Recipe Corner: Mint Crinkle Cookies

We keep losing the recipe -- it's written on an index card, like many of our other recipes.  Last week, the index card, covered with bits of butter and crinkle-colored dough, went on walkabout.  Eek!  So here it is on the blog, for safe-keeping.  The recipe is originally from Honest Pretzels by Mollie Katzen.  We have many of her cookbooks but apparently we don't own this one yet.

Mint Crinkle Cookies

1 stick butter (1/2 cup)
3/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons peppermint abstract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg
1/4 cup milk
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
about 2 oz. of cake decoration crystals (the original recipe calls for one 2.25 oz. jar of green cake decoration crystals, but we use about half of a 4 oz. jar of colored sugar crystals, any color.  Today it is "Decors Red Sugar Dessert Toppings")


350 F oven, preheated.  It doesn't matter if it's a convection or regular oven.  We've done it both ways.  Grease a couple of baking sheets or use non-stick ones.  We use ungreased, non-stick cookie sheets.

We usually use this quickie one-bowl method for mixing the ingredients.  A fork works fine for all the mixing -- you don't need any fancy electric appliances or whisks or anything.  Use a non-metal mixing bowl if you're using the microwave to melt butter.

Melt the butter (we use the microwave).  It's OK if it's softened more than melted.  Add the sugar and mix well.  Add the extracts and the egg and the milk.  Mix after each addition or after it's all added.  Then add the flour.  Before you mix in the flour, put the baking powder and salt on top of the pile of flour in the bowl.  Mix it a bit, then mix all the dry stuff into the wet stuff.  (Sometimes, we add the salt and baking powder to the wet stuff, mix it in, and then mix in the flour.  Either way works.)  Don't overmix.  Finally, add the sprinkles and mix.

Roll small balls of the dough, maybe 1" or so in diameter, and place them on the cookie sheet.  Flatten them slightly then bake until they are light golden (i.e. done).  It takes about 8-12 minutes depending on how big and/or flattened the cookies are.

Remove cookie sheet from oven. Let it cool for a few minutes (or not, as you wish).  Then remove the cookies from cookie sheet and eat.  You can wait for the cookies to cool before eating if you'd like.  They are good warm or at room temperature.  These keep for at least a day or two.  We don't know if they last beyond that because they're always eaten by then.  They are best the day they're made.

With about 12-15 cookies per cookie sheet, we usually use two cookie sheets per batch of dough.  So that's a couple-dozen cookies, give or take a bit.  They spread a bit while cooking, but not a whole lot.  It depends on how much they are flattened before cooking.



We like these with the peppermint extract.  One of these days, we might try something else, such as almond or lemon or anise extract.  Or maybe not.  Why mess with success?

We like the little crunch of the crinkles as we bite down into the cookies.  They are always obnoxiously and artificially colored by the coloring of the sugar crinkles.  It's a bit startling, but very cheerful and appealing to small children.