These chocolate crack cookies are nearly impossible to mindlessly eat. Take a bite a you might just do a double take. Want to learn more about Whisky? Here’s our Whisky Guide.

Bourbon Dark Chocolate Crack Cookies on a plate

Chocolate Crack Cookies

After the first bite, they stop you and make you take a look at what it was you just sunk your teeth into. These are one of those. A deliciously, rich chocolate and bourbon rifted cookie. Chocolate crack cookies with a little swagger. This little bad boy is originally inspired by a cookie from David Lebovitz’s amazing Ready for Dessert.  As with most recipes that we are fond of, we’ll tinker and tweak to suit our moods or particular cravings. Those who know us will attest to our love of whiskey. For me in particular, whiskey ranks number one amongst my favorite spirits (we are unbiased consumers of spirits, but we do still have favorites). And whiskies are having a moment, with probably the greatest range of exceptional whiskies coming from so many distillers, small & large, in history.

Bourbon Dark Chocolate Crack Cookies on a plate

Dark cookies with whiskey on a plate

Bourbon and Chocolate Together

“Why not extend the smokey, subtly sweet pleasure of bourbon in chocolate crack cookies?” I think to myself one day. Well, I didn’t think it in so many words, it was more like, “Bourbon… Chocolate… must have!” and soon this cookie was devised.

For all of our whiskey lovers out there, please share your favorites. It is always a pleasure to find another great whiskey, especially when the distiller is doing something unique.

Our favorite go-to bourbon for cocktails & cooking (not too shabby for sipping either) is Buffalo Trace or Bulleit. Both have great character, smooth, goes great in cocktails, nice straight up, and is an incredible price for the quality. Or for a Tennessee whiskey, it is Uncle Nearest for us all day. Amazing whiskey. Amazing story. Great people behind it.

We’d love to hear your favorites.

-Todd

BTW – For those of interest in whisk(e)y – we wrote up a little Guide to Types of Whisk(e)y to share a bit of what we’ve come to know.

Bourbon Dark Chocolate Crack Cookies on a plate

This was originally published in 2013 and was updated in 2019.

Dark Chocolate Bourbon Crack (or Crinkle) Cookies

Yield: 20 cookies
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Chill Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 45 minutes
Adapted from Ready for Dessert by David Lebovitz. They are a cake like cookie. Best eaten while still warm (like most cookies) or at least the same day. You'll need to chill the dough a bit before forming the balls, and how much the dough is chilled will determine how much the cookies spread. After about an hour in the fridge they should be just firm enough to form into balls, and they will have the best spread. Chill them for a couple hours or more and they won't spread as much.
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Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup (100 g) all-purpose Flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon (2.5 ml) Baking Powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon (2.5 ml) Kosher Salt
  • 8 ounces (225 g) sweetened Dark Chocolate , chopped or use dark chocolate morsels (chips)
  • 3 Tablespoons (45 g) Butter
  • 3 Tablespoons (45 ml) Bourbon
  • 2 large Eggs , room temp.
  • 1/3 cup (67 g) Sugar  (+ extra for coating cookies)
  • Confectioners Sugar (for coating cookies)

Equipment

Instructions 

  • In a bowl, whisk together the 3/4 cup (100g) flour, 1/2 teaspoon (2.5g) baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon (2.5g) salt until well combined. Set aside.
  • Melt the 8 ounces (225g) dark chocolate and 3 Tablespoons (45g) butter with the 3 Tablespoons (45ml) bourbon. Set aside, keeping slightly warm if too much time lapses before adding to the egg & sugar in the next step. Our preferred method is to combine them in a medium bowl over a pot of simmering water (bain marie), stirring frequently until melted. You can also melt them all together in the microwave, cooking in 20-30 second bursts, stirring well in-between microwave sessions. Or gently melted in a pan on the stove on low heat, stirring continuously (caution - the chocolate can seize or get clumpy and grainy if overheated or if some water gets in the pan).
  • In another bowl, whisk together the 2 eggs and 1/3 cup (67g) sugar on high until the mixture forms a well-defined ribbon when the whisk attachment is lifted out, about 5 minutes.
  • By hand, gently stir in the melted chocolate mixture until combined.
  • Stir in the flour mixture by hand until just combined. Cover and chill in the fridge until firm (1-2 hours).
  • Preheat oven to 325°F (160°C). Line a couple baking sheet pans with parchment paper.
  • Pour the additional granulated sugar and confectioners sugar into two separate small bowls. Form the chocolate cookies into 1 1/2-inch balls (a medium cookie scoop works great to make even balls).
  • Roll the balls first in the regular sugar, and then roll in the confectioners sugar until well coated with confectioners sugar.  Place on the lined baking sheet pans, spaced about 1-inch apart.
  • Bake at 325°F (160°C) for about 14-16 minutes, rotating the sheet trays after about 8 minutes. Cookies should still be slightly firm on the edges and fairly soft in the centers. Don't overbake them.
  • Let the cookies cool on the sheet pan until firm enough to handle then transfer to a cooling rack.

Nutrition Information per Serving

Calories: 123kcal, Carbohydrates: 12g, Protein: 2g, Fat: 7g, Saturated Fat: 4g, Cholesterol: 21mg, Sodium: 38mg, Potassium: 102mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 6g, Vitamin A: 81IU, Calcium: 16mg, Iron: 2mg
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Calories: 123