Coffee Chocolate Crinkles

I’ve tested a few cookies out as candidates to take to a neighborhood cookie exchange. These coffee chocolate crinkles are strong contenders. I think holiday cookies not only have to be tasty, but they have to be something you wouldn’t make on some random day in July. No run of the mill cookies in sight. Make it special and something that you look forward to each December. Keep in mind you don’t have to spend hours in the kitchen to bake up these holiday memories. Exactly the opposite is true. You will more likely make recipes an annual tradition if they are easy enough to make. Count on these coffee chocolate crinkles to fit the bill.

This particular recipe comes from the book Crazy about Cookies by Krystina Castella. Her version might even be more tempting—a Coffee Liqueur Crinkle. I didn’t have coffee liqueur on hand so I substituted espresso instead. Coffee would work nicely as well.

So what do you think, will these pillow-like chocolate and coffee cookies be a hit at the cookie exchange? Or do you have a standby that you count on for your annual holiday party?

Ingredients: (from page 150 in Crazy about Cookies)
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (I added another 1/4 cup to my dough)
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
12 ounces bittersweet chocolate
4 Tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter, softened
2 large eggs
1/2 cup espresso
2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
1 cup confectioners’ sugar (to roll the balls of dough in before baking)

1. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl, set aside.
2. Heat the chocolate and butter in a double boiler until melted. Set aside to cool.
3. Beat the eggs, espresso and granulated sugar until smooth.
4. Add the flour mixture and chocolate to the egg mixture. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 2-3 hours or until firm.
5. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment.
6. Put the confectioners’ sugar in a bowl. Use a melon-baller to scoop consistent amounts of dough. Roll them in your hands into balls. Drop the dough balls into the confectioners’ sugar and coat thoroughly.
7. Place the balls on the cookie sheets about 2 inches apart. One dozen should fit on each cookie sheet. Bake for 10 minutes then let cool for 5 minutes before transferring the cookies to a rack.

Do you need a pretty way to present these cookies as a gift? Check out this post on creative packaging.