chocolate crinkle cookies

I felt that for the next recipe made in my Christmas cookie sweatshop, it would behoove me to try something new.  My boyfriend had expressed an interest in "chocolate crinkle cookies" and having never made nor eaten one before, I thought that it would be interesting to give it a go.  I find the powdered sugar tops to be charmingly festive and perhaps it would have added a bit of visual interest to a bag of misshapen lumps.

I started the recipe after dinner one night, having psyched myself up for making cookies.  I picked this recipe out of my pile of Potential Cookie Print-Outs and started making the dough.  I should let it be known that I do not read recipes in their entirety before I start making them.  I do a little skim to make sure I have all the necessary ingredients and cookware, but I don't go much deeper than that.  Imagine my disappointment after mixing together the dough when I realize that it must be refrigerated overnight.  I angrily put the bowl in the fridge and started on another cookie. (recipe forthcoming)

Fast forward to the next day.  I pull the dough out of the fridge and find that it has formed into a fudge-like consistency.  I dig my spoon into the mix and it bends under the pressure of my attempted scooping.  I give up after a few balls are made, choosing instead to dig my nails into the fudge and claw wildly until I have enough to form a tiny cookie.  Then the rolling.  I have to roll the dough between my hands to form a ball, the fudge melting slightly and leaving my hands a dark brown color.  It's a mess.

The balls go into a bowl of powdered sugar, where you roll them around.  At this point, there is powdered sugar everywhere in my apartment, being stuck to the trail of melted chocolate fudge from when I inevitably have to touch things.  It's a mess.  It's a mess, and I didn't even care for these cookies.

As a side note, please notice that this recipe makes FIVE DOZEN COOKIES.

Chocolate Crinkles
Adapted from King Arthur Flour

• 1 1/3 cups (8 ounces) chopped bittersweet chocolate or chocolate chips (I used a mix of bittersweet & semisweet)
• 1/2 cup (4 ounces, 1 stick) unsalted butter
• 2/3 cup (4 3/4 ounces) sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 2/3 cups (7 ounces) Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• confectioners' sugar* (for coating)

Dough: Place the chocolate and butter in a small saucepan or microwave-safe bowl, and heat or microwave till the butter melts. Remove it from the heat, and stir until the chocolate melts and the mixture is smooth.

In a separate bowl, beat together the sugar, eggs, vanilla and espresso powder. Stir in the chocolate mixture, baking powder and salt, then the flour. Chill the dough for 2 to 3 hours, or overnight; it'll firm up considerably.

Shaping: Put about a cup of confectioners' sugar into a shallow bowl. Using a teaspoon-sized cookie scoop, a spoon, or your fingers, scoop out heaping teaspoon-sized portions of the dough; they should be roughly 1 1/4 inches in diameter. Drop the dough balls into the confectioners' sugar as you go. Once about five or six are in the bowl, shake and toss the bowl to coat the balls with the sugar. (If you try to do this with too many balls at a time, they'll just stick together.)

Baking: Place the coated dough balls on a lightly greased or parchment-lined cookie sheet, leaving about 1 1/2 inches between them. Bake the cookies in a preheated 325°F oven for 10 to 12 minutes, switching the position of the pans (top to bottom, and front to back) midway through the baking time. As the cookies bake, they'll flatten out and acquire their distinctive "streaked" appearance. Remove the cookies from the oven, and allow them to cool on a wire rack. Yield: about 5 dozen 2 1/2-inch cookies.