My Scrumptious Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

Since Prisha eats most of our table foods now, I have been cooking and baking a lot more than before. It is so exciting to see her face when she takes that first bite. My little girl just loves chocolate and so these days I am experimenting a lot with chocolate. Today's recipe is - Crinkle Cookies.

Don't they look absolutely gorgeous! I loved making them as well. Technically they are prepared exclusively during christmas but I wasn't going to wait the entire year to try the recipe (it is just February right now!). So I thought I will give it a try and if it turns out good, it will be a great addition to my Christmas baking list. And let me tell you, they turned out amazing. They look so festive, like they have been dipped in snow. I also adjusted the amount of sugar added in the recipe so they tasted just perfect and not at all too sugary.

These cookies are rich like fudge and so chocolaty. I weighed the dough before baking because it is really difficult to know when chocolate is perfectly baked (because of its dark color). The cookies turned out thick and soft in the center. They didn't over spread at all (thanks to the refrigeration) but rose perfectly round. 

These cookies are rolled in powdered sugar before baking. The cute name of Crinkle Cookie comes from the cracking of the powdered sugar and the crinkles that form as the cookie begins to take shape. So go really heavy when you are rolling the unbaked cookie dough in powdered sugar so that it has a lot of extra sugar on it. A light layer of sugar will just melt away in the oven and not create this beautiful texture and crinkle. 

Refrigerate the cookie dough for at least four hours before baking. This step is crucial to prevent the cookies from spreading too much in the oven. You can also freeze a portion and bake it later fresh whenever you want.

I baked half of the cookie dough and froze half of it. I think I am going to bake the frozen batch a couple days later with some chocolate chips and dried cherries. After all, these cookies turned out so perfect why not try another flavor with the same cookie dough. You can also try peppermint extract and chocolate chips or orange zest/ extract. Possibilities are really endless.

The best part about chocolate is, it tastes even better the next day or the day after. So bake a batch and enjoy it for the next 2-3 days. Don't forget to share your photos and comments using my hashtag #lifewithoutalu

Ingredients:

• Unsweetened Cocoa Powder - ½ cup 
• Brown Sugar - 3* ¼ cups 
• Vegetable Oil - ¼ cup 
• Eggs - 2 
• Vanilla Extract - 1 teaspoon 
• All-Purpose Flour - 1 cup
• Baking Powder - 1 teaspoon 
• Salt - ¼ teaspoon 
• Confectioners' Sugar - 2 cups

Directions:

• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or beat by hand with a wooden spoon) beat together the Cocoa Powder, Sugar and Vegetable Oil until it comes together into a shiny, gritty, black dough of sorts.
• Add the Eggs, one at a time, mixing for 30 seconds each. Add the Vanilla and beat in thoroughly.
• In a separate bowl, whisk together the Flour, Baking Powder and Salt. Beat the dry ingredients into the cocoa-oil mix on low speed until just combined. Do not over-beat.
• Cover the dough with plastic wrap and chill the dough for 4 hours or overnight.
• Preheat the oven to 350°F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Place the powdered sugar in a wide bowl.
• Wash your hands then divide the dough into 18-19 grams of balls. Use the kitchen scale to weigh them, this ensures an even bake and yields cookies of the same size. 
• Roll the balls then generously coat them in powdered sugar. Set them 2 inches apart on the prepared sheets. This ensures that the cookies have room to spread and not stick together.

• Bake for 10-12 minutes in the preheated oven, let them rest on the cookie sheet for 10 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack and allow them to cool.
• Bake the 2nd batch of cookies fresh whenever you want. Thaw them in the fridge overnight or on the kitchen countertop for a few hours. 
• Enjoy these scrumptious crinkle cookies with coffee or milk and keep the leftover cookies in an airtight cookie jar for up to 4 days.

Tips: 

• Do not shake the excess sugar, the more it coats the better it will crinkle.
• You can also use a rounded teaspoon or a small ice cream scoop.
• Weighing the cookie dough ensures an even bake. Chocolate is very easy to under or over bake because of its dark color. If you are using a different measurement, do a trial bake run with a few cookies before baking an entire batch.

Love Cookies? Try these as well:

• Mixed Nuts Cookies
• Mathri (Savory Indian Cookies)
• Besan Mathri (Deep Fried Flaky Gram Flour Cookies)
• Vanilla Biscotti
• Colorful Biscotti (with Cranberries, Pepitas and Pecans)
• Boozy Cookies
• Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies
• One Dough different Cookies
• Martha Stewart's Rugelach
• Fork Pressed Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Loaded Nuts Cookies
• Easy Peasy Peppermint Cookies
• Shortbread Cookies with a hint of Carom Seeds