Peppermint Chocolate Crinkles

On Thanksgiving my parents were home in Sacramento, California and I was here is Meridian Idaho...sad.  I always am sad not to be with my family for a holiday.  There is always such great food there and I feel like I am missing out ( I am also eating good food here too, but still).  Everyone passes around the phone and tells me about there dishes. One dish that stood out besides the turkey and stuffing was a cookie recipe a  great family friend Barbara brought for  dessert: Chocolate Crinkles.  So many people all told me about them. I surprisingly had never these cookies either. I was excited to make them.
   One of my rules is always make the dish the first time by the recipe then you can change things the second time I make it.   I made them regular... they were fantastic then I made a batch adding peppermint extract  to make them a little more festive. I love them both ways.  This would be a great cookie to bring to a cookie exchange this season.

Printer friendly recipe
    Ingredients

1 Half Stick of Butter (1/4 cup)

4 (1-ounce) squares unsweetened baking chocolate

2 t. peppermint extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups sugar

4  Eggs

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

Powdered sugar

Directions

Melt butter and chocolate in 1-quart saucepan over low heat, stirring occasionally, until smooth (8 to 10 minutes). Cool completely (30 minutes).

Combine melted chocolate mixture,stir in peppermint extract, 1 cup flour, sugar, eggs, baking powder and salt in large bowl. Beat at medium speed, scraping bowl often, until well mixed. Stir in remaining flour . Cover; refrigerate (2 hours).

Heat oven to 300°F. Shape dough into 1 1/2-inch balls. Roll in powdered sugar very generously. Place 2 inches apart onto greased cookie sheets. Bake for 13 to 16 minutes or until set. 

 

Leave on cookie sheet for two minutes then transfer to cooling rack.

 

Chilling the dough makes it much easier to mold into balls it can be really sticky if not very cold and hard.

   Also for better cracking put the cookies on the second from the top rack in the oven.

 recipe adapted from Land O'Lakes