Persnickity measurements, humorous directions and flawless results --- all hallmarks of the recipes in Shirley Corriher's "Bakewise."
Food "scientist" Shirley Corriher has been a favorite of Atlanta readers. The AJC's John Kessler writes that these cookies are gorgeous, with snow-white powdered sugar crackles revealing a dark chocolate heart and gooey soft centers within.
Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
3 to 5 dozen cookies depending on size
Hands on: 15 minutes
Total time: 3 1/2 hours
Use release foil to make the cookies easier to remove.
1 3/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons, spooned and leveled, bleached all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/3 cups semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
2 3/4 cups granulated sugar, divided
1/3 cup canola oil
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
2 eggs
1 egg yolk
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 cup confectioners' sugar
Place a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
In a medium bowl, beat together well flour, baking powder and salt and set aside.
Melt chocolate in the microwave on 50 percent for 1 minute, stir, and microwave for 15 seconds more and stir.
In a mixer with paddle attachment, beat 2 1/2 cups sugar, oil and corn syrup together to blend. Beat in eggs, egg yolk and vanilla. On low, beat in melted chocolate. Add flour mixture and beat in on low.
Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate for at least 3 hours or overnight. Take out about a quarter of the dough at a time to shape. Roll the dough into 1 1/2 to 2-inch balls. Pour 1/4 cup granulated sugar into one bowl and the confectioners' sugar in another bowl. Roll each cookie dough ball very lightly in plain sugar first and then very heavily in confectioners' sugar. By rolling in plain sugar first, the confections' sugar does not soak in so much and stays on the surface better.
Place release foil (nonstick side up) on a baking sheet. Arrange cookies 2 inches apart. For crisp cookies, bake 12-14 minutes. You can have several sheets of foil covered with cookies ready. When one sheet is done, you can pull off the foil and cookies to a cooling rack. Rinse baking sheet with cold water to cool and then slip the sheet under a foil with cookies and get it right back into the oven.
Per cookie, based on 3 dozen: 156 calories (percent of calories from fat, 25), 1 gram protein, 29 grams carbohydrates, trace fiber, 4 grams fat (1 gram saturated), 18 milligrams cholesterol, 56 milligrams sodium.
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