Crunchy Chewy Chocolate Crinkles

We are on our 3rd week of Covid-19 Lockdown here in Welly. Baking ingredients have already disappeared from the supermarket shelves. For some reason, everyone is becoming a home baker. I am so glad that I usually like stocking up on essential kitchen ingredients and items even before the Covid-19 issue came out, so I can pretty much make anything out of what I have in the kitchen. I have actually been experimenting on bread recipes ever since my partner got a hold of a big bag of strong flour from Moore Wilson's a couple of days ago. I made my first ever Cinnamon Rolls, (which was a huge success!) and then went on to making white loaf bread. The white loaf bread did not turn out as I expected and I got kind of disappointed. I decided to move on to something simpler instead, for the meantime, just to get my mojo back. Hehe!

Then, I stumbled across this Chocolate Crinkles recipe from Cafe Delites' website, but  I decided to tweak it to my own liking, based on some tips and tricks that I found around the internet. I added 1/4 tsp of baking powder to the recipe and coated the chocolate balls with granulated sugar first before coating them with the icing sugar. I also carried on to baking it right away after mixing the dough. No need to refrigerate to get this end result.

The product outcome was superb! It was crunchy on the outside and chewy on the inside. Exactly just the way I like it! It is not the puffy kind by the way, I like mine a little bit flat but chewy.

Crunchy Chewy Soft Chocolate Crinkles

Chocolatey Goodness

Granulated Sugar Coating

It is starting to look familiar. :)

Chocolate Crinkles!!!

Chewy and soft...just the way I like it. :-)

This actually reminded me of those chocolate crinkles that I used to buy in school in Manila, back when I was a kid. They were individually wrapped in baking paper. They were so soft and chewy. These chocolate crinkles are definitely making me nostalgic.

The only downside to finding this recipe now is that I couldn't stop eating the crinkles! It is so full of sugar!!! Oh well, during these Covid-19 days and being so far away from home and my family, this is actually giving me comfort.



Here is my tweaked recipe:

CHEWY CHOCOLATE CRINKLES

Makes 12-15 large cookies. Number will depend on the size that you want.


INGREDIENTS:

• 1/2 cup     unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 cup        white granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup     canola oil (or any vegetable oil)
• 2 pcs         large eggs
• 2 tsp         vanilla extract
• 1 cup        plain flour / all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp         baking powder
• 1/4 tsp      baking soda
• 1/2 tsp      table salt
• 1/4 cup     icing sugar / confectioner's sugar (for coating)
• 1/4 cup     granulated sugar (for coating)

PROCEDURE:

1. Preheat oven to 170C
2. In mixing bowl (if using a stand mixer), mix together the cocoa powder, sugar and canola oil. Add in egg, one at a time to ensure that it is well incorporated. Add in the vanilla. Mix well.
3. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in another bowl. Add this dry ingredients mixture into the wet ingredients. Mix well but do not overmix. 
4. Line baking trays with parchment paper (baking paper) to prevent the dough from sticking to the tray, unless you're using a non-stick baking tray. (Although, I still prefer putting a parchment paper or baking mat on the tray even if it is non-stick.)
5. Scoop 1 tablespoon dough and roll into a ball or use an ice cream scoop to save time.  You may adjust this based on your own preference.
6. Coat each dough ball with granulated sugar first and then coat it again with the icing sugar.
7. Place each ball on the baking tray, making sure that there is about 1 to 2 inches space (depending on how big your ball is) in between each piece. The dough will spread a little as it bakes.
8. Bake the cookies for 10 to 12 minutes. 
9. Once done, remove the tray from the oven. Allow the cookies to cool down a bit on the baking tray. This will continue cooking because of the heat from the tray. 
10. Transfer the cookies to a wire rack. Let it cool down completely. 
11. Serve the cookies or transfer into an airtight container. 
12. Enjoy eating your newly baked cookies!!!

NOTES:

• If you don't have vanilla extract, don't fret, you can still make this recipe without it. I actually forgot to put it once and it still turned out delicious. The vanilla kind of gives it that sweeter smell though.
• The recipe where that inspired this actually doesn't have baking soda in its ingredients, so I guess it is also okay if you do not have it on hand. 
• Coating with granulated sugar is extra. It helped absorb the moisture inside while baking and also made the outside texture a little bit more crunchy.
• If you have leftover icing sugar, feel free to sprinkle it on top of the baked cookie. It adds an extra oomph factor to it. 😊