Chocolate Peppermint Crinkle Cookies (Gluten-Free)
These chocolate peppermint crinkle cookies are rich and deeply chocolaty like truffles. Flavored with half a pound of dark chocolate and a tiny bit of peppermint oil, they are generously studded with Ghirardelli Dark Chocolate Peppermint Bark. I know they will be the gluten-free hit of your next cookie exchange!
8ouncesbittersweet chocolate(Use any good quality dark chocolate)
3tablespoonsbutter
2.6ouncesBob's Red Mill(or similar) super fine almond flour
2teaspoonsnon-dutch processed cocoa powder
2bars(6 oz) chocolate peppermint candy, finely chopped (I used Ghirardelli Dark Chocolate Peppermint Bark)
2large eggs(at room temperature)
2.4ounces1/4 cup plus one tablespoon sugar
5drops peppermint oil or 1/4-1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract
½teaspoonkosher salt
1 ½cupssifted powdered sugarfor coating
Instructions
Using a double boiler or the microwave on medium power in 30 second bursts, melt the chocolate and butter together. Stir until smooth and set aside to cool slightly.
Whisk together the almond flour and cocoa powder.
Stir the flour mixture into the chocolate mixture until evenly combined.
Stir in the finely chopped chocolate.
In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip together the eggs, sugar, peppermint oil and salt until very light and fluffy and tripled in volume.
Whisk about 1/4 of the egg mixture together with the almond flour mixture.
Then gently but thoroughly fold in the rest of the eggs.
Cover and chill for 45 minutes.
While the dough is chilling, set a rack in the top and bottom thirds of your oven and preheat to 350F.
Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.
Sift the powdered sugar into a bowl.
To Shape the Cookies
Using a 1 1/2 Tablespoon cookie scoop, scoop a level portion of dough and drop it into the powdered sugar.
Toss it lightly in the powdered sugar and then roll the dough into a ball, and then place on the cookie sheet.
Continue shaping and placing dough. You should end up with 24 cookies, 12 on each sheet.
Coat each cookie a second time in the powdered sugar and place back on the sheets. (See Notes)
Bake for 7 minutes, then rotate the sheets and switch them from top to bottom rack for even baking.
Bake an additional 6-7 minutes. Cookies will spread to about 2 inches or so and be all crackly on top. The dough will look moist but not wet.
Remove to cool on the sheets for 2-3 minutes. Then place the cookies on racks to cool completely.
Notes
After the initial shaping and placing on cookie sheets, you can choose to refrigerate the cookies for 45 minutes before coating in powdered sugar a second time. Your cookies will spread less if you chill them. My photos are of cookies I baked right after shaping and rolling in sugar twice. I didn't bother to chill them a second time. It's your call.