Wednesday 31 August 2011

Chocolate crinkle cookies (Snow caps)

IMG_4405
I am back from my holiday and it sucks. It means back to daily chores like cooking, cleaning and writing and having nothing much too look forward to. Well life must go on right? Anyways, we had a lovely time down at the coast and pigged out so much, I can assure you I have gained a few pounds. Cornwall is known for the cream tea's and just looking at the clotted cream served with scones will gain you a few calories, seriously! But on another note they were probably the best cream tea's I've ever had. All the while Ro kept dabbing huge amounts of cream on to his scone I kept chanting heart attacks and cholesterol levels which fell on deaf ears. So we left all those behind and indulged in food on all 5 days.

I haven't yet sorted through the pictures, but will try and do so at the earliest and post a few as well. There were a couple of interesting food items I wanted to try, but Cornwall being the fish central, most of it had to do with fish and I am not that big a fish fan as you all might already know. Convincing Ro was too much of an effort so i let it pass. But seriously how interesting would the Stargazy Pie have been? I think a darn interesting one to at least photograph. Ro thought otherwise, and so we decided Cornish Pasty instead. So we went all the way down south to the tip of England to actually eat the best Cornish Pasty evah. Not overrated people, not overrated at all. I loved it. I am thinking of actually trying it out at home "some day."
IMG_4385
Coming back to the cookies', since it was a 6 hour drive from London, I decided to pack some goodies for the road trip. My husband, yes the one who is such a sucka for anything chocolate, pleaded with me to make some chocolate cake. Of course I didn't listen, because as we all know, I am not the awesome wife who will listen to stuff the husband says. Instead I went ahead and made a cake of my choice and was happily packing it when I realised I had a wee bit of butter left over from my previous expeditions which would expire in a couple of days. So I googled and googled and googled and landed on a picture of crinkled cookies which looked so darn pretty, I had to make it. 
IMG_4351
So I searched for a recipe and came up with one that was really easy, but didn't need butter. But by then I was so excited at the prospect of photographing the crinkle cookies, butter was the least of my problems. Made the cookies in a jiffy and gosh they were the prettiest ever. I ate one or two right out of the oven and it was nice. Taste wise, well I would say it's a wannabe brownie/ cake. Its somewhere in between a cake and a cookie to be precise. The husband and friends who were travelling with us actually thought they were bought from some bakery (I'm wondering if that's a compliment or not) and happily gorged on them as well. I took a bite from a few leftover cookies the next day and actually hated it, to be honest. I decided to give chocolate one more chance but it failed me. So sorry chocolate, you and me need to part ways. We obviously want different things. (Ro claims that's like saying he and I need different things, because his ultimate aim in life is to die and go to chocolate heaven). 

So anyhoo, the recipe is a keeper cos I'm sure those chocolate lovers out there would fall for it and if not a chocolate lover, then it would at least grab the attention of the photographer in you. Either ways, its easy to make and is perfect to gift for Christmas or serve for kids' parties. I don't intend to do either, but decided to keep the recipe, just in case I became a convert!
IMG_4442
Recipe adapted from here (makes about 24 to 26 cookies)
Dark chocolate- 1/2 cup, broken into medium slices (I used Green & Blacks, 70 percent choc.)
Brown sugar- 1/2 cup, packed
Oil- 2 1/2 tbsp
Egg- 1 large
Vanilla essence- 1/2 tsp
Plain flour- 1/2 cup
Baking powder- 1/2 tsp
Salt- a pinch
Icing sugar- 1/4 cup
IMG_4346
In a bowl stir together the flour, baking powder and salt.
Melt the chocolate in a saucepan over low heat.
Remove from heat and add sugar and oil and mix well till the sugar has dissolved, somewhat.
Add the egg and vanilla and mix well till you no longer see any traces.
Mix in the flour and stir till you form a smooth batter.
Close the bowl with a lid and chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.
The batter would have hardened a bit. If not keep it for some more time.
When you are ready to bake, line a baking tray with parchment paper or foil paper and put the powdered sugar in a plate large enough to roll the cookie balls.
Using a 1/2 tbsp measuring spoon scoop out the dough and make balls. 
Roll in the icing sugar and place on the tray, about an inch apart. This is what cracks when the cookies are baking and gives the crinkled effect. 
Bake in an oven preheated at 175C for about 10 minutes for a chewy one or 12 to 13 minutes for a crunchier version. 
Once done, cool completely on the rack and then store in air tight containers or zip loc bags

IMG_4437
Notes: You can add any nut of choice (walnuts, hazelnuts etc) right after mixing the flour. Just chop them up and fold it in.
By the time you finish rolling the entire batch, the first few might have no icing sugar visible because it gets absorbed. No problem, just lightly roll it again and place into the oven immediately.
I thought 1/4 cup icing sugar was a little too much, as I ended up wasting a bit once I was done.
I preferred the chewier version better.

32 comments:

Pavithra Elangovan said...

Absolutely gorgeous shot... looks way too tempting.

Satrupa said...

You are perfect ! How do u get it right the first time :) Mine was a disaster .... glad I have a tried n tested one to fall back on :) Beautiful clicks ... Looks like Christmas is not far

Unknown said...

OMG! love these cookies....I too made this once with dark chocolate...yummyy....awesome clicks....

Chk out my DIWALI Event
On Going Last Dy - Strawberry Dessert Event
September - ALMONDS Event & GIVEAWAY

Nitha said...

They are so cute Nisha... You always google and google and come up with some delicious and cute looking recipes and I am always here to try those out.. I did try the Danish Butter cookies and they came out great... This one is next in Queue

Anonymous said...

very very pretty looking cookies..already looks like christmas is here.

Hari Chandana P said...

Woww... looks super cute and delicious.. lovely pictures as usual :)
Indian Cuisine

Priya Suresh said...

Cute and damn elegant looking snow aps cookies,looks marvellous..

Suja Manoj said...

Elegant and cute..can have this any time

KrithisKitchen said...

Super cute cookies.. lovely pics and lighting...
Krithi's Kitchen
Event: Serve It - Steamed

Sobha Shyam said...

wow, absolutely delicious and cute cookies, yum yum..

Anonymous said...

Those chanting never works with A too! I have given up now! Share pictures sooooon I wanna see.
As for those cutie cookies that you make .. is in my wish lost now. Such cute that doesn't require any patience to make them look good .. oh yeah that is in my list :)

Torviewtoronto said...

delicious looking cookies looks wonderful

Unknown said...

They looks super cute...very nicely done crinkles

schmetterlingwords said...

Absolutely pretty crinkle cookies. I'm not a choco lover either. But, this is too pretty to be ignored. :)

I've tagged you for the 7 links challenge. Do check it out @ http://schmetterlingwords.blogspot.com/2011/09/for-7-links-challenge.html

Have fun :)

Love II cook said...

little snowhites. beautiful. i wish i cud have some with my ginger tea now.

Vineetha Sush said...

Cornwall has been pending in our list for some time now ! maybe next summer ....mhmmm..
This little beauties looks superb,my little ones bday is in 3 weeks time, so I was looking for something for kids party ,this sounds good,I might give it a go if find enough time for baking that day,has to bake a bday cake too.

divya said...

Absolutely gorgeous shot... looks way too tempting.

Unknown said...

Nisha Absolutely gorgeous pictures. and those cookies are so photogenic can imagine how you would have enjoyed clicking them, they are so darn darling to be true and to eat!

Hamaree Rasoi said...

Cookies look so inviting and tasty. have bookmarked it for preparing it using your method.

Deepa
Hamaree Rasoi

Monet said...

I adore chocolate...and I adore cookies. Yum! Thank you for sharing with me. I hope the beginning of your week is both peaceful and fun. I'm sipping on a cup of coffee and looking forward to a day of resting and baking. Perfection, in my books! I hope you are well, my friend!

mycookinghut said...

Looks so cute and tasty!
Congrats Nisha on the ice cream maker! :)

Sylvia said...

pretty little things they are and i agree, even if i didn't like chocolate, i would actually still make it just to take some pics! haha

aipi said...

Cute n addictive they look ~ beautifully taken pics!
USMasala

archana said...

Love these photos !

Sarah Naveen said...

I know the days after vacation..it really sucks!!! I am in love with ur pics Nisha...and congrats again kto!!

the Junkie book said...

this one's going to be long.

i had so much fun reading your post and cracked up at Ro's chocolate heaven...imagine it's all going to be "brownies" there (nothing racist intended)...
and i squealed at Cornwall because the previous LPMI had a beau---tiful article on Cornwall which totally swept me off my feet...i think the article more than the place...duh? yes i dreamt cream tea but not the scones. read about Mousehole...and apparently there's a book The Mousehole Cat! did you take any Moor pics? the Bodmin Moor looked splendid in the mag photo...right out of Sherlock Holmes sorta!
and the cookies..yes a photographer's delight....
i hope you become a choc convert so that you two can be together in choc heaven...or it can be the other way too!!
thanks for such a fun post!
mebbe you should get a profile in 500px. i dont know if it's only for professionals...

Unknown said...

Such perfect and Absolutely gorgeous looking cookies....

Visit my space whenever time permits..

Cheers
Muskaan

Bergamot said...

Love these cookies. They look soooo beautiful. Will try this recipe next time.

aterrao said...

I really like your recipes. There is a new platform where you can upload them and are seen with a design adapted to iPad. You can also link to your blog, get statistics... It is http://www.cibos.me

mia said...

Hi! Just wanted to clarify... It said in your recipe that you need 2 1/2 tablespoons of oil; but the recipe you linked to said 1/3 cup of oil. I am a clueless baker so any advise or help would be great! Thanks! :-)

My Kitchen Antics said...

Hi Mia...i have halved the recipe from the linked recipe..half of a 1/3 cup of oil is 2 1/2 tbsp (approx.).. thats all :)
Good luck ...its a great recipe

mia said...

Oh! That explains it! Hahaha! So clueless really! Thanks!!! Will try it out now with my 4-year old who just loooooves anything chocolate. :-)