Wednesday, June 3, 2015

Brownie Krinkle Cookies

A while back, I reviewed a cookbook called Cookie Love over on Munching on Books, but I usually don't think cookbook reviews are really complete until I've written about at least one of the recipes. People who want cookbooks are interested in the recipes, not the plot, right?

When I saw the Brownie Krinkles, I knew I had to try them. They look a lot like cookies I've made for many years, but the recipe is different. And these promised a soft center, which really interested me. As much as I like a crisp cookie, I also like soft, chewy, and fudgy cookies.

These delivered on the promise - they're deeply chocolate-flavored and not overly sweet. They're soft in the center. They're pretty marvelous.

This certainly isn't the most unusual cookie in the book, but it's the one that called to me the loudest. It was a good choice for a review, that's for sure.

The one downside of making this recipe is the number of bowls it uses. But ... it's not like you're putting things in bowls just to hold them. You might reduce the number of bowls needed if you cracked the eggs straight into the batter, but that's something I never do - there's nothing worse than having to fish an errant eggshell out of a batter. So I always crack eggs into another container just to be safe.



Brownie Krinkles
Adapted from Cookie Love by Mindy Segal

4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
4 eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup Dutch processed cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sea salt flakes
1/2 cup canola or sunflower oil
1 3/4 cups sugar
For coating:
1 cups powdered sugar

Melt the chocolate in a double boiler (or in a bowl over a pot of simmering water), stirring occasionally. Keep warm.

Crack the eggs into a bowl and add the vanilla.

In a separate bowl, combine the flour, cocoa, baking powder, and both salts.

In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the oil and sugar on low speed for one minute. Add the melted chocolate and mix for another 30 seconds.

Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed, throughout the mixing process.

Add the eggs one at a time (along with the vanilla) while mixing at medium speed. Wait until one is incorporated before adding the next.

Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl, then mix again on medium speed for another 30 seconds.

Add the dry ingredients all at once, and mix until the dough comes together, but it's still shaggy rather than smooth. Do not overmix.

With a plastic bench scraper or spatula, continue mixing the dough by hand, until it comes together.

Cover the bowl or transfer the dough to a more convenient container and refrigerate at least 30 minutes or overnight.

When you're ready to bake, heat the oven to 350 degrees and line a few baking sheets with parchment paper.

Put the powdered sugar in a bowl. You'll be rolling the cookies around in it, so make sure it's larger enough for that.

Use a small disher - about 1 1/2 tablespoons - to portion the dough. Roll them into balls, then roll them around in the powdered sugar to coat them completely.

Arrange the cookies on the prepared baking sheets. Add another pinch or two of powdered sugar to the tops of the cookies.

Bake for 8 minutes, then rotate the pans and bake for another 3 or 4 minutes, until the cookies have formed a crinkled surface and the cookies are set in the middle. For the best result, they should be set on the edges and the tops should no longer look raw - overbaked cookies won't be fudgy, which is the point of these.

Remove the cookies from the oven and let them cool on the pan for a few minutes before moving them to a rack to cool completely.

Continue portioning, rolling, and baking until you've used all of the dough - or if you prefer, you could make a small batch and store the unbaked dough in the refrigerator to be baked another day.
Yum