Try This Delicious Chocolate Crinkle Cookies Recipe! (Inspired by EPCOT Festival of the Holidays Cookie Stroll)
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Get out your passport – we’re about to travel around the world! Or the World Showcase, at least, because today we’re on the hunt for fudgy chocolate crinkle cookies.
Understandably, you might be wondering what international travel has to do with a chocolate crinkle cookie. Well, every year, one of EPCOT’s biggest treats – no pun intended – is the legendary EPCOT Holiday Cookie Stroll happening at the EPCOT Festival of the Holidays.
The 2023 Holiday Cookie Stroll will be open to all walkers, joggers, and marathon runners from November 24th to December 30th. Essentially a scavenger hunt for yummy treats scattered around the World Showcase, the EPCOT Holiday Cookie Stroll is the sweetest side quest around!
There are numerous cookie locations stationed around the EPCOT World Showcase, and each one will be offering a special cookie. Purchase at least five unique cookies and have your passport stamped for each one. Once you have five stamps, take your completed passport to a designated spot to receive a specialty surprise! (Usually a free cookie!) Guests look forward to this delicious detour every single year, and it’s easy to see (and taste!) why – it’s the most decadent tradition EPCOT has to offer!
Cookie flavors are updated year to year and include a good balance of the familiar (snickerdoodle, gingerbread, sugar cookies) and international fun (Linzer cookie, alfajores shortbread, black and white cookie). One particularly popular cookie that manages to return often is the chocolate crinkle cookie. It was part of the EPCOT Holiday Cookie Stroll lineup for 2022, and as of writing, we’re eagerly waiting to see what makes the list for 2023!
Disney Inspired Recipe
This Amazing Gingerbread Recipe Will Knock Your Gumdrop Buttons Off!
Whipping up a batch of your own cookies is a piece of cake. (Is it okay to use a cake metaphor in an article about cookies??) Whether you’re sending a message of “I love you” to your family, friends, or yourself, Christmas gingerbread men make the best delivery men!
Thankfully, we have our own chocolate crinkle cookie recipe, so you don’t have to rely on EPCOT to satisfy this craving. All you need are a few baking supplies and a can-do attitude! Keep on reading to discover our tantalizing take on EPCOT’s signature cookies.
Chocolate Crinkle Cookies: History & Mystery
We’ve established that classic chocolate crinkle cookies are amazing. But where did they come from? And why are they so beloved?
We eat cookies all the time and even more during the holidays. But beyond just eating cookies, baking them holds a special place in our lives, too; whipping up a batch of Christmas cookies (chocolate crinkle or otherwise) is an annual tradition with many families around the world. If laughter is the universal language, then cookies must be the universal treat!
Indeed, every country seems to have its own unique spin on a specialty Christmas cookie. But where did the holiday baking tradition begin?
(Photo: MouseEars TV Creative Team)
Today’s Christmas cookies can be traced back to recipes from Medieval Europe, where biscuits were popular, and ingredients such as cinnamon, pepper, ginger, almonds, and dried fruit were being introduced into the West. By the 16th century, Christmas biscuits had become popular across most of Europe.
In the United States, the earliest example of the Christmas cookie was brought over by the Dutch in the early 17th century. With the rise of affordable imported products from Germany, cookie cutters soon became available in America. Shortly thereafter, recipes began showing up in cookbooks using cookie cutters and other similar utensils, and the trend caught on.
To this day, Americans carry on the tradition of baking cookies during the holidays. Everyone has their own favorite recipe, often tweaking it to truly make it their family’s own. One of those recipes is the chocolate crinkle cookie. This is a very sweet, rich, and decadent cookie…and it’s also a mystery.
The origins of this holiday favorite (and possible cousin to the macaron) are practically untraceable. Some sources simply say, “not a lot is known,” while others offer up a bit of cookie folklore for the answer. If the folklore is to be believed, then the original chocolate crinkle cookies originated with a woman named Helen Fredell of St. Paul, Minnesota, in the early 1900s. Apparently, she served a molasses crinkle cookie to Bettie Crocker (of boxed cake mix fame), and the unique Christmas cookie recipe was fated to proliferate from then on.
Whether the cookies came from Minnesota or were sent from Heaven, one thing is certain – they’re a gift to the world. And you can bake them in your own home anytime you want!
The Disney festival recipe is a unique version of chocolate crinkle cookies from a member of the MouseEars Creative Team, and we’re so happy to share it with you! Maybe it will become part of your family’s Christmas cookie tradition. Happy baking!
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Best Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
Inspired by a cookie served at the Feast of the Three Kings Kitchen during the EPCOT Festival of the Holidays in previous years, these rich, fudgy chocolate cookies are coated with confectioners’ sugar that cracks (aka crinkles) when they bake, giving them a snow-capped, wintry look. Keep in mind that the dough must be refrigerated for at least 3 hours (up to 24 hours) prior to baking.
- Total Time: 3 hours 25 minutes
- Yield: 12 cookies 1x
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar (for coating the cookies)
Instructions
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt until combined and then set aside.
- Add granulated sugar and oil in a bowl of a stand mixer and then beat on medium-low until combined.
- Add eggs and vanilla to the mixture, beating on medium-high until well combined.
- Slowly add flour mixture and continue to beat on medium-low speed until combined.
Note: The consistency of the finished batter will be similar to a brownie batter but the batter will firm up when chilled. - Cover and tightly seal the bowl with plastic wrap.
- Refrigerate for at least 3 hours (or up to 24 hours) until dough is completely chilled through and able to be rolled into balls.
Note: I like to make the batter in the evening and let it chill overnight. - After the dough is completely chilled and ready to be baked, preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Fill a small bowl with confectioners’ sugar and set it aside. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and unwrap it.
- Using a medium cookie scoop to measure out dough, roll into round balls. Roll each of the dough balls in confectioners’ sugar until completely covered on all sides. Place cookie balls evenly spaced and at least 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake for 8 to 10 minutes – do not overbake.
- Let the cookies cool on a baking sheet for 3 minutes. Transfer cookies to a wire rack and let them cool completely.
- Store in a sealed container for up to 5 days.
Note: These cookies freeze beautifully and can be stored in your freezer for up to 3 months.
- Prep Time: 3 hours 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Cuisine: American Cuisine
Nutrition
- Calories: 146
- Sugar: 13
- Sodium: 95
- Fat: 6
- Saturated Fat: 1
- Carbohydrates: 28
- Fiber: 2
- Protein: 3
- Cholesterol: 27
Featured photo: MouseEars TV Creative Team
