Name: Chocolate crackle cookies
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 10 min
Yield: 10 Servings
Ingredients: all purpose flour: 170g/ 6oz; Cocoa powder: ½ cup/ 1½ oz; baking powder: 1 tsp; Baking soda: 1 tsp; Salt: ½ tsp; granulated sugar: 110g/ 1 cup; Eggs: 3 medium; Espresso powder: 1 tbsp; Vanilla extract: 1 tsp; dark chocolate: 200g/ 7oz; Butter: 100g/ 3½ oz; confectioners sugar: ½ cup

Features:

Cuisine:

International

Ingredients

170g/ 6oz all purpose flour
½ cup/ 1½ oz Cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp Baking soda
½ tsp Salt
110g/ 1 cup granulated sugar
3 medium Eggs
1 tbsp Espresso powder
1 tsp Vanilla extract
200g/ 7oz dark chocolate
chopped
100g/ 3½ oz Butter
at room temperature
For rolling the cookies
½ cup confectioners sugar

Directions

In some cookies, it’s not just the amazing chocolate taste and texture that give them its place in the cookie jar, it’s also the appearance, the chocolate crackle cookies sure do get a high mark in both parameters.

We eat with our eyes, the looks of these cookies is just irresistible, snowy crinkled top with cracks of chocolate, so beautiful and mysterious.

Chocolate crackle cookies – the science

Why does these cookies crinkle in baking? that’s the question we need to ask in order to understand how to make them well.

The first thing I will explain is the double action of the baking soda and the baking powder in the cookie.

in a way it’s much similar to making pancakes or any pound cake the baking soda which is an alkaline powder reacts with any acidic agent (the butter) and creates a carbon dioxide which resolve in gas bubbles which make the dough expand, hence breaking the icing (confectioners’ sugar) and create the crinkles.

Can we control the crinkles?

Nobody can predict how many, how wide or how deep will the crinkles be in the chocolate crackle cookies, however we can do our best to create an environment ideal for our style of cookie.

The fissures on the top of the cookie are created because of the coated sugar absorbing all the humidity of the baking hence drying out the top surface. The sugar is starting to crystalize and drawing even more moisture from the cookie.

The secret is coating the cookie in a heavy powder sugar in order to create a thick layer that will result in multiple crackles.

I noticed in many recipes that the cookies are rolled first in granulated sugar following by confectioners’ sugar in order to maximize the cracks.

The logic behind this is that granulated sugar can absorb more humidity and crystallizing better in the oven (not getting into a syrup texture like confectioners’ sugar easily).

I tried both methods and did not find improved results in the granulated sugar coating, roll the dough in a deep powdered sugar and the cookies will be just fine.

Chocolate crackle cookies

Texture and baking

The dough needs to rest in the fridge for a minimum for 1 hour, some say overnight (too long if you ask me…)

The scientific explanation is simple, making the dough rest will wake up the enzymes that feed on the sugar and will break large sugar molecules into a smaller ones and smaller sugar molecules needs a shorter baking.

The baking is very fast, 8-10 minutes, depending on the chocolate crackle cookies size and resting time.

One thing is certain, these cookies will disappear faster than you think so, go ahead and hide some for the next day’s coffee.

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Steps

1 Done 15 minutes	Making the batter Set a bain-marie and melt the chocolate and butter into a smooth ganache, set aside to cool. In a bowl, mix the dry ingredients; the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt. In a separate bowl whisk the sugar, eggs and espresso powder. Pour the chocolate ganache in a steady stream into the egg mix bowl and whisk constantly until combined. Fold in the flour mixture and mix until a dough is formed. cover with a plastic wrap and put in a fridge for 1 hour.
2 Done 10 minutes	forming the cookies Preheat the oven to 165°c/ 330°F. Set a confectioner’s sugar bowl and line up 2 baking pans with parchment paper. Take the cooled cookie dough out of the fridge and form into small ball shapes. Drop the chocolate balls into the Icing sugar bowl, cover in a thick layer of powder sugar and place on the baking pan.
3 Done 8-10 minutes	Baking time Place one baking pan in the oven and bake one sheet at a time for 8-10 minutes, until the cookies are puffed and cracked. Cool for 10 minutes before serving.