Mocha Crinkle Cookies

Snow day!!!!  Yes, it's late March, and yes, it's officially spring, but I will never say no to a snow day.  We got about 6 inches but a lot of it is already melting out there in the sun, so it just means more time to snuggle with the pups and blog about really good cookies that were kind of a pain to make.

I love making crinkle cookies because they come out looking so pretty, never mind how good they taste.  I have made chocolate crinkles countless times, but on this day, Kenzie sent me a pin with these mocha crinkles and I decided to give it a try.  After all, for some reason I have 2 jars of instant espresso powder so I am more than happy to use up a tablespoon!  Besides the espresso powder, these cookies are flavored with cocoa powder, brown sugar and vanilla.  They taste absolutely delicious and look adorable.  But I wasn't kidding that they were kind of a pain.  The dough needs to be mixed by hand and it's very crumbly; then the crumbly dough has to be rolled into balls, and they have to be rolled in sugar, all while your hands are coated in brown dough.  It makes for a pretty messy job for cookies!

Luckily, they were worth it, and they were devoured quickly.  I was a hot mess while I was making them, but I quickly became the most popular person at my mother's when I served these hot out of the oven!  If you decide to try them, I advise doubling.  It made barely a dozen cookies, which, for all the work they took and how good they were, were really not enough.

Recipe:

mocha crinkle cookies
from Cake Whiz
makes about 12 cookies

Ingredients:
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon granulated sugar, divided
1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon instant espresso powder
3 tablespoons melted butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 egg white

Instructions:

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Prepare a cookie sheet with parchment paper.  In a mixing bowl, add flour, cocoa powder espresso powder, salt and baking soda.  Sift all ingredients and set aside.

2) In another mixing bowl, add butter, brown sugar, 1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon granulated sugar, egg white and vanilla.  Mix until you have a rough, chunky mixture.

3) Add the dry ingredients into the wet.  Mix until you have a crumbly mixture.  Knead with your hands into a ball of dough.  If the dough is still too dry and crumbly, add milk or water, 1 teaspoon at a time, and knead again.

4) Take little portions of the dough and roll into balls.  Roll them in a plate with the 1 cup granulated sugar.  Place on prepared cookie sheet.  Bake for 8 - 10 minutes or until the sides are slightly crispy.  Let cookies cool on tray.  Store in an airtight plastic container.