Cookie Jar Cocoa Crisps

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...When my children were small, the first crisp days of autumn signaled the return of soup and rising bread to my kitchen. The soup would steam the windows and the dough added a yeasty aroma to air already perfumed by the lingering scent of burning leaves. These were the the years of ginger bread and apple crisp and the making of memories that I carry still with me today. These days, the fall kitchen, replete with memory, moves into high gear when our rains begin to fall and evening temperatures plummet with the setting of the sun. Today saw the making of bread and the quick assembly of ingredients for a long simmering bean soup. I decided to make cookies rather than a cake or bread, and because I had a taste for chocolate, I decided to try a recipe for chocolate snaps that had been featured in a post on the blog Mennonite Girl's Can Cook last month. The cookies are terrific, and while they must be chilled before they are baked, they are very easy to make. These days, only two of us have our hands in the cookie jar, so I made half the recipe that appeared on their blog. Even at that, I ended up freezing half of the cookies I made. If you have not already tried this recipe, I urge you to give it a try. Here is how the cookies are made.


Cookie Jar Cocoa Crisps...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of Mennonite Girls Can Cook

Ingredients:
3/4 cup butter
1 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoons vanilla
1-1/2 whole eggs (1/4 cup)
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 tablespoons shortening
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
sugar for rolling

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2) Combine butter, sugar and brown sugar in the bowl of an electric stand mixer and beat until light and fluffy.
3) Add vanilla and eggs one at a time, beating in between each addition.
4) Add cocoa and 2 tablespoons of shortening and blend well.
5) Add remaining dry ingredients and mix until blended.
6) Refrigerate mixture for a minimum of 1 hour for easier handling.
7) Scoop out dough on to cookie sheets using a cookie scoop or soup spoon. Leave room for cookies to spread during baking. Roll each scoop of dough into a 1-1/2-inch  ball. Dip each ball into sugar covering the tops.
8) Bake for about 10 minutes. Cookies will puff up a bit as they cook. When you take them out, drop pan on counter so cookies will "deflate" and become extra chewy. Cool on pan for 3-5 minutes and then remove to complete cooking on a cooling rack. Yield: 2 to 3 dozen cookies

                    

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