chocolate crinkles, version 1.

When I was a little girl, spending summers in my Lolo and Lola’s (grandpa and grandma) house in Malaybalay, Bukidnon were a must. Summer vacations are never complete without the “mandatory” visit. It was like a routine, except that it wasn’t boring. We were always woken up at 6:00 am to have a steaming mug of Milo and my cousins and I would compete with each other as to who finishes first. Never minding if it would result to having scalded tongues. We would go back to sleep afterwards. When we’re finally awake, we play the usual “bahay-bahayan” or card games. If not, we intently watch Lolo Max play Solitaire. We always looked forward to reading the Sunday paper to solve the “Spot the Difference” puzzle. In the afternoon, we’d play patintero, bulan-bulan, tag, piko, tumbang-preso, luksong tinik, and jack stones with our neighbors. We also sneak out and take a bath in the nearest spring but we always make sure to be home before 5:00 PM lest Lolo would find out. Haha.

When Lolo got sicker because of his emphysema, he was brought to Cagayan de Oro so that there’s easier access to healthcare. My Mom’s sisters are doctors (plus one a nurse), after all. When that happened, summers in Malaybalay stopped, but we still spent it with Lolo and Lola. At that time, Lola was helping out one of my aunt’s businesses – a bakery. We also helped, we were the ones who gave the customers their orders and one of us was tasked to be the cashier (that’s one of my “dream jobs” when I was a kid!).

After a day at the bakery, I would always look forward to eating some of the breads and pastries we sell. One of my favorite items was chocolate crinkles. I really don’t know why, maybe because it looked so appealing?

When I started baking last year, one of my very first projects was baking chocolate crinkles… which failed big time. I haven’t tried baking it again until today. I was kind of hesitant to give it another try, but I thought, “If I can bake cupcakes with such ease, why can’t I try crinkles again?”

Try I did. And I am so glad it came out beautifully.



Did it remind me of those childhood summers? Kind of, but not much. It didn’t taste like the chocolate crinkles I’ve had when I was a kid.

I used the same recipe I tried last year… Hence the version number. I’ll try some other recipe tomorrow… or next time.

Chocolate CrinklesAdapted from Joy of Baking / Casa Veneracion  

2 tbsp butter
120 grams semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup sifted powdered sugar, for rolling 

In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside. 

Melt chocolate and butter in a double boiler or a heatproof bowl placed over a saucepan of simmering water. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature. Set aside.  

In another bowl, beat the egg and sugar until thick, pale and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla extract. Add the cooled chocolate mixture and beat until incorporated.  

Add flour mixture, stirring just until incorporated. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm enough to be shaped into balls, 3-4 hours or overnight.  

Preheat oven to 325F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.  

Place the sifted powdered sugar in a shallow bowl.  

Remove chilled dough from the fridge, using an ice cream scooper, scoop dough onto sugar and roll until completely coated. Make sure there are no traces of chocolate showing through. Place sugar-covered balls on the prepared baking sheet, about 2 inches apart.  

Bake for 8-10 minutes or just until edges are slightly firm. Do not over-bake!  

Makes 12-15 cookies.  

Notes:
After scooping the balls, I dumped them directly into the sugar and rolled them. If you don't have an ice cream scooper, coat your hands with butter/shortening or powdered sugar to prevent the dough from sticking.