) all purpose flour

2 tbsp (14 g) dark cocoa powder

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp kosher salt

1/2 cup powdered sugar, sifted

Procedure 

1. In a medium-sized heatproof bowl set over a double boiler, melt the chocolate, butter, and instant espresso. When completely melted and combined, set aside to cool slightly.

2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine sugar, brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Whip on medium-high speed until the mixture is light in color and slightly thickened. (You should be able to pull the whisk out of the bowl and the mixture should leave a ribbon-like mark in the mixture.)

3. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, salt, baking powder, and baking soda.

4. Switch from the whisk attachment to the paddle attachment and gradually add the dry ingredients, with the mixer on low speed. Be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl frequently and mix until just combined.

5. Keep the mixer on low speed and stream in melted chocolate mixture. Increase speed to medium and mix until just combined (about 30 seconds). Use the rubber spatula to continue gently folding the mixture until all one color. Be careful not to overmix, but you want to ensure that everything is homogenized.

6. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour, and up to overnight.

7. When you’re ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Using either a medium or large cookie scoop, portion cookies, rolling each one in powdered sugar before placing on prepared tray, leaving about 2” of space between them because they will spread a little.

8. Bake for 8-10 minutes for smaller cookies, 10-12 minutes for larger cookies. Let cookies cool at least 5 minutes on the pan before transferring to a cooling rack.

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