Cocoa Crinkle Cookies

While I am not much of a baker, I do love baking cookies. At this time of year, I just can't help myself either - I find myself wanting to bake dozens and dozens of cookies and give them to everyone I know. My first holiday season after I got married, I made these cookies on a whim and wouldn't you know it? They have totally become our holiday tradition.

They have also become some of my all-time favorite cookies. First of all, they have a rich dark chocolate flavor which, as an unabashed chocoholic, is always going to appeal to me. Second of all, they have the awesome combination of texture that I love - just a tad crisp on the outside from the crunchy sugar but with a warm soft center. But most importantly - these cookies are insanely easy to throw together and look adorable. You can double, triple, even quadruple the recipe with no problem at all. You can make the dough ahead and freeze it. The finished cookies keep well, both fresh and frozen. They are the perfect candidate for a holiday cookie.

You can also make them sandwich cookies by spreading some of your favorite frosting in between two cookies -then roll the edges in crushed up candy canes (one of my personal favorite things to do). You could also roll the cookies in colorful sprinkles instead of granulated sugar for some added festiveness (not something I have tried, but have thought about doing). Make them with some super high quality cocoa and you won't want to do anything extra with them - just enjoy the flavor of the sweet rich chocolate!

Cocoa Crinkle Cookies
1 3/4 cup flour
1/2 cup good quality unsweetened cocoa powder (not dutch process)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (115 grams) butter
1 1/4 cup sugar, plus another 1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla

Sift together the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt in a bowl.

Melt the butter in a medium to large saucepan over medium low heat and cool slightly. Add the 1 1/4 cup sugar and stir until smooth. Whisk in the eggs one at a time until well blended. Stir in vanilla.

Stir the soft butter mixture into the flour/cocoa mixture until just combined. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm - around two hours (you could also make this dough ahead of time and freeze. Let defrost in the fridge over night before using).
Line cookie sheets with parchment. Shape dough into even sized balls (I do around 1 and half inch wide). Place the 1/2 cup sugar in a bowl. Roll dough balls in the sugar then place on the cookie sheets around an inch and half apart. Bake for 12 minutes at 350 F (176 C). Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack.