chocolate crinkles.



How did I get so behind on my Christmas baking? Usually around this time of year I am a crazy baking machine, pumping out all sorts of festive cookies and spicy breads. Instead, I am all too behind on buying and wrapping presents, packing for going home for the holidays, and very slowly trying to put our all-too-messy home back together. It also doesn't help that there has been an unusual amount of snow and ice around town, resulting in poor driving conditions for Alice, my dear photographer, to make her way over to my house. And as much as I love the idea of baking during snowy weather, one will usually find me piled under soft blankets on the sofa, happily enjoying the beautiful view out the window.

Yesterday, though, snow was replaced by rain and higher temperatures, so I caught up a bit on some baking and Alice was able to make it over in the early evening to photograph my sweets. I ended up making a couple things that usually always make me think of this time of year: chocolate crinkle cookies and gingerbread cake (which will be blogged later this evening.) What I adore about these cookies is how they look like little hills covered in snow, just perfect for the holiday season. What I also love is just how very, very good they taste: chewy and deeply chocolatey, with a perfect texture and a wonderful sweetness from the sugar on top.

*Note: Keep in mind that these cookies take some time to chill. I recommend either making the dough early in the morning or late at night before going to bed.





Chocolate Crinkles: from All Recipes

Ingredients:

1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 cups white sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar

Directions:

In a medium bowl, mix together cocoa, white sugar, and vegetable oil. Beat in eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt; stir into the cocoa mixture. Cover dough, and chill for at least 4 hours.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. Roll dough into one inch balls. Coat each ball in confectioners' sugar before placing onto prepared cookie sheets.

Bake in preheated oven for 10 to 12 minutes. Let stand on the cookie sheet for a minute before transferring to wire racks to cool.

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