Molasses Crinkles
by Elaine Khosrova from Fine Cooking Issue 54
http://www.finecooking.com/recipes/molasses-crinkles.aspx

 9 oz. (2 cups) all­purpose flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1­1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp. table salt
4 oz. (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
2 Tbs. vegetable oil
1/3 cup molasses
1 large egg
Granulated sugar for rolling
Yields about thirty-six 3-inch cookies.

Several hours before baking: In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and salt. With an electric mixer, beat the butter and brown sugar until light in color and texture. Beat in the oil until blended. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add the molasses and the egg, and beat until blended. Stir in the flour mixture until well combined. Wrap the dough in plastic and chill until firm, about 3 hours.

To bake: Heat the oven to 375°F. Measure the dough into tablespoon­size pieces and roll each piece between your palms to form 1­inch balls. Roll the balls in granulated sugar to coat. Put the balls 2 inches apart on lightly greased cookie sheets. Sprinkle the tops with more sugar and bake until the center surface of the cookies is barely dry, 9 to 10 minutes (don’t overbake). Let cool on the sheets for 5 minutes; transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

MY NOTES:

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

Chocolate Crinkles Cookies
from Cook's Illustrated
https://www.cooksillustrated.com/recipes/8125-chocolate-crinkle-cookies

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup (5 ounces) all-purpose flour

½ cup (1 ½ ounces) unsweetened cocoa powder (either natural or Dutch processed is fine)

1 teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

1 ½cups packed (10 ½ ounces) brown sugar

3 large eggs

4 teaspoons instant espresso powder (optional)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped

4 Tablespoons unsalted butter

½ cup (3 ½ ounces) granulated sugar

½ cup (2 ounces) confectioners' sugar

Makes 22 cookies

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Whisk flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in bowl.

2. Whisk brown sugar; eggs; espresso powder, if using; and vanilla together in large bowl. Combine chocolate and butter in bowl and microwave at 50 percent power, stirring occasionally, until melted, 2 to 3 minutes.

3. Whisk chocolate mixture into egg mixture until combined. Fold in flour mixture until no dry streaks remain. Let dough sit at room temperature for 10 minutes.

4. Place granulated sugar and confectioners’ sugar in separate shallow dishes. Working with 2 tablespoons dough (or use #30 scoop) at a time, roll into balls. Drop dough balls directly into granulated sugar and roll to coat. Transfer dough balls to confectioners’ sugar and roll to coat evenly. Evenly space dough balls on prepared sheets, 11 per sheet.

5. Bake cookies, 1 sheet at a time, until puffed and cracked and edges have begun to set but centers are still soft (cookies will look raw between cracks and seem underdone), about 12 minutes, rotating sheet halfway through baking. Let cool completely on sheet before serving.

MY NOTES:

1. Even after I let the dough rest longer than 10 minutes on the counter it was still pretty sticky-- it did better with a little time in the fridge, but overnight might be better next time.

2. I did not use any instant espresso powder. I used Dutch processed cocoa powder.

3. I really did like the effect of the granulated sugar + the powdered sugar-- it really did make for a beautiful cookie.

4. I used an electric mixer to mix up the egg mixture, but I did fold in the chocolate mixture and the flour mixture in-- not sure if it was necessary or not, but it really made it fast :)









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