Fever, teeth and cookies for firemen

It has been a rough 48 hours.  Colin had a 102.4 degree fever, and not many other symptoms, excluding a wild and crazy case of TEETH.  Lots. of. teeth.  The upper right front tooth (very scientific label, yes) has cut through, but there are three more fiery red bumps up top, and two more potential teeth coming in on the bottom. 

I've heard that teething can cause a low-grade fever, so perhaps when you are getting six teeth, you can multiply the low-grade fever by six, and you wind up with 102.4.  

Thankfully, what was 102.4 last night was 100.8 this morning, and the fever was gone by bedtime tonight.  The crankiness however has not gone away.  This poor kiddo is hurting.

We missed our first class at the Chicago Park District today.  Our only big outing today was a walk around the block with Kenzie, with a slight detour for Random Act number 19.  We live a whopping two blocks from our local fire department.  Since one of my 13 goals for 2013 is to learn to bake, and I don't want goal #1 of 2014 to be to lose 10 pounds, I thought a nice mitzvah would be to thank our local firemen with some Chocolate Crinkle Cookies (even if they were a little bit overcooked).

A note about the cookies.  When I worked at The ARK, we had treats each day for our volunteers, and I rarely indulged in them (partially because sometimes they were gross)...except for the crinkle cookies.  Oooooh, chocolate crinkle cookies - I LOVE THEM.  So when I found a recipe for them, I was pumped.

So, without further adieu, the recipe, adapted from the Ultimate Cookie Book by Catherine Atkinson.

Ingredients:

7 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped

1/2 cup sweet butter

1/2 cup sugar

3 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 tsp baking powder

pinch of salt

confectioners sugar for coating

1) In a pan set over low heat, melt the chocolate and butter until smooth, stirring frequently.

2) Remove the pan from heat and stir in the sugar, stirring until it dissolves.

3) Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Stir in vanilla extract.

4) Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt into a bowl.  Gradually stir dry ingredients into chocolate mixture until blended.

5) Cover the dough and chill in the fridge for at least an hour, until the dough is cold.

6) Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Grease two baking sheets.

7) Place the confectioners' sugar in a deep bowl.  Roll the dough into 1.5 inch balls, and then roll each dough ball into the powdered sugar.  Tap cookie ball on the edge of the bowl to remove excess sugar.

8) Bake cookies for 10-15 minutes, until the tops feel slightly firm to the touch (note - they will seem underdone - do not over-bake! I did this, but hopefully the firemen like their cookies a little...overdone).

9) Remove the baking sheet to a wire rack for 2-3 minutes, then transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

10) EAT THEM!  They are delicious!  Try to share if you can :)