Mindy Carlson

I love cookies. I love mixing them, baking them, eating them, and giving them away. They are the perfect size for an indulgent snack or for a light dessert.

Chocolate Crinkles are one of my kids’ favorite cookies to eat. They are wonderfully chocolaty with a crunchy outside and chewy inside. They are such a decadent treat!

The powdered sugar exterior make them wonderful addition to a holiday cookie platter and they are great when you want something other than the old stand-by of chocolate chip cookies. I just made these the other day as part of a cookie platter for Mark’s curling league and they were happily received. (In case you were wondering the others were chocolate chip cookies, snickerdoodles, and a fantastic key lime pie bar.)

The boys have already requested another batch just for them!

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted
• 2 cups sugar
• 4 eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 cups flour
• powdered sugar for rolling

First melt the chocolate. You can do this in a small dish in the microwave in 15 second bursts. Stir after every 15 seconds and make sure the dish is microwave safe. When it’s melted correctly the chocolate should be glossy and smooth. DO NOT over cook this! It will be burnt and horrible and bitter and NO ONE WANTS THIS. If you burn your chocolate you must start over.  If you are worried about burning the chocolate you can always melt it in a bowl over some simmering water.

And remember, the flavor for these cookies depends on the quality of chocolate you use. The better the chocolate the better it will taste.

In a medium-sized mixing bowl, or in the bowl of a mixer, measure out the oil and the sugar. Start beating it on a medium-high speed until combined. Add the melted chocolate and beat on a high speed for about 30 seconds or until the chocolate is fully incorporated.

Once the sugar and chocolate and oil and completely blended together start adding the eggs one at a time. Make sure the egg is completely mixed in before adding the next one. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides as necessary.

Now add the 2 teaspoons of vanilla and lightly whip the chocolate mixture together. Then add the salt and the baking powder (NOT baking soda. I messed up once and it was hideous. The rise was off and the flavor was salty and horrible). The batter will be smooth and dark and rich looking.

Now add in the flour. I stop the mixer and add in all the flour at once. Then I put the mix on low until the flour is just incorporated and then I put it on high to make sure the flour is completely mixed in.

At this point, if the dough feels sticky you can cover the dough with cling film and chill it in the fridge for a few hours. If you are happy with it you can go right into shaping and baking.

Preheat the oven to 350F/175C.

Prepare two cookie sheets by greasing them with oil or butter or you can use parchment paper or one of those wonderful Silpat mats.

Put about 3/4 cup of powdered sugar in a shallow bowl. Take the chilled dough and start shaping little bits of it into balls about 1-inch in diameter. Then roll them through the powdered sugar and give them a nice thick coating.  Place these little snowballs onto the baking sheet about 2 inches apart from each other.

Bake them in the preheated oven for 10 – 12 minutes. Watch them carefully near the end so they don’t burn. They can go from done to burnt in about 3 seconds!

Take the cookies from the sheet and transfer them to a cooling rack. See the neat crackling effect? That’s what gives the cookies their Crinkle name.

You would think the sugar would make them too sweet, but it doesn’t at all. They are perfect with coffee and hot chocolate. Or with a red wine. Or alone. Or with another cookie.

Like all cookies, this one is great for kids. It let’s them be hands-on with the dough and the results are almost always perfect. And they get a bit of science thrown in seeing how much effect a leavening agent has in a recipe! (Learning!)

Enjoy!