Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

When I think about my dad, two things come to mind: chocolate and his tickle gun. In my formative years, we always had chocolate chip or chocolate crinkle cookies around. And if we were out of those, we definitely had brownies. My parents came to visit us last weekend in DC and the weekend was not complete without chocolate crinkle cookies. Though I made them, the recipe comes from the recipe he's been using for years.

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
½ cup vegetable oil
6 Tbsp. cocoa**
2 Tbsp. shortening**
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp almond extract
2 cups flour
½ tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking powder
Powdered sugar

1. Combine cocoa and shortening, heat in microwave until shortening is melted.**
2. Combine oil, cocoa mixture and sugar. Add vanilla, then add salt, flour and baking powder.
3. Cover and chill for several hours.
4. Drop teaspoon of dough into powdered sugar, roll around and shape into balls.
5. Place about 2 inches apart on greased baking sheet.
6. Bake 10-12 minutes at 350.

**Can also use 4 sq. unsweetened chocolate (4 oz.) melted in place of melted shortening and cocoa.

Lessons Learned: I never have bars of unsweetened chocolate around, so I always use the cocoa powder/shortening blend. These cookies really do need to chill before you roll them out. Otherwise, you get mush. I think the original recipe comes from Betty Crocker. Since these are my cookies, they have a little almond extract in them. It helps enhance the flavor of the chocolate. You can increase the almond extract if you like. I probably dumped a full teaspoon in by accident, but it didn't ruin the cookies.