Sticking Things on Chocolate Cookies

Cookies are one of my favourite things to make. When I was in high school and living with my family, I used to make a batch pretty much every week. At home, we could go through forty, sixty or more cookies in the week. That's because my sister and dad were cookie fiends, plus I ate at least two a day. Since I am away at school, if I bake things, including cookies it seems like I have to eat them all. So, I don't make cookies that often. Except, in the last month I've made chocolate cookies twice for gatherings of friends. I reduced a recipe by a third to come up with this simple recipe:

1 egg
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1.5 ounces unsweetened chocolate
2.5
tablespoons cooking oil
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon
vanilla
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
extra granulated
sugar
toppings

Melt the chocolate in a medium microwave safe bowl, in the microwave. Mix egg, sugar, oil, baking powder, and vanilla into the chocolate until combined. Stir in the flour. Cover and chil dough for at least an hour. Roll dough into 1-inch balls. Roll balls in sugar to coat them. Place balls on an ungreased cookie sheet. Press "toppings" into the balls. Bake at 375 for 8-10 minutes. Tops will crack and edges should be set. Makes about 20 cookies.

I made a couple of variations on these cookies. First before Easter, I used one Cadbury MiniEgg on top of each cookie for Ryan's Shortbus viewing party. The cookies were like little nests made of chocolate. Who doesn't want a cute nest made of chocolate cookie? The cookies go well with The Star Spangled Banner. Most of you probably don't know what that means.

Oh, see how the eggs cracked? I think the chocolate is hatching. There might
be a chocolate monster coming soon or just delicious Cadbury's milk chocolate.

I decided to make these cookies again for Robyn's barbeque on the last day of
classes. It was after Easter and as good as out-of-season Easter candy is, I decided to go with M&Ms as a topping. These cookies were extremely popular--I saw Adam eating two at once—and quite delicious although I only got to eat one. These cookies are crisp on the outside, soft and chewy on the inside, and very chocolaty.

Speaking of out of season Easter candy, how much better do CremeEggs taste when they’re 50 cents? I actually eat much more Easter candy after Easter than before. For anyone else who loves CremeEggs, check out this GIANT one made by some crazy British people.