Chocolate Garam Masala Crinkle Cookies

This recipe takes the classic chocolate crinkle cookie and adds warm spices and depth of flavor with garam masala! Garam masala is a spice mix that combines coriander, black pepper, cumin, cardamom, and cinnamon. The black pepper adds some warmth and the other spices add some savory and floral notes. It will make everyone stop and say, "What's in this? It's delicious, but I can't quite place the spices." This is simple and quick to mix, no mixer or machines required. Chill for a few hours, bake, and you have an impressive delicious treat. Perfect warm with a cup of tea, you'll want to double the batch! This recipe is also dairy free as it uses oil instead of butter. If you really love this spice blend like I do, I've also done batches with 1 teaspoon of garam masala instead of the half teaspoon to really bring the spice to the forefront!

Ingredients:

1 cup flour

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup dark cocoa powder (you can use regular instead of dark)

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon garam masala

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 teaspoon vanilla paste or extract

1/2 cup powdered sugar for rolling

Tools: 1 medium and 1 large bowl, whisk, measuring cups and spoons, rubber spatula, parchment paper, baking sheet.

Mix the flour, granulated sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, garam masala, and salt in a small bowl with a whisk until it's well combined and lump free. I used black cocoa powder which I find a little richer, and a little less chocolaty than regular cocoa powder, but I love the color! You can use any variety cocoa powder.

In the large bowl, mix your eggs, oil, and vanilla. I just use the same whisk from the dry ingredients and mix well.

Mix the dry ingredients into the wet a third at a time using the rubber spatula. Mix until just combined. Cover and chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours or overnight.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. After chilling, take about a heaped tablespoon of dough and roll it into a ball in your hands, dough will be a little sticky. Roll the ball in the 1/2 cup of powdered sugar. Place balls on a parchment lined baking tray and bake for 9-10 minutes. Do not press the dough balls down, they will flatten in the oven. When you remove the tray, the cookies will still be soft so be sure to leave them on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes to continue cooking and firm up as they cool. Cookies will be soft and delicious and are best enjoyed with a cup of tea. This recipe makes about 20 cookies.