Chocolate Crinkle Cookie Sandwiches with Candy Cane Frosting

Christmas is much more low key this year, so let’s go overboard with the cookies, shall we?

ℂ𝕙𝕠𝕔𝕠𝕝𝕒𝕥𝕖 ℂ𝕣𝕚𝕟𝕜𝕝𝕖 ℂ𝕠𝕠𝕜𝕚𝕖 𝕨𝕚𝕥𝕙 ℂ𝕒𝕟𝕕𝕪 ℂ𝕒𝕟𝕖 𝔹𝕦𝕥𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕔𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕞 𝕊𝕒𝕟𝕕𝕨𝕚𝕔𝕙 is a mouthful, both literally and figuratively! These Chocolate Crinkle Cookies were one of many delicious treats I got in my share of a cookie exchange, but I couldn’t leave well enough alone. They were absolutely delicious on their own, but having just made buttercream frosting for something else, and spying a lonesome, un-wanted, cracked candy cane on the garland above my door, I thought I could give the candy cane a purpose this Christmas season.

This is definitely more than your average cookie. These @epicurious cookies on their own are outrageously good. If you’re making the sandwiches as pictured here, I’d halve the amount of espresso powder, it was a little overpowering with the mint. But if you make them just as cookies, the full amount of coffee is juuuuuust right. Sending you all lots of festive love! xoxo Kirsty

Ingredients for 12 sandwich cookies

• 1 cup (125g) flour

• 1/2 cup (55g) unsweetened cocoa powder

• 1 teaspoon baking powder

• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1-1/2 cups (330g) packed brown sugar

• 3 large eggs

• 2 teaspoons instant espresso powder (increase to 4 teaspoons if making cookies without the candy cane frosting)

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 4 oz. (113g) dark chocolate, at least 60% cocoa solids, chopped

• 1/4 cup (60g) unsalted butter

• 1/2 cup (95g) granulated sugar

• 1/2 cup (65g) confectioners' sugar

For the candy cane frosting:

• 1/2 cup (115g) unsalted butter, at room temperature

• 1-3/4 cups (225g) confectioners’ sugar

• pinch of salt

• 1 teaspoon peppermint extract

• 1 crushed candy cane, regular size, or swirly peppermint hard candy, (0.44oz/12grams)

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Combine flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.

Beat the brown sugar, eggs, espresso powder and vanilla together in large bowl for 1 minute, until a completely combined. Combine chocolate and butter in a seperate bowl and microwave at 30 second intervals, stirring between each interval, until just melted.

Whisk chocolate mixture into egg mixture until combined. Fold in flour mixture until no streaks remain. Cover and refrigerate the mixture for 20-30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 325F (165C).

Place the granulated sugar and confectioners' sugar in two separate shallow dishes. Remove the dough from the fridge, and using 2 teaspoons, scoop little balls of dough. Drop the dough balls directly into granulated sugar and roll to coat. Transfer dough balls to the bowl with confectioners' sugar and roll to coat again. By now they should be pretty round. Evenly space dough balls onto the prepared baking sheets, around 12 per sheet.

Bake the cookies, 1 sheet at a time (if your oven has a convection/fan function you can do both sheets at the same time but reduce temperature to 300F/150C), for 12 minutes, until they’ve spread a bit, are puffed and cracked. The edges should look like they’ve begun to set but the centers can still soft. Allow to cool completely on sheet before serving or sandwiching together with the frosting.

Whilst the cookies are cooling, make the buttercream. Place butter into a large bowl and beat until creamy, 2 minutes. Slowly add confectioners’ sugar and beat for another 2 minutes. Finally, add the salt, peppermint extract and half of the candy cane pieces (reserve the rest for garnish). Beat until combined for 30 seconds.

Transfer to a piping bag and pipe rounds of icing onto the bottom of one cookies, sandwiching it with another. Gently roll the edges in the remaining candy cane pieces and enjoy! These keep for 3-4 days in an airtight container in a cool place. Icing can be made ahead ‘on stand-by’ for further cookies (or snack attacks) for a week in the fridge.

Cookie recipe adapted from epicurious.com Chocolate Crinkle Cookie recipe