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Chocolate Crackle Cookies These cookies are always a hit with our friends. They have very intense chocolate flavor, yet are so light they melt in your mouth! They are better the next day, so store them in a plastic Ziplock bag when cool. A friend gave me this recipe that I think originated from a Martha Stewart publication although I've also found a similiar recipe available from Williams-Sonoma. I've adapted it slightly.
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Ingredients:
8 ounces high
quality semisweet chocolate, melted and cooled
1 1/4 cups
all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
8
tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/3 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup milk
Confectioners' sugar (about 1 1/2 cups)
Directions:
Chop or break the chocolate into small pieces. I prefer
Valrhona semisweet (that's sold as Le Noir 56% cacao ). If
you want a more intense flavor use half semisweet and half
bittersweet. Melt in a glass bowl in a microwave at very low
power -- perhaps 2 to 3 minutes. Stir to ensure it's well
melted. Or, you may use a conventional double boiler.
Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
In a large bown of a electric mixer (e.g. Kitchen-Aid fitted with the paddle attachment), beat the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. This will take 2-3 minutes at 80% power. Stop mixing and add the eggs and vanilla. Beat well until well combined. Add the melted chocolate. While mixing on low speed, add the dry ingredients alternately with the milk. Mix just until combined.
Tear off two 12 inch pieces of plastic wrap and lay on counter. Divide the dough into half and form two long logs lengthwise on the plastic wrap -- about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Tightly wrap the dough.
Chill in the refrigerator until firm, about 2 hours.
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Line two large cookie sheets with parchment paper.
Put approximately 1 cup of Confectioners' sugar into a medium bowl.
Take one of the logs from the refrigerator, unwrap and cut off 1/2 inch sections. Quickly roll between your hands and drop into the bowl of sugar. Shake the bowl around a bit until the ball is evenly coated with sugar. Remove to the cookie sheets.
Bake for 12-14 minutes until the cookie has flattened and sugar has split. The cookie should feel firm to the touch, but not too hard.
Remove from the oven and remove the parchment from the pan -- put it on a tile counter top or wire rack to cool.
TIP:
I
find it is easier to form the logs after the plastic wrap
has been closed lengthwise forming a tube. Squeeze or roll
the dough in your hands until it becomes the right
diameter.
Also, I find that forming the dough into balls is very messy so I wear latex gloves. You can speed up the process by dropping 4 to 8 balls of dough into the bowl of sugar at a time.
If the dough becomes too soft while rolling into balls, put it back into the refrigerator and use the other log.