Tastes of the season
It’s here. After a lot of musing, planning, and preparation, Cookie-Pa-Looza weekend has arrived. This means starting this evening, my daughter and I will begin the process of making and baking cookies—and distributing Christmas Cookie tins to friends and neighbors. It’s a labor of love. And, we love to do it.

For the most part, the cookie tins contain the same cookies each year—as some would be dearly missed if they were not there. (See the links to the recipes below). I like to make sure that there is a variety of flavors in the cookie box. Something with ginger, something with a citrus flavor, and always something decadent and chocolaty.

Last year we made Dorie Greenspan’s World Peace Cookies but I wanted to do something different this year. Still chocolatey, but different. So I am going with these Classic Chocolate Crinkles.

Chocolate crinkles are a well-loved Christmas cookie. The key is good quality chocolate. And, pro tip, roll the dough balls in superfine sugar before rolling them in powdered sugar. This ensures that the cookies get that snow-covered look.

Be careful with these as they can be very addictive. It’s amazing how many of them “break” and don’t make it to the cookie tin…

Amy’s Classic Christmas Cookies
Swedish Ginger Cookies
Gingies as we call them, are a family favorite. They are easy to make and go great with tea & coffee and you can keep a log in the freezer to cut and bake as needed. When in doubt make more than you need as it’s always fun to share…

Six Layer Bars
Somewhat rich, but oh, so good. This old-fashioned recipe makes great-tasting, nutty bars. It is an easy dessert made with common pantry items. Great for potlucks, parties, and bake sale treats!

Cranberry Orange Biscotti
This recipe is one everyone can enjoy—they are lighter than traditional Italian biscotti and still crunchy. Biscotti bake twice rather than once, but are relatively easy to pull together. They make a delicious, light dessert.

Italian Hazelnut Cookies (Baci di Dama)
These tiny Italian hazelnut-chocolate sandwich cookies are made from a very rich, fragile dough that easily crumbles when you bite into them.

Molded Gingerbread Cookies
I consider these to be project cookies–they take longer than usual to make. But, the results are very much worth the extra labor.

Classic Scottish Shortbread
This recipe adds some oats to the mix for a slightly nuttier flavor. It’s fantastic, and a good choice for gift-giving.

Classic Chocolate Crinkles Recipe
Adapted from King Arthur Baking
Yields about 5 dozen cookies

This variation includes espresso powder, giving the chocolate flavor a boost and adding the slightest aromatic hint of coffee. For a mocha crinkle, increase the espresso powder to 1 tablespoon or more, to taste.

Do ahead: Mix up the dough the day before and chill it in the fridge.

Ingredients
1-1/3 cups bittersweet chocolate or chocolate chips
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
2/3 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons Pure Vanilla Extract
2 teaspoons espresso powder
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon table salt
1-2/3 cups unbleached all-purpose Flour (we recommend King Arthur)
confectioners’ sugar, for coating

Directions
Make the dough
Chop the chocolate (if using a bar).

Melt the chocolate and butter
Place the chocolate and butter in a small saucepan or microwave-safe bowl and heat it until the butter melts. Remove the bowl from the heat, and stir until the chocolate melts and the mixture is smooth.

Mix the wet ingredients
In a separate bowl, beat together the sugar, eggs, vanilla, and espresso powder. Stir in the chocolate mixture.

Mix in the dry ingredients
Stir in the baking powder, salt, and then the flour. Form the dough into a ball and wrap in plastic.

Chill the dough
Chill the dough for 2 to 3 hours, or overnight until it is firm.

Preheat the oven to 325°F. Lightly grease a couple of baking sheets, or line them with parchment paper.

Shape the cookies
Put approximately a cup of confectioners’ sugar into a shallow bowl. Put about a cup of superfine sugar into another shallow bowl.

Using a spoon, or your fingers, scoop out a heaping teaspoon of dough (a teaspoon-sized cookie scoop works well). Each portion of cookie dough should be about 1-1/4 inches in diameter.

Drop about five balls in the superfine sugar leaving space in-between. And, stir them around to coat. Then drop them in the confectioner’s sugar and repeat coating them. Place the sugary balls on a cookie sheet leaving about 1-1/2 inches in-between them.

Repeat until all of the cookies are coated twice and on a baking sheet.

Bake the cookies
Bake the chocolate crinkle cookies for 10 to 12 minutes, swapping the positions of the pan from top to bottom and back to front about halfway through the baking. As the cookies bake, they will flatten out and get their crinkly appearance.

Remove the cookies from the oven and allow them to cook on a rack until completely at room temperature. (Don’t cover them while they are the slightest bit warm.)

To store
Store the cookies at room temperature, well-wrapped, for several days. They will keep longer in the freezer.