Brownie Crinkle Cookies
Brownie crinkle cookies are rich, fudgy, brownie-like cookies with a thick bite, soft centers, and crinkly sugar coated tops. With melt-in-your-mouth texture, these cookies are hard to resist. We'll be baking them all winter long.
Servings: 20 cookies
Equipment
Ingredients
- ½ c plant or reduced fat butter, slightly softened
- 1⅓ c granulated sugar, divided
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1⅓ c all-purpose or white whole wheat flour
- ⅔ c Dutch processed cocoa powder (like Hershey's special dark)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp espresso powder
- ½ tsp salt
- ⅓ c powdered sugar (for rolling)
Instructions
- In a stand mixer, cream together butter and 1 cup granulated sugar at medium high speed until smooth and creamy and butter is lighter in color, about 2-3 minutes. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, and vanilla extract.
- In a medium bowl, combine flour, cocoa, baking powder, espresso powder, and salt. Reduce the mixer speed to low. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Be careful to not over-mix the batter.
- Refrigerate the dough 2 hours, as the dough will be a little sticky. Remove the dough from the fridge about 20 minutes before shaping and preheat the oven to 350℉.
- Place ⅓ cup of granulated sugar in a small bowl and ⅓ cup powdered sugar in a second small bowl. Scoop and roll about 1½ tablespoons of dough into a ball. First roll the balls in granulated sugar, then roll them in powdered sugar until generously coated (don't skimp!). Transfer to a baking sheet, spacing cookies about 2 inches apart. Repeat until the cookie sheet is full.
- Bake cookies for 11 to 13 minutes. Allow cookies to cool partially on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack or wax paper to finish cooling.
Notes
FAQs:
- How do I prevent powdered sugar from melting? The secret is to first roll your dough in a thin layer of granulated sugar, then coat it generously in powdered sugar. The granulated sugar will draw the moisture from the top of the cookies while they bake, creating lovely cracks and allowing the powdered sugar to stay in its powdered, unmelted form.
- Why are my crinkle cookies not cracking? Oven temperature is usually to blame for your cookies not cracking. Be sure to fully preheat your oven to 350F before baking. You may also need to add more sugar to the coating, as the sugar is what helps create the cracks by drawing out the moisture. And lastly, check that your baking powder is fresh, as expired leavening agents won't do their job properly.
- Why didn't my crinkle cookies spread? Just to note, our crinkle cookies are designed to be thicker than typical crinkle cookies. This is due to the dough being chilled for longer and baking at a slightly higher temperature than is usual for crinkle cookies (350F instead of 325F). Both allow the edges to set more quickly and reduces spreading. If you covet thin crinkle cookies, you can skip the chilling time, bake at 325F, or try a different recipe.
- What does espresso do to cookies? Espresso powder helps deepen the rich chocolate flavor of these brownie crinkle cookies.