Crinkle cookies are all about the cracks. The dough is soft and dark, rolled thickly in icing sugar, and as it bakes the outside splits open into white snowy cracks while the inside stays fudgy. These ones are flavoured with peppermint extract and crushed candy canes folded right through the dough, so every bite tastes of dark chocolate and cool mint, with little red pieces of candy cane in the crumb. The dough needs a good chill before baking, which is what makes the cracks deep and the centres soft. They are a classic Christmas cookie tray bake, and they keep well in a tin for days.
Chocolate Peppermint Crinkle Cookies with Crushed Candy Canes
Fudgy chocolate peppermint crinkle cookies with crushed candy canes in the dough, rolled twice in icing sugar for deep snowy cracks and a cool minty bite.
Ingredients
Method
- Beat the softened butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes.
- Beat in the egg, vanilla, and peppermint extract. In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt.
- Add the dry mixture to the butter mixture and mix on low speed until just combined. Fold in the crushed candy canes with a spatula. The dough will be soft and dark.
- Cover the bowl and chill the dough in the fridge for at least 1 hour, or overnight. The dough must be cold and firm, or the cracks will not form.
- Heat the oven to 175°C (350°F). Line two baking trays with baking paper. Put the icing sugar in a small bowl.
- Roll the cold dough into balls about 3 cm wide. Roll each ball in the icing sugar, then roll it a second time in the icing sugar so the coating is thick and even. Place them about 5 cm apart on the trays. Do not press them flat.
- Bake one tray at a time for 11 to 13 minutes, until the edges are set and the tops have split into deep cracks. The centres should still look slightly soft.
- Cool on the tray for 5 minutes, then move to a rack to cool fully. The cracks will set as the cookies cool.
Ingredients
- 115 g unsalted butter, softened
- 150 g granulated sugar
- 50 g light brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract — a little goes a long way; do not add more, or the cookies will taste like toothpaste
- 200 g plain flour
- 50 g unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 60 g crushed candy canes — fold them through the dough, so the peppermint flavour and red pieces run through every cookie
- 100 g icing sugar, for rolling
Method
- Beat the softened butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes.
- Beat in the egg, vanilla, and peppermint extract. In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt.
- Add the dry mixture to the butter mixture and mix on low speed until just combined. Fold in the crushed candy canes with a spatula. The dough will be soft and dark.
- Cover the bowl and chill the dough in the fridge for at least 1 hour, or overnight. The dough must be cold and firm, or the cracks will not form.
- Heat the oven to 175°C (350°F). Line two baking trays with baking paper. Put the icing sugar in a small bowl.
- Roll the cold dough into balls about 3 cm wide. Roll each ball in the icing sugar, then roll it a second time in the icing sugar so the coating is thick and even. Place them about 5 cm apart on the trays. Do not press them flat.
- Bake one tray at a time for 11 to 13 minutes, until the edges are set and the tops have split into deep cracks. The centres should still look slightly soft.
- Cool on the tray for 5 minutes, then move to a rack to cool fully. The cracks will set as the cookies cool.
Mistakes, Substitutions, Serving and Storage
- Common mistakes: skipping the chill, so the cookies spread flat and the cracks do not form; rolling the dough balls in only a thin layer of icing sugar, so the cracks look faint; using too much peppermint extract, so the cookies taste like toothpaste.
- Substitutions: use peppermint extract only and leave out the candy canes if you cannot find them; use crushed peppermint sweets instead of candy canes; use dark cocoa powder for a deeper chocolate flavour.
- Serving ideas: serve with milk, coffee, or hot chocolate, or pack them into a tin as a Christmas gift. They look best piled on a tray with other Christmas cookies.
- Storage and reheating: store in an airtight tin at room temperature for up to 5 days. The icing sugar may soak in a little as they sit, so dust them with a little fresh icing sugar before serving. Freeze the baked cookies for up to 2 months. Do not reheat.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Why do I need to chill the dough? Cold dough spreads slowly in the oven, so the outside sets and cracks while the inside stays soft and fudgy. Warm dough spreads flat and bakes into thin cookies with no cracks.
- Why roll twice in icing sugar? A single thin coat soaks into the dough and the cracks look faint. Two thick coats stay white and split open into deep, snowy cracks.
- How much peppermint extract should I use? Half a teaspoon is enough for this batch. Peppermint extract is very strong, and more than that will taste like toothpaste.
- Why did my cookies not crack? The dough was probably too warm, or the icing sugar coating was too thin. Chill the dough for a full hour and roll each ball twice in icing sugar.
