Unfortunately it is unknown who invented how to achieve the great crinkle effect on cookies. The characteristic cracks or “crinkles” that appear during baking are not only nice to look at, but also contribute to the special texture and taste of these cookies. You can bake crinkle cookies in a variety of flavors; we particularly love the sophisticated and refreshing lemon flavor, but we also like chocolate and pistachio variants. These cookies go perfectly with a cozy cup of tea in the afternoon.
To achieve a good texture, we first melt butter and then let it cool down a little until it is still liquid but no longer hot.
Then we mix the butter and sugar with the mixer or a whisk until both combine into a foamy liquid mass.
Now eggs are stirred in. At this step it’s worth mixing a little longer, the structure of the cookies will thank you for it. You will see how the mixture gradually changes, at first it might resemble scrambled eggs. Mix until a light yellow foamy mass has been created.
Next to lemons. For all dishes in which you use lemon peel, please only use organic fruit with untreated peel, because the sprays used on other lemons are really unhealthy. If the budget is tight, buy lemon zest in the baking department rather than cheaper lemons.
We carefully scrape lemon zests with a fine grater, but only the yellow outer peel, not the white part, because it tastes rather bitter.
We now squeeze out the lemon juice. Zest and juice are added to the egg and butter mixture. If you want, you may use a pinch of yellow food coloring made from natural products for an intenser look.
Instead of vanilla, we use a grated tonka bean for this recipe. These rock-hard beans have a great taste, an aroma reminiscent of vanilla and a bit of marzipan. The great thing is that tonka beans are relatively cheap compared to the very expensive natural vanilla and taste almost more exciting. Try how much flavour you like – we used a whole bean.
Now we sift flour, baking powder and salt and stir these ingredients into the mixture in about three stages. At the end we stir in ground almonds.
Now the cookie dough needs to be refrigerated for about two hours so that it can be easily shaped. You may also leave it in the fridge overnight.
We preheat the oven to 180 degrees with convection. Then divide the dough into portions of a good teaspoon each. Icing sugar is sifted onto a plate.
We then form small balls between our hands and roll them in the icing sugar. You do not need a lot for a nice crinkle effect. Place the balls on baking paper on a tray with some distance between them; they will rise noticeably and “crinkle”!
We now bake the cookies for about 10 to 12 minutes. Depending on whether you like the cookies softer or crispier on the inside, you can adjust the baking time slightly. The cooled cookies can be stored in a jar for some days – if they are not eaten earlier.
Enjoy.
And may the taste be with you.
Ingredients (for one baking tray):
50g butter
275g all purpose flour
1.5 tsp baking powder
50 g ground almonds
120g sugar
2 eggs
2 lemons (grated zest and juice)
1 tonka bean
1 pinch of salt
Optional: a pinch of yellow food coloring (natural)
Approx. 50 g powdered sugar
