Chocolate Crackle Cookies (Lion House)

Whenever we have houseguest staying the night, it gives me a great excuse to bake! Jenny, Jeremy's sister, is a big chocolate fan, so I wanted to make these Chocolate Crinkle cookies I had flagged in my Lion House dessert cookbook a while ago. Come to find out, these are her favorite cookies! Score! I loved these. However, in the recipe it said to line cookie sheets with wax paper--this was a BIG no-no! The oven started to smoke with the first batch, and the cookies kinda became "glued" to the paper, if you will, and we had to scrape off. So the first batch was not the best, but we used parchment paper for the remaining two batches, and they turned out wonderful!! These are a great cookie to make, giving the classic (and loved) chocolate chip cookie a break.

(from the Lion House Desserts cookbook)

1/4 cup shortening (melted)
1/4 cup cocoa
1/2 cup oil
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 to 1 cup powdered sugar
(I thought I'd also mention that in the Lion House recipe it mentions 1/2 cup chopped walnuts and/or 1/2 cup chocolate chips as optional- but I left it out.)

In a large mixing bowl, cream together shortening, cocoa, oil, sugar, eggs, and vanilla until well mixed. Add flour, salt, and baking powder. Mix well. Dough will be very sticky and almost runny. Refrigerate dough for at least 3 hours or overnight.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Drop and gently roll dough by tablespoonfuls in powdered sugar, being careful not to overhandle dough. Place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and bake for 9-10 minutes. Do not overbake.  : -)

Makes about 3 dozen cookies.