Day: December 6, 2015

December 6: Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

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So, we’re at the end of the weekend now. Generally, by the end of the first weekend of December, I have at least one frosted cookie in the bunch.

But now I’m a grad student. I don’t have time to frost any cookies (nor make any cookies that take hours) until I finish my last assignment for the semester. It’s due Tuesday, and I wrote my first paragraph and thesis statement last night. I want to hammer out the rest today and be done with it.

Here’s my desk:IMG_4251

And during the downtime of baking, here’s my make-shift work space:

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Yes, that’s the table my cat’s eat on. I hope they like reading academic journals.

(Oh, the working title of my last paper is: “Constricting Ideals of Femininity Lead to Feminism in Margaret Mitchell’s Gone with the Wind,” but I toyed with the idea of comparing Scarlett O’Hara to Regina George. My friend Andrew talked me out of this, saying he didn’t think Mean Girls was academic enough. He’s probably right. But, come on, wouldn’t that have been a rad paper?!)

(Aren’t you glad you asked?)

Also, I keep hearing this speech in my head as I bake and research:

I left a stick of butter out to soften and when it was ready, I combined it with my brown sugar and eggs. And then the piece de resistance:

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Combined the rest of my ingredients and rolled little balls of chocolate goodness into powdered sugar.

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Then I placed them on to a cookie sheet and into my oven.

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If T.S. Eliot measured out his life in coffee spoons, then I supposed I measure mine in minutes on the oven timer.

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(While I waited between batches, my yellow magic marker and I tackled the JSTOR reading.)

Chocolate crinkles completed, I am now back at my desk, determined to crank out several pages of brilliance.

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—

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

(from http://www.somethingswanky.com)

INGREDIENTS:

 

  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 1 cup light brown sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Prepare a baking sheet by lining it with paper or a silicone baking mat.

Cream together the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Mix in the eggs.

Add the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. Mix just until soft dough forms.

Scoop by rounded tablespoons and roll each ball in the powdered sugar, evenly coating each one.

Bake until cookies are set and the tops cracked, about 13 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Store in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-4 days.