Chocolate Espresso Crinkle Cookies

The countdown is on! Fewer than 10 days until Christmas. Have you done your fair share of holiday baking already, or have you yet to start?! I have done some here and there, but I plan to do more. Thankfully, I've already made these awesome cookies with enough time to spare before Christmas to share them with you! If you're still looking for more Christmas cookie recipes to try, then stop looking. I've found one for you. ;) These chocolate espresso crinkle cookies are amazing.

The fabulous recipe is from Heather Christo.

Ingredients:

-1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

-1 and 1/2 cups sugar

-2 eggs

-3 Tbsp. espresso, cooled

-2 cups all-purpose flour

-1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

-2 tsp. baking powder

-1 tsp. salt

-1 to 2 cups powdered sugar (for rolling)

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cookie sheets with a silpat or parchment paper. With an electric mixer, cream together the butter and sugar. Add the eggs, one at a time, followed by the espresso. Mix everything together until well combined. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt; add dry ingredients to the wet. Scoop dough by the tablespoonful, roll into balls, and then coat by rolling in powdered sugar. Place on cookie sheets, and bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until cookies "crack" and are set. Let cool for a couple minutes before removing to cool completely on cooling rack. Store in airtight container. Makes about 30 cookies.

 I baked these the day after we got our first snowstorm of the season. It was a perfect way to spend a snowy afternoon!

We love these cookies. If you know someone who loves coffee and chocolate, definitely make these for them! They are soft, chewy, and full of flavor. And the espresso definitely kicks up the chocolateyness (yes, that's a word) a notch.

Also, a few notes about the recipe and method... I did use espresso, although my guess is you could try making these with regular coffee - just brew it strong! Also, I refrigerated my dough, only for 10 - 15 minutes or so, before rolling it into balls. It made it slightly easier to work with. That being said, it wasn't a very difficult dough to work with in the first place! So chilling is definitely not necessary (the original recipe does not instruct to chill the dough). And finally, I only needed about 1 cup of powdered sugar for rolling although the original recipe calls for 2 cups. So, I recommend starting out with just 1 cup so you don't "dirty" more powdered sugar than you have to. And finally, my cookies took closer to 11 or 12 minutes to bake, instead of 8 to 10 - so just keep an eye on yours. As we all know, baking times will vary with each oven!

Santa was eyeing these cookies... I think he'd like some left out for him on Christmas Eve. ;)

These are a perfect Christmas cookie, in my opinion! I hope you get the chance to make them this season. :)

Btw, apparently I'm into sharing recipes lately that involve rolling things in powdered sugar! In case you missed it, these rum balls I recently posted about would also make an excellent Christmas treat this season.