And here it is, after 5 long years of being in the wild in the Whip it Up(!) cookbook, Vis-à-vis on the wit and vinegar dot com.
This recipe is one of the few recipes that I still make every year around this time and every year I’ve said hey I need to definitely reshoot and post on the site because it’s kind of perfect?
I don’t want to toot my own horn and I don’t want to diminish what the regular snickerdoodle has done for generations and bringing families together but this cookie? She’s the cool cousin that comes every holiday that you’re like okay bitch your vibe intimidates me but I’m curious.
We’re staying in the snickerdoodle lane with the cream of tartar and cinnamon sugar coating but where we usually just have a collectively beautiful vanilla dough we’re swerving into another lane with cocoa and instant espresso powder.
The outcome is a chewy, slightly fudgy/tangy, deep chocolate cookie and a crispy cinnamon coating made with cane sugar for a slightly higher level of gloss and sparkle.
These cookies come together fairly easily and are even better if you make the dough the day ahead of time so you can ***plan ahead*** by a day for the cookie cravings.
Chocolate Espresso Snickerdoodles
Makes about 30
2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
⅔ cup unsweetened cocoa powder ( I prefer dutch baking cocoa because it gives a better color and flavor but you can use natural or a mix of the two)
1½ teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon coarse kosher salt
1 cup butter, softened
2 teaspoons instant espresso powder (I use this one and no it really doesn’t come thru in flavor but it helps give a darker chocolate flavor that I love here)
1 cup light brown sugar
¾ cup white granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3 tablespoons cane sugar (or granulated white sugar if you don’t have it I just like the extra sparkle it gives the cookie)
Sift together the flour, cocoa, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt in a medium-sized bowl. (sifted cocoa powder is a must, always, never skip this in a recipe)
In another bowl, use an electric mixer to cream the butter, coffee, brown sugar, and white granulated sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
Add the eggs one at a time, making sure the first one is completely blended before adding the second one with the vanilla extract. Then add the cocoa-flour mixture in 3-4 additions so it doesn’t fly everywhere, mixing just until combined. Refrigerate the dough for at least 2 hours* to firm up.
Preheat your oven to 375°F* and line a baking sheet with baking parchment
Combine the cinnamon and cane sugar in a small bowl, then use a medium cookie scoop (or 1 1/2 tablespoons) to portion out dough and roll in cinnamon-sugar to coat. Place on the baking sheet 2 inches apart and bake for 8-10 minutes until slightly flattened and crackly (9 minutes is perfect for me). You want them to be a little under-baked to ensure maximum chew, they’ll look a little puffy and maybe underdone but they’ll fall as they cool seriously do not over-bake. Cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
*these are the only two changes I made from the recipe in the book. I find the dough really needs at least two hours to set up and 375 just seems to yield a better cookie.
