Mexican wedding cookies always come to mind when I imagine a snow-inspired dessert. But I'll take a rich chocolate cookie rolled in powdered sugar over a shortbread cookie any day.
These classic chocolate crinkle cookies are kicked up a notch by adding extra cocoa powder and semisweet chocolate chips because double the chocolate is always better.
I took food science in college as part of my nutrition and dietetics degree, but one thing I never understood is why some cookie recipes required the dough to be refrigerated prior to baking them.
So I did a little research and some recipe testing of my own to see if this was just a myth or if there was actually a purpose to refrigerating some cookie doughs prior to baking them.
Here's what I found:
Sugar in cookie dough absorbs the moisture that is naturally found in flour. By refrigerating the dough, it allows the the flour to fully hydrate, thus allowing the sugar to absorb more moisture. But why is this important? Sugar is the ingredient that helps brown and caramelize the cookie. In some baked goods, if there is not a prominent golden brown color, that means not enough sugar was added. An on the other side of the spectrum, if your baked goods are browning too much and are getting a crunchy, caramelized outside layer; then too much sugar was added.
Butter becomes soft at room temperature and oil remains liquid at room temperature. When you refrigerate either one of these, they become more solid. When you refrigerate cookie dough prior to baking, the fat becomes more solid and helps prevent the cookies from spreading when they bake. A classic example of this is cut-out sugar cookies. Have you noticed that every recipe for cut-out sugar cookies instructs you to refrigerate the dough for at least 2 hours before baking them? THIS IS WHY!!!
There is an ideal amount of time to refrigerate cookie dough for. Anything less than 30 minutes, you won't notice a difference. Anything more than 24 hours you won't notice a difference either. Also, you need to let the dough thaw for about 10-15 minutes in order to spoon it out onto the baking sheet because it's rock hard from being in the refrigerator. If you wait any longer than this to get them on the baking sheet and into the oven will make no difference and you've wasted your time refrigerating the dough in the first place.
But not every type of dough needs to be refrigerated. You don't normally refrigerate dough for chocolate chip cookies, oatmeal raisin cookies, or if you're making cake mix cookies. You just mix away, slap them on a baking sheet and call it good.
The doughs you will want to refrigerate are the ones that you want to hold their shape: peanut butter cookies, cut-out sugar cookies, shortbread cookies, crinkle cookies, etc. You will get the best end result if you refrigerate the dough prior to baking it.
Who knew there was so much science in baking!!?? I mean all of us obviously...
Start by mixing the dry ingredients together: all-purpose flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt.
Next cream together the softened butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar with an electric mixer. Add in the egg and vanilla and beat until incorporated. Gently mix in the chocolate chips.
Gradually add in the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients until they are mixed in.
Scrape the sides of the bowl; cover it with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours and no more than 24 hours.
Once the dough has chilled for the appropriate amount of time, preheat the oven to 350°F.
Let the dough sit out at room temperature for about 10-15 minutes, until the dough is soft enough to scoop onto the baking sheet.
Roll the dough balls in the powdered sugar/granulated sugar mix until they are coated. Place them back on the baking sheet and repeat this step with the remaining dough balls.
Bake the cookies for 11-12 minutes until they start to crinkle (split). Let the sit and cool for 5 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack.
Double Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
Ingredients
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup mini or regular semisweet chocolate chips
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 cup powdered sugar
Instructions
1. Mix together the all-purpose flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
Cream together the softened butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar. Add in the egg and vanilla and beat until well combined.
Gently stir in the semisweet chocolate chips.
Gradually add in the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mixing so the dry ingredients are well incorporated.
Scrape the sides of the mixing bowl and cover it with plastic wrap.
Refrigerate the dough for at least 2 hours and no more than 24 hours.
In a small mixing bowl, mix the granulated sugar and powdered sugar. This will be used for rolling.
Once the dough has been refrigerated for the appropriate amount of time, let it sit at room temperature no more than 10-15 minutes. Just until it is soft enough to scoop the dough.
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Scoop the dough and roll into 1-inch balls. Roll the dough balls in the sugar and place them on a baking pan. Repeat these steps with the remaining dough.
Bake for 11-12 minutes, or until the cookies start to crinkle (split apart).
Let them cool for at least 5 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack.
Nutritional Information
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