Chocolate Crinkle Cookies...Holiday Baking

Anushka started school last week and that leaves me with a couple of hours each day to do all those things that are otherwise impossible with an hyperactive kid at home. My to-do list just keeps getting longer and now maybe I could catch up with some of them.

I am also looking forward to bake some more. Now that Christmas is just around the corner, I have the perfect excuse to try some cookie recipes that I've had bookmarked forever. Moreover Anushka is turning out be quite the cookie lover and that's gotten me really excited.

I have made these cookies before and they are an absolute treat. Not only are they pretty to look at, they taste heavenly too. Bake them right and they are amazingly fudgy and chocolaty, like the perfect brownie. What I love about this recipe is that there is no butter involved and the ingredients have to be just mixed quickly in one bowl and the dough tastes amazing too.

The one change I made was to use substitute some of the bittersweet chocolate with unsweetened chocolate as I remember finding them a little too sweet for my tastes. With this change though they were just right. Recipe from here.

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

Ingredients:

1 cup bittersweet chocolate, chopped (I used 1/3 cup unsweetened chocolate)

1 cup brown sugar, packed

1/3 cup oil

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup walnuts, chopped (optional, but highly recommended

1/2 cup powdered sugar

Method:

Melt the chocolate over a double boiler. 

Add the sugar and oil and mix well.

Make sure that the mixture is almost at room temperature and add the eggs one at a time, whisking well after after each addition.

Add the vanilla.

Combine flour, baking powder and salt. Add to the chocolate mixture. Stir in nuts.

Cover and chill the dough for two hours or until firm enough to roll.Preheat the oven to 175C /350F.

Form into 1" balls and roll in the powdered sugar until completely coated. 

Place in a parchment covered cookie sheet about an inch apart and bake for 8-10 minutes.

Cool on wire racks. 

I baked my cookies for 8 minutes, they will be soft when you get them out of the oven, but wait for  a few seconds and they will be firm enough to transfer them to the rack and will get firmer when completely cool.

Please, do not overbake the cookies. They look the best on the day they are baked, but they taste just as great for a couple of days more.