dirty ethel rackham Posted July 25, 2011 Share Posted July 25, 2011 The county fair rule book says she has to make a cookie from the 4H project book. She chose this chocolate crinkle recipe. Well, they did not turn out right. The dough never firmed up after being chilled. She is rolling a gloppy mess in the powdered sugar and the cookies are a little bland. Can we alter the recipe? I hate to commit the ingredients to another trial only to find that it wasn't user error. I cannot find the same recipe online. I wonder if we can omit the milk. Any suggestions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardening momma Posted July 25, 2011 Share Posted July 25, 2011 Can you post the recipe here? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirty ethel rackham Posted July 25, 2011 Author Share Posted July 25, 2011 2 one-ounce squared unsweetened chocolate, melted 1/2 cup butter or margerine 1 2/3 cups granulated sugar 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 2 eggs 2 cups all purpose flour 2 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/3 cup milk 1/2 cup chopped nuts sifted confectioners' sugar preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place chocolate in small microwave safe bowl. Microwave on 50% power for 30-40 seconds until chocolate is melted. Stir. Set aside to cool. Using the mixer, cream together the butter, sugar, and vanilla. Break one egg into small bowl. Add egg to sugar mixture and mix well. Do the same with 2nd egg. Mix until creamy. Add cooled chocolate to sugar mixture. Mix until well blended. Sift and measure flour. Ad to small mixing bowl. Ad backing powder and salt to flour and stir well. Add half dry ingredients to sugar mixture with all of the milk. Mix until blended. Add remaining dry ingredients. Mix until blended. Add shopped nuts to dough and mix well. Chill mixture 3 hours in refrigerator. Lightly coat cookie sheet with non-stick cooking spray (we used parchment instead.) Pinch off small pieces of dough and form into 1-inch balls. Roll balls in confectioners' sugar. (This is where things went wrong. The dough was never firm enough to pinch.) place on prepared cookie sheet 2 -3 inches apart place cookie sheet in center of oven. Bake about 13-15 minutes. Cool slightly, remove from cookie sheet and place on racks to cool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardening momma Posted July 25, 2011 Share Posted July 25, 2011 I wouldn't omit the milk. When does she need to take these? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caroline Posted July 25, 2011 Share Posted July 25, 2011 Are you having high humidity? That might be affecting the dough. (I say that like I am some sort of expert. I am not by any stretch of the imagination.) Maybe try adding a little more flour? It is awfully close to the Nestle Tollhouse Cookie recipe. That has 2 1/4 cups of flour. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardening momma Posted July 25, 2011 Share Posted July 25, 2011 I'm tempted to mix up a batch, minus the nuts (leaving the nuts out shouldn't affect the recipe, and I just don't like nuts in things). I wouldn't be able to tell you my results for a while though--I'd let them cool in the fridge overnight, and then we'll be out all morning, so I can't bake until afternoon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carol in Cal. Posted July 25, 2011 Share Posted July 25, 2011 Can't look up my recipe right now, but FYI, I have to chill mine overnight for it to firm up. 3-4 hours is not enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardening momma Posted July 25, 2011 Share Posted July 25, 2011 It's in the fridge now (no nuts). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrixieB Posted July 25, 2011 Share Posted July 25, 2011 2 one-ounce squared unsweetened chocolate, melted1/2 cup butter or margerine 1 2/3 cups granulated sugar 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 2 eggs 2 cups all purpose flour 2 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/3 cup milk 1/2 cup chopped nuts sifted confectioners' sugar Dd and I made chocolate crinkles yesterday. The recipe said to chill the dough for 1-2 hours before shaping into balls. After 2 hours it was very firm. The recipe we used: 4 1oz squares unsweetened chocolate, melted 1/2 c cooking oil 3 eggs 1 1/2 c granulated sugar 2 tsp vanilla 2 c flour 2 tsp baking powder I wonder if it's the milk that is making your dough too soft? Or like another poster said, the weather? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mandymom Posted July 25, 2011 Share Posted July 25, 2011 Here's the recipe I use and it always turns out fine. It doesn't use milk, plus a few other differences. I agree with omitting the milk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardening momma Posted July 25, 2011 Share Posted July 25, 2011 Dd and I made chocolate crinkles yesterday. The recipe said to chill the dough for 1-2 hours before shaping into balls. After 2 hours it was very firm. The recipe we used: 4 1oz squares unsweetened chocolate, melted 1/2 c cooking oil 3 eggs 1 1/2 c granulated sugar 2 tsp vanilla 2 c flour 2 tsp baking powder I wonder if it's the milk that is making your dough too soft? Or like another poster said, the weather? Yours will be firmer not only because it doesn't have milk, but because the chocolate will firm up as it cools (and there's twice as much chocolate, so more firming ability). The rest of the ingredients are almost identical in quantity and type. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardening momma Posted July 25, 2011 Share Posted July 25, 2011 How will the cookies be judged? I'm thinking that because she was required to choose a 4H recipe, she might have to follow the recipe exactly, too. It appears that excluding the milk will also make a good cookie, but the end result might not turn out the same, both in flavor and in appearance. I think that with the milk, it might take longer for the dough to firm, but once they go into the oven they might spread out more and maybe crinkle more. (?) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardening momma Posted July 25, 2011 Share Posted July 25, 2011 I didn't get to these until early evening, about 5:30 pm. The dough had set up, but was very sticky, too sticky to roll before coating with powdered sugar. I had to scoop it with a spoon and sprinkle lots of sugar on it before pushing it off into the bowl. Then I could roll it a little bit more in the sugar before picking it up and rolling it in my hands. If I were entering them in a fair contest, I wouldn't be happy with the edges--the darker thin stuff you can see in the picture of the finished product. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Tara~ Posted July 25, 2011 Share Posted July 25, 2011 Interesting, my dd is making crinkle cookies today and I'm a bit concerned. This is our first time with the recipe. I knew it was 'different' but I wasn't prepared for the nearly cake batter consistency. It *has* firmed up considerably after hours in the fridge, but still not what I think could be shaped into a ball. We used cocoa powder because it was handy, chocolate squares were not. So, time has now been eaten up. She is leaving for dance within minutes and we have plans for tomorrow morning. I'm assuming they will be ready to go by the time we are. If not, we've really killed the recipe. :p Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chepyl Posted July 25, 2011 Share Posted July 25, 2011 The recipie I use is very different. It uses oil and no milk. I will post it when I get home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chepyl Posted July 26, 2011 Share Posted July 26, 2011 2 cups granulated sugar 3/4 cup vegetable oil 1 cup Hershey's cocoa 4 eggs 2 teaspoons vanilla 2 1/3 cups flour 2 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt Mix sugar and oil, add cocoa, beat until well blended. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir together flour,baking powder, and salt. Gradually add to cocoa mixture. Cover and refrigerate until dough is firm (at least 6 hours). Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease cookie sheet. Shape dough into 1 inch balls and roll in powdered sugar. Place 2 inches apart and bake 10-12 minutes. I have put the dough in the freezer when I needed to make them faster. They have turned out perfect every time. The recipe is delicious! I don't grease the cookie sheet either, but I use stonewear. Have fun! Now I may need to go bake :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desert Rat Posted July 26, 2011 Share Posted July 26, 2011 Yes. These are favorites around here and I chill them at least 8-10 hours, sometimes a full day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirty ethel rackham Posted July 26, 2011 Author Share Posted July 26, 2011 I didn't get to these until early evening, about 5:30 pm. The dough had set up, but was very sticky, too sticky to roll before coating with powdered sugar. I had to scoop it with a spoon and sprinkle lots of sugar on it before pushing it off into the bowl. Then I could roll it a little bit more in the sugar before picking it up and rolling it in my hands. If I were entering them in a fair contest, I wouldn't be happy with the edges--the darker thin stuff you can see in the picture of the finished product. Yep, that sounds like the problem she had. So we are not crazy. Thanks so much for going through that effort. This evening, we talked with some other families who have been through this more often and they said to go ahead and alter the recipe they used - not do a brand new recipe. They said to make sure to mention the difficulties during conference judging and say why you modified the recipe. Most other recipes like this one used double the amount of unsweetened chocolate and that will firm up more in the fridge, which makes me think this is a typo. So that is what we will try. Judging is Wednesday morning and we have more judging tomorrow evening, so we only get one more shot at this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardening momma Posted July 26, 2011 Share Posted July 26, 2011 Thanks so much for going through that effort. No problem AT ALL! I'm enjoying the cookies. I've had too many already. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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