Chocolate Krinkles

Cookie of the Month Club is surprisingly still in business. In November I made Chocolate Krinkles. My friend, C.C., actually shared this recipe in the comments after my Calling All Cookie Recipe post.

I'm not much for chocolate cookies, but these are so great. A perfect holiday cookie. Enjoy!

Chocolate Krinkles
Makes 4 – 5 dozen

• ½ cup vegetable oil
• 4 squares unsweetened chocolate, melted
• 2 cups sugar
• 4 eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla
• ½ tsp salt
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 2 cups flour

Mix oil, chocolate, and sugar. Blend in eggs 1 at a time; mix well. Add vanilla. Add dry ingredients. Cover and chill overnight.

Drop teaspoons of mixture in confectionary sugar. Press slightly. Bake on a greased cookie sheet for 10-12 minutes at 350o

C.C.'s Notes:
My family thinks these cookies taste even better the day after they’re baked. We’ve also found that it’s better to mix only one batch at a time, and we like to take them out of the oven a little early for a chewier cookie. Also, the mixture can get sticky, so keep it refrigerated when not using and make sure the cookie sheet is cooled between uses. Wiping a tiny bit of vegetable oil on the teaspoon also makes it easier to drop the cookies off.

The beneficiaries this installment:

• C.C. herself since she just had a beautiful baby girl. I made her family dinner and in return C.C. let me hold her baby for a while.
• The usual college kids: Sister, Brother-in-Law, Cousin
• M. also got some this time around. Last month I didn't make him any extras and he swiped a few from the college kids' packages before I mailed them.
  

Cookie of the Month Club

Have you ever heard of a Cookie of the Month club? The gist is you purchase a membership online and cookies are sent to the lucky recipient every month.

I think it's a great gift idea. The problem is, they're a bit over priced in my opinion. So I decided to start my own cookie club.

The beneficiaries:

• Baby Sister, who just started her senior year of college this year. It's almost impossible to believe.
  
• Brother-in-law-to-be, who is just beginning his freshman year of college (and is one of the biggest cookie monsters I know).
• Fiance, who -- like is brother -- loves cookies. I made him a few extras.
  
• Friends. We went to a friend's house on Saturday night and another friend's on Sunday, so I brought along a couple dozen cookies to share.
  

The goods:

• Standard chocolate chip, sans walnuts. It's a staple in Fiance's family.
  
• White chocolate chip and cranberry. This was a hit when I made it for my friend's wedding. (Remember when I baked pre-packaged dough for her return to work after she eloped? Well I actually baked -- really baked -- for the Pittsburgh cookie table at her real wedding party in January.)

The baking part was fun for me. I'll use any excuse to get out the oh-so-beautiful-and-wonderfully-functional KitchenAid stand mixer. Plus I got to legitimately wear one of the fabulous new aprons I got at my shower earlier this month. Last night I wore one just for kicks while Fiance was cooking dinner.

Ten dozen cookies later, Cookie of the Month club also became a fabulous excuse to use my new Martha Stewart cookie/cupcake carrier.

Lastly, mailing was a piece of cake. I used the USPS flat rate shipping box. Two dozen cookies fit -- barely -- into the small box. So two shipments and less than $10 later, they were off to our little siblings.

Here's to hoping the college kids get more than a box-o-crumbs. Love you both!