Double-Dipped Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

There are a lot of recipes I haven't gotten around to posting yet, but somehow, I now have three different recipes for a chocolate crinkle cookie on this blog. Can you tell what one of my favorite cookies is?

A friend of ours was over for brunch the other weekend and spied Rebecca Firth's the Cookie Book on my bookshelf. Her find launched a lengthy discussion on my hesitation to buy it in the first place ($20 for a 184 page paperback cookbook? suspicious....), what changed my mind (I honestly can't remember), and my favorite cookie in recent memory (the spiced brown butter muscovado sugar cookies). She left with the Cookie Book on her "must buy myself for Christmas" list, and I returned to my kitchen with a renewed interested in baking my way through the Cookie Book. I didn't get very far this year... but I did manage to find time for these double-dipped chocolate crinkle cookies. They take basically no active time at all, they're super chocolately, and the double sugar coating gives the exterior a nice subtle crunch as you bite through.

Here's the most important thing to know:

This dough is a pain to work with after it's been chilled. It's not easy to scoop, it sticks to whatever cookie scoop you use, and your hands will be absolutely coated in residual chocolate-y dough plus sugar about two seconds into the rolling process.

Annoyances about cookie formation process aside (which isn't unique to these), these double-dipped chocolate crinkle cookies are super fast and easy to make, don't require a stand mixer, and Rebecca's love for bread flour in her cookies gives these texture and extra "chew" (in a good way). If you're looking for my favoritest of all the chocolate crinkle cookies... I do think it's still the ultra sinful crinkle cookies by the Baked boys, Matt & Renato. But, these are really great too. I guess I need to have a crinkle-off to judge all three head-to-head.

Original Source: the Cookie Book

Double-Dipped Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

An easy one bowl cookie recipe for the holidays.

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Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 11 minutes minutes

Resting time: 2 hours hours

Total Time: 2 hours hours 31 minutes minutes

Servings: 27 cookies

Ingredients

• 1 ¾ cups (7.5 ounces; 210 g) dark chocolate (60 to 72% cacao) coarsely chopped
• 4 ounces (1 stick/115 g) unsalted butter cut into tablespoons
• 1 tablespoon freshly brewed espresso or strong coffee* decaf okay
• scant ¾ cup (144 g) granulated sugar
• ¼ cup (55 g) firmly packed light brown sugar
• 2 large eggs at room temperature
• 3 teaspoons (15 mL) pure vanilla extract
• 1 ½ cups (204 g) bread* flour
• ½ cup (43 g) unsweetened (Dutch-process or dark) cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ¾ teaspoon baking soda
• 1 ½ teaspoon sea salt
• ¾ cup (98 g) confectioners’ sugar sifted
• ¾ cup (144 g) granulated sugar

Instructions

• In a medium bowl, sift together the bread flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
• Place the chocolate, butter, and espresso in the top of a double boiler or a large heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water and stir occasionally until the chocolate and butter are almost completely melted and combined. [You could also do this carefully in the microwave#] Remove from the heat and continue stirring until the last remaining chunks of chocolate and butter are melted. Let cool for 5-10 minutes.
• Once the mixture has cooled enough that you aren't going to cook the eggs, whisk in the granulated sugar and brown sugar, breaking up any chunks of the brown sugar. Add the eggs and vanilla, then continue whisking until smooth. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl, and pour the flour mixture into the large bowl of wet ingredients. Gently fold the flour into the wet mixture until just incorporated; do not overmix. Cover the bowl with a lid, silicone top, or plastic wrap and refrigerate the dough for at least 1-2 hours. [Any longer than that and you'll want to plan ahead ample time to let the dough unharden before scooping.]
• Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Place the confectioners’ sugar in a small wide bowl and the granulated sugar in a separate small wide bowl.
• Remove the dough from the refrigerator. Scoop and form the dough into 1 ½ tablespoon (21 gram) balls, about 1 inch (2½ cm) in diameter. Roll them in the granulated sugar to coat completely, then without shaking off any of the sugar, roll the dough bowl in the confectioners’ sugar to gain a second coat. Again, don't shake off the excess. If the cookies did not pick up enough granulated or confectioners’ sugar at first pass (which is important for visual flair), go back and give the cookies a second roll. Place the coated dough balls on the prepared baking sheets about 2 inches (5 cm) apart.
• Bake a single sheet at a time, rotating the sheet halfway through the baking time, until the cookies start to firm up along the edges, 10 to 11 minutes. If anything, pull these cookies a minute before you think they are done; they still taste fantastic slightly underbaked (with a gooey brownie-like texture inside). Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for 15 minutes. Serve warm or transfer the cookies to a wire rack and let them cool completely.

Notes

How to store: The cookies can be kept, tightly covered, at room temperature for up to 2 days.

Holiday modifications: replace ½ teaspoon of vanilla with a ½ teaspoon of peppermint extract and/or add some chopped peppermint bark to the dough when folding in the flour (plus balance a few small pieces on top of each cookie before baking for major flair)
*If you don't have bread flour, all-purpose will be okay
*In place of the coffee, add 1 teaspoon instant espresso powder to the dry ingredients

#instead of using a double boiler, you can use a microwave to melt the chocolate and butter together in 30 second bursts, stirring after each segment. It should take no more than 2-3 minutes of microwave time to melt. Don't let more than 30 seconds go by without stirring, or you could burn your chocolate at the edges.