Recommendation: These cookies are basically just brownies in cookie form and not overly complicated to make. My family has told me that they actually prefer these cookies over brownies. They are wonderfully chocolate flavor, chewy texture, and stay soft days after being baked unlike some other cookies that turn rock hard when they cool. The only suggestion that I would give to improve this recipe is to sprinkle the cookies with a little flaky salt at the end which I did enhances the flavor of the chocolate significantly and provides a great contrast to the sweet cookie.
I first saw this recipe on Ethan Chlebowski’s YouTube channel and thought they looked really cool so I decided to give them a try this Christmas. The recipe was easy to follow and the video taught me some new things. For example, I learned that the ideal temperature to cream your butter with sugar is 60 degrees Fahrenheit, and that chocolate chip cookies (and the Christmas Crinkle) are “best” when they reach an internal temperature of 175-185 degrees Fahrenheit.
These cookies can be made with ingredients that can be normally found inside my house, with the exception of unsweetened baking chocolate and powdered sugar. This recipe is doable without any special equipment as demonstrated in his video.
I find that this recipe can be a little tedious to make if you weigh out the dough carefully like I did but this will vary depending if you have a disher, the size of the cookies you want to make, and/or how much you care about them being exact (lol).
I think the act of rolling out the balls of cookie dough and rolling them in powdered sugar would make for a fun activity to do with kids.
Everything went as expected when following this recipe and highly recommend anyone interested giving this a try. Even though they are called Christmas Cookies I know I for one will not be waiting around till next year to make them again!
Minh & Tim 