The holiday season is an excellent excuse to bake ridiculous amounts of cookies. Luckily, my office is only too happy to gobble them up! I’ve experimented with a couple of different versions of this chocolate crinkle cookie recipe and I think I’m finally happy that I’ve got the right texture and flavor–lightly chocolatey, a hint of spicy cinnamon, sweet but not too sweet, and deliciously soft and chewy.
This is also the first recipe where you’ll see me use coconut oil. I’d always been a pretty stalwart Crisco user, but I’ve read a number of things lately about vegetable shortening that have made me look for a substitute. Coconut oil, which is also solid at room temperature, adds not only fat but a subtle richness as well–most people who tried the cookies couldn’t place exactly what was different about the cookies, but they knew there was a little something extra. I bought a big container at Costco but you can find coconut oil at most health food stores, or various online marketplaces.
Note: If you are a gluten eater, you can omit the xanthan gum and substitute 2 cups of white whole wheat flour for the brown rice, sorghum, and potato starch. I can’t promise the consistency will be exactly the same but it should be close. If you don’t prefer to buy separate gluten-free flours, you could use 2 cups of a gluten-free all purpose flour but the texture will be different (check to see if the mix has xanthan gum, if it does, omit from this recipe).
Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
Ingredients
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup sorghum flour
1 cup potato starch
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp xanthan gum
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup coconut oil/shortening
1 cup raw sugar (or white sugar)
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1/2 cup powdered sugar
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease 2 baking sheets.
- Whisk together all dry ingredients (cocoa through salt) in a bowl. Set aside.
- Using a mixer (or old-fashioned elbow grease), cream together coconut oil and sugar. On medium speed, add vanilla and then eggs one at a time. When eggs have been totally incorporated, add dry mixture one cup at a time, allowing to incorporate before adding the next cup.
- Place powdered sugar in a shallow dish. Using a small cookie scoop, scoop out dough, roll into balls, then roll in powdered sugar to coat. Place about 1 inch apart on the greased baking sheet and press down lightly to flatten the cookies until they are about 1/4 inch thick.
- Bake at 350 for 14 minutes (16 if you prefer a crispier cookie). Cool on a wire rack and enjoy!