This is the season for cookies and you’ve been baking up a storm. But if you are looking for a beautiful and delicious chocolate cookie for New Year’s Eve, these Fudge Drop Crinkle Cookies are a wonderful choice. You will love the crunchy edges and chewy, fudgy centers!
Everyone loves cookies. They are my husband’s favorite dessert. They are the perfect after-school treat and they are easy to make and perfect to have on hand.
Why don’t we make them very often? Once you realize how easy they are to make from scratch, you may be more willing to bypass the store-bought versions. I hope this recipe and the others I share with you will help with that choice!
These cookies are a little fudgy in the middle and a little crispy at the edges. Kind of the best of all worlds! A mouthful of chocolate that will appease even the most fanatical chocoholic.
This recipe comes from a fantastic cookbook, “Bittersweet” by Alice Medrich. Alice is the recipient of multiple James Beard awards for Cookbook of the Year. This is the equivalent of an Academy Award and just as elusive. It is incredible to receive one, let alone two.
Alice is known in the industry as the “First Lady of Chocolate” and expert bakers look to her expertise when they have chocolate challenges. “Bittersweet” is a book that takes baking with chocolate to a new level. If you have ever tried to substitute one kind of chocolate for another and had your tried and true recipe fail, this is the book for you!
She started her career by making the most sinfully rich chocolate truffles that America had ever tasted and soon opened a shop called “Cocolat” a few doors down from Chez Panisse in Berkeley, CA. At the time truffles were virtually unknown, and with her beginners enthusiasm, Alice created what became known as “California” truffles.
Cocolat expanded to a chain of seven stores in the San Francisco Bay Area and with that experience Alice became one of the country’s most beloved cookbook authors. She teaches cooking classes around the country and if she comes to your area, do yourself a favor and take the opportunity to experience a true expert in her field!
During the holidays recipes for cookies become as valuable as gold. Add these Fudge Drop Crinkle Cookies to your baking repertoire and you’ll be the most popular person in your town!
Happy New Year and Happy Chocolate Monday!
Did you enjoy this recipe? Let me know in the comments and leave a star rating, I love hearing from you!
Ingredients needed for Fudge Drop Crinkle Cookies:
- Gluten-free flour blend or all-purpose flour, baking soda, salt
- Cayenne, butter, cocoa powder, sugar, brown sugar,
- Yogurt or buttermilk, vanilla, powdered sugar
PRO Tip:
You can also melt the butter in the microwave and transfer to the bowl of your stand mixer. Then follow the directions as written, being careful not to over-mix the dough.
How to make Fudge Drop Crinkle Cookies:
- Whisk the flour, baking soda, salt, and cayenne together thoroughly and set aside; melt the butter and transfer to the bowl of your stand mixer along with the cocoa, stirring until blended and smooth
- Stir in both sugars until the mixture is sandy, then mix in the yogurt and vanilla; add the flour mixture all at once, mixing until fully incorporated and you have a soft dough – do not over mix the dough
- Scoop portions of the dough into balls then roll in the powdered sugar until heavily coated; place on lined baking sheets and bake at 350°F for 9 to 11 minutes until cracked but still a little soft when gently pressed
- Slide the cookies, still on their parchment paper onto wire racks to cool; best on the day they are baked, they will keep in an airtight container for 2 to 3 days, softening as they sit
PRO Tip:
I always roll my cookies in the powdered sugar twice to be sure I’ve got a thick coating on all sides. This way the cookies will have their characteristic dynamic cracked surface with black and white designs.
Recommended Tools (affiliate links; no extra cost to you):
- Kitchen scale
- Dry measuring cups and liquid measuring cups
- Baking sheets
- Parchment paper or Silpat silicone mats
- Mixing bowls
- Medium saucepan
- Stand mixer or hand mixer
- Cookie scoop
- Pie plate
Gluten-Free Tips:
You can adjust any baking recipe to gluten-free by using 120 grams per cup of my favorite gluten-free flour blend. If you are using another brand of gluten-free flour, whisk the mix, spoon it lightly into a measuring cup until mounded, level off the top with a straight edge, and weigh the flour left in the cup. Use that weight as your standard per cup of that specific flour. Do this for each flour blend you use. Commercial blends such as Pamela’s All-Purpose Artisan Blend, Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1, or King Arthur Measure for Measure are all good choices.
All recommended ingredients are gluten-free as of the writing of this article. Always check to be sure the products haven’t changed and are still safe to consume.
Fudge Drop Crinkle Cookies (Gluten Free)
The recipe calls for natural cocoa which has the most complex flavor, but you can use Dutch-process if you prefer. Avoid “black” cocoa due to its harshness. You will love the crunchy edges and chewy, fudgy centers of these lovely Fudge Drop Crinkle Cookies!
Ingredients
- 2 to 3 cups (227g to 340g) confectioners’ sugar
- 1 cup (120g) bleached all-purpose flour or gluten-free flour blend *see note
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- Pinch of salt
- 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper, optional
- 5 tbsp (71g) unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup plus 1 tbsp (47g) unsweetened natural cocoa powder
- 2/3 cup (75g) granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup (71g) packed brown sugar
- 1/3 cup (76g) low-fat yogurt or buttermilk
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Arrange the racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Line two cookie sheets with parchment or Silpats. Pour the confectioners’ sugar into a shallow dish like a pie plate and set aside.
- Make the Cookie Dough: In a large mixing bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, salt, and cayenne together thoroughly. Set aside.
- In a medium saucepan, melt the butter then take it off the heat and transfer to the bowl of a stand mixer, and stir in the cocoa until blended and smooth. Stir in both sugars; the mixture will be sandy. Mix in the yogurt and vanilla. Add the flour mixture all at once and stir just until it is entirely moistened and incorporated. Be careful not to over mix the dough.
- Using a cookie scoop, portion out tablespoons of the dough and drop the balls of dough into the plate of confectioners’ sugar, roll them around to coat heavily, and then place on the lined baking sheets about 1-1/2 inches apart on the lined baking sheets.
- Bake the Cookies: Bake until the cookies look dry and cracked on top but still feel a little soft when pressed, 9 to 11 minutes. Rotate the sheets from top to bottom and spin them front to back halfway through the baking. Slide the cookies, still on the parchment paper, off the sheets and onto wire racks to cool.
- While they are best on the day they are baked, the cookies will keep for 2 to 3 days in an airtight container, they will soften and lose their crunchy exterior.
Recipe found at www.theheritagecook.com
Notes
You can adjust any recipe to gluten-free by using 120 grams per cup of my favorite gluten-free flour blend. If you are using another brand of gluten-free flour, whisk the mix, spoon it lightly into a measuring cup without a spout until mounded, level off the top with the back of a knife, and weigh the flour left in the cup. Use that weight as your standard per cup of that specific flour. Do this for each flour blend you use. Commercial blends such as Pamela's, Bob's Red Mill 1-to-1, or King Arthur Measure for Measure are all good choices.
All recommended ingredients are gluten-free as of the writing of this article. Always check to be sure the products haven’t changed and are still safe to consume.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
36Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 46Total Fat: 2gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 5mgSodium: 39mgCarbohydrates: 6gFiber: 0gSugar: 1gProtein: 1g
The nutritional information for recipes on this site is calculated by online tools and is merely an estimate.
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Welcome! The suggestions here are not intended as dietary advice or as a substitute for consulting a dietician, physician, or other medical professional. Please see the Disclaimers/Privacy Policy page for additional details. Unauthorized use, distribution, and/or duplication of proprietary material from The Heritage Cook without prior approval is prohibited. If you have any questions or would like permission, please contact me. We participate in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. As an Amazon Associate, I earn a small amount from qualifying purchases without any additional cost to you. This page may contain affiliate links. This post was first shared in Nov 2010. The article was updated in 2022.
