Are you in search of a gorgeous festive cookie? My chocolate crinkle cookies are the best you can find. They are fudgy, cakey and the sugar holds up for days. Chocolate, honey and walnuts make them the perfect treat.
I love these cookies. The crinkled pattern is just gorgeous! Prior to baking, the cookies are generously rolled in icing sugar. During baking, the tops will set and the cookies expand and rise. Consequently, they will start to crack. These cookies are divine and you’ll fall in love with them.
For more festive cookie recipes, you might check these: Christmas sugar cookies, classic Italian cantuccini or these peanut Heidesand cookies.
Chocolate, honey and walnuts
My favourite flavour all through December is chocolate. I am craving it. In fact, I eat way more chocolate at Christmas time than through the whole year. Wink. But, don’t we all do that? Chocolate cookies are the favourite ones, loved by everyone. However, these crinkle cookies have way more than just rich dark chocolate.
A couple of months ago we were visiting my parents in Slovenia and we bought some chestnut honey. This honey is dark in colour and extremely aromatic. It also has a high antioxidant, mineral and pollen content and a superior nutritional profile. In other words, it’s super healthy and, in moderate quantities, good for your body.
More, the flavour is unique and highly appreciated by those who like strong, less sweet honey. In fact, it adds a light gingerbread aroma to the cookies. Also, brown sugar adds a caramel flavour and keeps the cookies moist.
Last but not least, there a walnuts. Ground walnuts take care of the nutty flavour. And, the combination of chocolate, walnuts and honey is simply the best winning combo.
Easy to make, fun to eat
Chocolate crinkles are super easy to make and they are a real eye-catcher. However, there are some tricks how to keep the whole process smooth and quick. Firstly, the dough is really sticky. Therefore, chilling the dough for the crinkle cookies is mandatory. As a result, forming the cookies will be easier and quicker, as well. Also, I recommend slightly wetting your hands and washing your hands between each tray that goes in the oven.
Secondly, I’ve read that rolling the dough first in the caster sugar and then in the icing sugar, prevents the icing sugar from melting “too quickly”. Well, I’ve made a test, but I didn’t like the result after baking. The icing sugar wasn’t holding up as good as it should. Therefore, I rolled the dough only in icing sugar.
Store the cookies in an airtight cookie box for up to a week. However, I don’t think they’ll last that long. Wink. Or, you can freeze them for up to 3 months, too.
Ingredients for 60-70 chocolate crinkle cookies:
- 130 g dark chocolate
- 80 g butter
- 160 g eggs (or 3 larger eggs)
- 30 g chestnut honey
- 70 g brown sugar
- 3 drops of vanilla paste
- 130 g flour
- 3/4 tsp baking powder
- a pinch of salt
- 1,5 Tbsp cocoa powder
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 65 g ground walnuts
- icing sugar (to roll the cookies in)
To begin, put chocolate and butter into a heatproof bowl and melt them on the water bath. Stir until well combined and glossy. Allow chilling to a lukewarm temperature.
In the meantime, mix the eggs, honey, sugar and vanilla until foamy. Then, slowly, a couple of spoons at a time, stir in the melted chocolate.
Afterwards, put flour, salt, baking powder, cocoa powder, cinnamon and ground walnuts in a bowl and stir them to combine. Add the flour mixture to the egg-chocolate batter and stir until well incorporated.
Once the dough results thick and sticky, scrape the sides of the bowl and tightly cover with transparent foil (by placing the foil directly on the dough). Place the bowl in the fridge for at least 4 hours or overnight.
Furthermore, preheat the oven to 180º C and line three baking sheets with parchment paper. In a plate with a flat bottom generously add the icing sugar.
Then, remove the cookie dough from the fridge and start forming the cookies. Using a teaspoon, scoop the dough into your palm (slightly wet your hands) and roll it into a ball. It should have a size of 2 cm.
At this point, roll the ball in the icing sugar and generously cover the whole ball with it. Place each ball on the baking sheet, leaving 3 cm space in between them, and put to bake, on the middle rack, for 10 minutes.
In the meantime, prepare the second baking sheet. Continue until you use all of the cookie dough. If the dough turns too soft, simply pop it back in the fridge for 20 minutes or 10 minutes in the freezer.
After the cookies get the lovely cracks, remove the sheet from the oven and allow the cookies to cool off for 5 minutes. Then, transfer them onto a wire rack to chill completely.
Finally, serve the chocolate crinkle cookies with tea, coffee or hot cocoa. They make a wonderful present and a delicious treat on Sunday afternoon as well. And, they are the perfect holiday cookies!
Enjoy and happy holidays.
