The Great Holiday Bake-a-thon, Pt 1 - Chocolate-Mint Crackle Cookies

It's just not Christmas unless the kitchen is full of cookies, and this year is no exception.

When it comes to holiday baking, chocolate crinkle cookies are one of my favourites, because even though they're ridiculously easy to make, they're still impressive enough to fool people into thinking you're some sort of culinary genius. Plus they're awfully pretty to look at, with their dark chocolatey crackles crossing through a coating of snowy white icing sugar, which makes them a perfect choice for a holiday cookie tray.

While I absolutely love the fudgey chocolate flavour of the traditional chocolate version, I figured I'd up the ante in this year's batch by stirring in a teensy bit of peppermint extract for an extra burst of holiday cheer.

If you're not a fan of mint/chocolate combos (or if you're a staunch cookie traditionalist), just use the same amount of vanilla extract instead of peppermint. Or if you're more of a mocha fan, stir 2 tbsp of instant coffee granules into the dry ingredients and use a vanilla or coffee extract as a flavouring. No matter what flavour you go with, though, make sure to use a good-quality cocoa powder for maximum chocolatey goodness.

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Chocolate-Mint Crinkle Cookies

1 cup all-purpose flour
½ cup sugar
½ cup unsweetened cocoa, pref Dutch-process
1 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
¼ cup butter, softened
2 eggs, beaten lightly
1 tsp peppermint extract
¼ cup icing sugar

In a large metal mixing bowl, sift together flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder and salt. Using fingers, rub in the butter until evenly distributed throughout. Add eggs and peppermint extract, and stir until a thick dough comes together. Chill dough in the refrigerator until firm, about 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 400F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Using a spoon or a melon baller, scoop out teaspoon-sized balls of dough. Pour the icing sugar into a small mixing bowl and add the dough balls, 2-3 at a time, rolling around to coat evenly with sugar.
Arrange the icing-sugar coated balls 2" apart on the prepared baking sheets and bake in preheated oven for 8-10 minutes, or until cookies are just set and have evenly crackled tops.