Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

These cookies are really between a cookie and a fudgy brownie. The batter does have to chill for about 4 hours, or overnight, but the reward is worth it! By the way, I am trying out step by step pictures. Let me know how you guys like them.

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
Yields: Around 2 1/2 dozen

1 cup good quality cocoa
2 cups castor (granulated) sugar
1/2 cup oil
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 cups white flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 to 1 cup powdered sugar for coating

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fareneheit or 180 degrees Celcius.

In a large mixing bowl, dump in the cocoa.

Add the sugar, even though this picture looks like there is no bowl. :)

Stir really well, smashing any lumps of cocoa.

Next, pour in the oil and mix until it is like wet sand. From here, you could use a hand mixer if you wanted to, but it's not necessary. 

Mix in the oil, and then beat in the eggs, one at a time. 

Before eggs, and...

After eggs. We now have a super smooth, glossy batter. 

Add some vanilla to the batter to balance out the flavors. 

In a separate, smaller bowl, combine the flour, salt, and baking powder. Do not add the powdered sugar; that's for later. 

In small increments, add the dry to the wet, mixing in between additions. 

You're going to have to use some muscle, but don't worry: It will come together. 

The batter will have turned into a soft dough, and it must be chilled. 

Into the fridge for at least 4 hours. Any less and the dough would be pudding when you try to roll the balls. 

After chilling, roll the dough into 1 inch balls (about a tablespoon of dough) and toss in the powdered sugar until well coated. 

This sounds odd, but trust me. It will be great. :)

Pop them into the preheated oven for 10 to 20 minutes, checking every few minutes. They should be taken out when mostly firm around the edges, but they will remain softish in the middle. Even when cool, these cookies are soft, chewy, and fudgy. 

Yum! See the crinkles? These go well with coffee, or they are great to have on days ending in y.

A New Year, Stereotypical Hair, and Chocolate Cloud Cake

Happy New Year! It feels like this year has flown by. I remember not doing anything last year but having snacks and playing games with my family on New Year's Eve. And that's pretty much what we did this year too! Because these past few weeks have been insane around here, I didn't even get a chance to think about my goals for this year until the 2nd. Between moving, (just right across from our old house, about 25 feet away!) traveling, and Christmas celebrations, I really have been going on coffee and the occasional full 8 hours of sleep. But now I have gotten back into school and my routine, and this spring is looking much calmer. Although, I say that now, but a few weeks from now someone in my family will probably say, "I'm bored. Hey! We need more to do!" And away we go...

Yes. If you have heard or seen on Facebook that I have red hair, it's true. The reason I said "Stereotypical Hair" is because one of my friends said, "Now you're the perfect stereotypical American teenager!" Although most American teenagers I know don't have colored hair. Oh well, let me start from the beginning... Right after Christmas we went to Bangalore, India to visit some of our friends who are from there, but they live in Pune. We had a fantastic time! We had so much good food and had so much fun. One day I want to do a "mini travel guide" post on here about it. Anyway, a couple days into the trip, our friends took us to a hair salon there that does other stuff like manicures, pedicures, etc. My mom took her Christmas money and Maggie and her had a little "girl time". While they were finishing up, I was looking at the hair services, and I saw coloring.
Now, I didn't just decide out of the blue to get my hair colored. I had been thinking about it for a while, but I wasn't sure what color. So I went downstairs and asked if they had time to do it. She said sure and the stylist brought out this massive book of colors. We decided on the color red based on my hair type and length. I DID NOT get my whole head done, just streaks throughout. I choose permanent color because I thought, "Hey, if I'm gonna use some of my Christmas money for it, I want it to last a long time." So I had to wear this cap that had a bunch of holes in it, and my stylist pulled up strands of hair that were to be colored. I was nervous, I'll admit it. He mixed up the color and applied it. Until then I was under the impression that it would be an on and off sort of thing, you know, pretty quick. Oh, was I wrong! 45 minutes later, I was done, and had my hair sealed with conditioner. I really liked it. By then my mom had come down. She didn't know what color I had decided on until she saw it already done.  She thought I looked great. Whew! (I have such a wonderful mother!) My dad didn't really have any issue either. My mom texted him and said, "Andy's getting his hair colored." And he said, "Okay, cool." So that's pretty much the story. I would totally do it again, and I might. :)

Now, onto the Chocolate Cloud Cake. This is a recipe from one of my cookbooks I got for Christmas. It's basically a flour-less chocolate cake, but is served with whipped cream on top. So this would be great for someone with a gluten or wheat allergy. The original recipe called for the zest of one orange, but all I had some orange juice. I replaced the zest with about 1 1/2 tablespoons juice and it was totally fine. My family absolutely loves this because it's very rich, and the whipped cream compliments it well. There are two options as far as size goes. I separated the batter and did two 9" pie tins and stacked them with whipped cream in the middle as well. This was lighter and looked really nice. The other option is a spring-form pan or large round pan. But this WILL NOT WORK with a bundt or tube pan. It has to be a regular pan. Also, the batter will be really light and fluffy, but don't worry, that's the magic part!

                                                       Layer one...

                                                       Stacking up...

                                                       The finished product!

Chocolate Cloud Cake
Yields: 1 round cake or 1 two-layer cake

 For the cake:
9 oz. (250 grams)  dark chocolate
1/2 cup butter (1 stick), at room temperature
6 eggs: 2 whole and 4 separated, at room temperature
 3/4 cup castor sugar
grated zest of one orange, or 1 1/2 tablespoons orange juice

For the topping:
1 pint (500 ml) double cream (heavy or whipping cream)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
 powdered sugar, about 3/4 cup or as needed, sifted
1/2 teaspoon cocoa

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit or 180 degrees Celsius. Line the bottom of your baking pan(s) with parchment (baking) paper. Grease before and after lining them. Melt the chocolate in the microwave in 20 second increments. Add the butter and allow it to melt by itself for a while. Separate 4 of the eggs, saving the yolks and the whites. In a mixing bowl, crack two whole eggs and add the 4 yolks. Add only half of the sugar to the eggs and beat. Slowly add the chocolate and butter to the eggs. Do not worry if the chocolate slightly seizes up, this is fine. In a different bowl, beat the egg whites until foamy and soft peaks will form. Add the rest of the sugar and beat until firm, but not too stiff. Stir a dollop of egg whites into the chocolate mixture and then fold in the rest. The batter will be very fluffy, keep it this way. Do not stir too much. Pour into prepared pan(s) and bake for 35-40 minutes until the top cracks and the middle does not wobble. When cooling the cake will fall. This is desirable. Allow the cake to fall and cool completely. Meanwhile, beat the cream for a few minutes and add vanilla. Then slowly start adding powdered sugar until the cream will hold its shape. You may need more/less sugar.  When the cake is cool, spoon the cream onto the cake. (and spread in the middle if doing 2 layers) Dust with cocoa through a tea strainer to finish.

This recipe has a lot of instructions, but it's really easy. If you guys have questions about anything, (recipes, ingredients, or techniques) please comment and ask. I also need some recipe requests. I want to do recipes for things that you guys want to know how to make or need a new recipe for. Just comment and request that way or inbox me at andyhman@gmail.com. Thanks for reading!