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New York City swallows you once in a while and all but forces you off its 22.7 square miles in search of fresh air and SPACE. Though I've had a busy summer traveling to multiple weddings, I haven't spent that much time off of the island for real vacation time. Izzy and I take off on Friday for 5 days in the Redneck Riviera (yay! destination blogging to come!) but with a summer Friday this weekend, it seemed silly to waste the long weekend.

So, my chocolate fix followed me to Bridgehampton for a stay-in-NY-cation with my BFF Rachael. While hurricane Danny threatened with dark skies and rip tides, we pointed our blazing yellow Mini Coop to the three vineyards in the Hamptons. Sipping wine turned out to be an easy (and lovely) alternative to a beach day, and after 3 tasting sessions we stopped at a farmers market on the way home for fresh corn. I grabbed 4 ears (with thoughts of this swirling in my head) and couldn't resist a bag of their homemade chocolate crinkle cookies for the trip back to the city.

There was no name on the bag, just a list of ingredients -- and after chowing 3 of them as we made our way west on Long Island, I was convinced to re-create them at home.

I searched the internets for a recipe without butter, and found one that matched my ingredient list on AllRecipes.com. The result matched EXACTLY -- and actually look better than the originals, if I do say so! -- so this is a keeper recipe. They're soft, rich, brownie-like cookies and the pretty crinkle tops will make them great gifts, (which is why they get lumped in the "Christmas cookie" category) so don't leave the recipe on the shelf until December -- bust them out whenever you need to share a tasty treat.

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

AllRecipes.com

1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (I used Scharffen Berger)

2 cups white sugar

1/2 cup vegetable oil

4 eggs

2 tsp. vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 cup confectioners sugar

In a medium bowl, mix together cocoa, white sugar, and vegetable oil. Beat in eggs, one at a time, and then stir in vanilla. Combine flour, baking powder and salt; stir into the cocoa mixture. Cover dough, and chill for at least 4 hours (I chilled overnight).

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. Roll dough into one inch balls. Coat each ball in confectioners' sugar before placing onto prepared cookie sheets.

Bake in preheated oven for 10 to 12 minutes. Let stand on the cookie sheet for a minute before transferring to wire racks to cool.