Chocolate Pecan Crinkles

As the girls and I were wrapping Christmas presents yesterday, I suddenly felt a tinge of sadness welling up inside me...and it was because I terribly miss my mom. You see, gift wrapping was one of those many things I enjoyed doing with her. I can still remember how much fun we had wrapping presents together. But I must admit that it was actually the after-gift-wrapping snacks that I enjoyed the most. After every gift wrapping session, my mom would serve chocolate crinkles and hot chocolate(which during my time was either Milo or Ovaltine). I'm sure you all know what Chocolate Crinkles are. They are those yummy chocolate cookies coated with confectioners sugar that "crinkles" or "cracks" as the cookies bake. I love them since I was a kid until now, not just because they are delicious but much more because they remind me of the fun times I had with my mother.

To brighten up my mood, I thought of baking Chocolate Crinkles. Clarise and Cherlin both love these soft, fudge-like chocolate cookies, and they enjoy helping me make them too. So instead of finishing the gift wrapping task, the three of us headed to the kitchen and made these delicious treats instead.

I'm sure my mom would love this version with ground pecans. It adds a bit of flavor but keeps the cookies smooth and soft.

Check it out! They are so easy to make and such perfect holiday treats for you and your family. These delightful cookies are good  Christmas presents too!

Ingredients:
*Yield 32 pcs.

• 4 Tbsp unsalted butter
• 8 oz semi-sweet chocolate morsels
• ½ cup granulated white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• ½ tsp baking powder
• ½ cup ground pecans
• ½ cup confectioners sugar, sifted

Procedure:

1. In a microwave safe bowl, melt the chocolate and butter in the microwave oven for about a minute. Let cool to room temperature.

2. In a bowl, beat the eggs and sugar until thick and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in the vanilla extract. Add the cooled chocolate mixture and beat until well incorporated.

3. In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder and ground pecans. Add dry mixture to the chocolate mixture, and stir until well incorporated. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm enough to shape into balls, at least 1 hr.

4. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Place rack in center of oven. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

5. Place the sifted confectioners sugar in a shallow bowl. Shaped chilled dough into 1 inch balls, and then roll each ball in confectioners sugar, making sure that each ball is well coated. Place 2 inches apart on the lined baking sheets.

6. Bake for about 7-9 minutes or just until the top is cracked and the edges are set. (Do not over bake if you want your chocolate crinkles chewy.) Transfer to a wire rack and cool completely.