Kid Friendly Food (AND Holiday Tradition!): Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

Mr. Pie didn't bring a lot of Christmas traditions to our family when we got married, which was hard for me, because I come from a big family full of tradition.  Games and movies and outings and recipes...there was so much I wanted to bring from my Christmas experience to our family!

 

But in the beginning, I felt like I really needed to scale back because: 

 

A) Mr. Pie didn't seem to really get into Christmas, and

 

B) I felt like I would be steam-rolling right over him if I bombarded him with all the things I wanted to bring over from my family. 

 

So really, until we had kids, our Christmases were rather quiet.

 

However, there was one tradition he did bring... Chocolate Crinkle Cookies.

Every year, the one thing that did seem to make him happy during the holiday season was the package of Chocolate Crinkle Cookies that usually arrived either from his mom or his sister.

 

According to my husband, they were his grandfather's favorite cookie, and his grandmother would make them every Christmas.

 

Eventually, the packages stopped being sent from his mother, and the responsibility of carrying on this one tradition for my husband fell to me.

 

Well, this is definitely a Christmas Tradition I can get behind!

 

But what's even better is that I now have three little boys who like to help/watch me make "Daddy's Special Christmas Cookies", as they are otherwise known at our house.

And I have a feeling these cookies will become a strong Christmas tradition for them in the years to come.  And that makes me happy.

 

 

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
(recipe taken from the Betty Crocker Cooky Book)

1/2 c. vegetable oil
4 oz. unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled
2 c. sugar
1 T. vanilla
4 eggs
2 c. flour
2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
powdered sugar

In large bowl, mix oil, chocolate, granulated sugar and vanilla. Stir in eggs, one at a time. Stir in flour, baking powder and salt. Cover; refrigerate at least 3 hours. 

Heat oven to 350°F. Grease cookie sheet with shortening or cooking spray. 

Drop dough by teaspoonfuls into powdered sugar; roll around to coat and shape into balls. Place about 2 inches apart on cookie sheets.

Bake 10 minutes. You want them to still be slightly soft in the center. Immediately remove from cookie sheets to cooling racks.

Tips:

 

Although it says to just drop the dough into the powdered sugar, I actually roll the dough into a ball before rolling in the sugar.

 

I also bake these only for 10 minutes.  I have found if they are baked longer they will dry out more quickly. 

 

Enjoy!