Chocolate Crinklies

Ever since moving into my new apartment, I had been dying to use the Williams Sonoma Baking book that I bought months previous. There is an assortment of recipes, tips and tricks for everyone from the beginner baker through to the advanced baking artisan. I would classify myself as an advanced novice. Now with that in mind, I decided the first recipe to tackle would be a cookie one, as I find cookies some of the easiest sweets to bake.

What caught my eye was the image of a group of chocolatey cookies, covered in a dusting of icing sugar that looked like they could positively melt in your mouth. Here's the recipe! Enjoy :)

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
Adapted from Williams-Sonoma Baking
Ingredients
4 oz. unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1/4 cup unsalted butter (1/2 stick)
1 1/2 c all-purpose flour
1/2 c cocoa
2 t baking powder
1/4 t salt
4 large eggs
2 c granulated sugar
1 t vanilla extract
1 1/2 c semi-sweet chocolate chips (I love using the PC brand, The Decadent)
1/2 c confectioners’ sugar
Directions
Melt the butter and chocolate on top of a double boiler, over simmering water, and stir often. Remove and set aside to cool a bit.

In a small bowl, stir together the dry ingredients — flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine eggs, granulated sugar, and vanilla. Beat on medium speed for about 3 minutes. Beat in the melted chocolate mixture on low speed until blended. Add the dry ingredients and beat until incorporated. The dough will be stiff, but you must persevere: mix in the chocolate chips by hand.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for a good long while, at least 2 hours. I sometimes leave the dough in the fridge overnight.

Place rack in center of oven and preheat to 325, though if you have an old, tempermental oven like I do, you might need to settle for 350. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Sift the confectioners’ sugar into a small bowl.

Roll a rounded tablespoon of dough between your palms into a 1 1/2 inch ball, and toss it around in the powdered sugar. Place the cookies about 3 inches apart on the cookie sheet.

Bake the cookies, 1 sheet at a time, until the tops are puffed and crinkled and feel firm when lightly touched, about 13-17 mins. (My oven usually gets them done in about 15 mins.) Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer the cookies to wire racks to cool completely.

Below you will find my baked batch. I realize that I did overdo it slightly with the confectioner's sugar, but I just couldn't resist.

I give this recipe 4 stars out of 5!