Micah A. Leal
Somewhere between a brownie and a double chocolate cookie, these Chocolate Crinkle Cookies are crisp on the outside and exceptionally gooey on the inside. In fact, they’re packed with so much chocolate that they’ll fall apart if you remove them from the baking sheet before you’ve let them cool. By rolling the cookie dough balls in powdered sugar and gently pressing them down with a spatula in the middle of baking, the powdered sugar creates the crinkly effect across the surface that makes these cookies just as attractive to the eye as they are to the stomach. Instant espresso powder is used to highlight the chocolate flavor without making the cookies taste like coffee, and the salt called for in the recipe adds a nice edge to balance the rich sweetness. You can use all-purpose flour instead of cake flour if need be, but the cake flour helps to make the cookie extra tender, which is what you want when biting through mini puddles of semisweet chocolate suspended throughout each cookie.
How to Make It
Step 1
Preheat oven to 325°F. Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
Step 2
Beat sugar and butter together until lightened, about 2 minutes. Add corn syrup and mix to combine. Scrape down sides of bowl, add egg, and beat for an additional 2 minutes until fluffy.
Step 3
In a separate bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder, espresso powder, baking soda, and salt. Add to wet ingredients and mix on low until just combined, 1 to 2 minutes. Mix in chocolate until combined, 1 minute.
Step 4
Place powdered sugar in a small bowl. Scoop out cookie dough in heaping tablespoon amounts and roll the cookie dough in your hands to create a ball. Place each ball, one at a time, in the powdered sugar and roll it around in the sugar until the dough is completely covered. Gently lift the cookie dough out of the bowl and place it on a prepared baking sheet. Repeat with remaining cookie dough, spacing the balls of dough about 3 inches apart.
Step 5
Bake for 10 minutes, remove from oven and use a flat unspotted spatula to flatten each cookie by pressing down on the ball until it forms a 3 inch wide circle. Wipe the spatula with a paper towel between each cookie press, and return cookies to oven to finish baking for an additional 7 minutes. Allow to cool on baking sheet before serving. (Note: the cookies will fall apart if you try to remove them from the baking sheet before they have cooled slightly.)
