Family Advent Calendar, Day 21: Christmas Cookie Party! Make Chocolate Chocolate Chip Crinkle [Kringle] Cookies, Pfeffernüsse, and other Old Favourites

It’s time to make loads and loads of Christmas Cookies! Today, we’re making two new Lunchbox Season recipes: Chocolate Chocolate Chip Crinkle [Kringle] Cookies and Pfeffernüssen.  We’ll also be whipping up batches of some of our old favourites: Cookie Meteors and Santa Babies.

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Chocolate Chip Crinkle Cookies

Servings: 3 dozen cookies

Author: Roseanne Carrara, The Lunchbox Season

Ingredients

• 1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/3 c cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 1/4 c semi-sweet chocolate chips
 for melting
• +3/4 c or the rest of a 350g bag semi-sweet chocolate chips for the cookies themselves
• 1/2 c unsalted butter
• 2/3 c sugar
• 3 eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1 c icing sugar to coat

Instructions

• Place flour, powders and salt in a bowl and whisk to combine.
• In a mixing bowl, whisk sugar, eggs, and vanilla.
• In a heat-proof bowl perched over a pot of boiling water, melt the 1 1/4 c semi-sweet chocolate chips and 1/2 c butter, whisking to combine.
• Cool chocolate mixture slightly.
• Whisk chocolate mixture into sugar mixture until combined.
• Gradually incorporate flour mixture with a spatula.
• Add the reserved chocolate chips.
• AT THIS POINT, THE MIXTURE WILL LOOK MORE LIKE CAKE BATTER THAN COOKIE DOUGH!
• Cover and refrigerate for 1-3 hours until stiffened [as if you were making truffles!]
• Place icing sugar in a small bowl.
• Heat oven to 350.
• With a large tablespoon, form the cookie dough in balls.
• Drop each dough ball into small bowl of icing sugar.
• Coat with icing sugar using a small spoon.
• Place coated cookie balls onto parchment lined cookie sheets.
• Bake for 10 minutes, rotating after 5 minutes if desired.
• Remove cookies on parchment to wire racks and cool completely.
• Serve or store in an airtight container.

Print Recipe

Pfeffernüsse

Servings: 4 Dozen Cookies

Author: Roseanne Carrara, The Lunchbox Season

Ingredients

• 3 c all-purpose flour and 3/4 c chopped pecans walnuts or sliced almonds
• or
• 3 c all purpose flour and 3/4 c nut flour
• or
• 3 3/4 c all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp fresh-ground black pepper
• 1 tsp ground cardamom
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp fresh ground anise or 1 tsp anise extract OPTIONAL
• 1/2 tsp allspice
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 c unsalted butter room temperature
• 1 c brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 c molasses
• 1/4 c honey
• 1-2 tbs brandy or cognac OPTIONAL
• for the coating
• 1 c icing sugar
• 2 tsp cinnamon

Instructions

• Heat oven to 350.
• If using chopped nuts, toast nuts for 5-10 minutes until just light brown.
• If using chopped nuts, pulverize the nuts into flour using a food processor or coffee/spice grinder.
• Place the flour, nut flour, spices, baking soda, and baking powder in a bowl and whisk to combine.
• Set aside.
• In a mixer or by hand, cream butter and brown sugar.
• Add eggs to combine.
• Add molasses, honey, [optional] brandy/cognac, [optional] anise extract.
• Slowly incorporate all of the flour until a slightly sticky dough forms.
• Refrigerate for 1-2 hours.
• Mix icing sugar and cinnamon in small bowl and set aside.
• Form dough into 3/4-inch to 1-inch balls.
• Place on parchment lined cookie sheets.
• Bake for 12 minutes, rotating sheets 180 degrees at the 6 minute mark.
• Immediately place cookies on their parchment onto wire racks.
• While cookies are still warm, place a few at a time in the bowl of spiced icing sugar and toss to coat.
• Return coated cookies to their parchment sheets on wire racks.
• Cool completely.

Click on the image below for recipes for our other two faves:

Watch out! Our mini schnauzer, Elvis, almost attacked the first test batch of pfeffernüsse when they came out of the oven. He LURVED the smell!

Fortunately, the kids were there to protect their newest most prized treat!
Don’t worry, E, we’ll make you some doggie cookies soon!