I Am A

I’ve made the Autumn cookies before, so now it’s time to tackle the Winter cookies! I know it’s after the holidays, but these cookies could technically be eaten any time of the year. Difficulty: Easy, 4 hours (mostly fridge time). Makes about 2 dozen, depending on size.

-1 cup white sugar -½ cup cocoa powder -¼ cup (60mL) vegetable oil -2 eggs -A few drops of peppermint flavouring or 1 tablespoon brandy (I did brandy and added a teaspoon of vanilla for extra flavouring). Optional. -1 cup flour -1 teaspoon baking powder -¼ teaspoon salt -¼ cup icing sugar

In a medium bowl, combine the white sugar, cocoa powder, and vegetable oil. Mix until fully combined. It’ll look gritty, don’t worry about it.

Add the eggs and flavouring (if you’re adding any). Mix well, then add the flour, baking powder, and salt. It will be kinda runny. Again, don’t worry.

Cover the bowl with a teatowel or plastic wrap and stick it in the fridge for at least 3 hours. This might seem a bit excessive, but the dough is very sticky, so working with it right away would create a mess. 

After the 3 hours or so, preheat the oven to 350°F and grease a couple cookie sheets. The icing sugar will stick to the pans, so it’s important to grease them well. Put the icing sugar in a small bowl. Do this all before removing the cookie dough from the fridge, so it doesn’t have much time to warm up (and thus get really sticky) while you’re working with it. 

With a spoon and your hands, roll the dough into balls and then roll them in the icing sugar until fully coated. Shake off the excess sugar before placing on the cookie sheet. Just keep in mind if you make them really small or really big you’ll have to estimate a change for cooking time.

Bake the cookies for about 10-12 minutes. When you remove them they’ll look very soft and fudgy. Let them sit on the pan for 10 minutes, and then refrigerate them for 20 minutes. This will allow them to harden a bit but still remain soft and fudgy in the centre. 

These cookies are really, really good. They’re soft and rich with a neat look to them. I don’t think holly grows up here, so I grabbed some Oregon Grape leaves from my backyard instead. Close enough.