Chocolate Crinkles (aka Black and Whites)

Ingredients:
          4 tablespoons unsalted butter
          8 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
          1/2 cup granulated white sugar
          2 large eggs
          2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
          1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
          1/4 teaspoon salt
          1/2 teaspoon baking powder
    Topping:
          1 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted

Directions:
          1. In a stainless steel bowl, over a saucepan of simmering water, melt the chocolate and butter.  Remove from the heat and set aside.
          2. In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the eggs and sugar until thick, pale, and fluffy.  (When you slowly raise the beaters the batter will fall back into the bowl in slow ribbons.)  At this point beat in the vanilla extract and then stir in the melted chocolate mixture.
          3. In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, salt and baking powder.  Add dry ingredients to the chocolate mixture, stirring just until incorporated.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm enough to shape into balls (3-4 hours, or even overnight).
          4. Preheat oven to 325 degrees and place rack in centre of oven.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper, and set aside.
          5. Place the confectioners' sugar in a shallow bowl.  With lightly greased hands, roll a small amount of chilled dough to form a 1" ball.  Place the ball of dough into the confectioners' sugar and roll the ball in the sugar until it is completely coated and no chocolate shows through.  Gently lift the sugar-covered ball, tapping off excess sugar, and place on the prepared baking sheet.  Continue forming cookies, spacing about 2" apart on the baking sheets.  (If you find the dough getting too soft for rolling into balls, return to the refrigerator and let chill until firm.)
          6. Bake cookies for 8 to 10 minutes or just until the edges are slightly firm but the centres are still soft.  (For moist chewy cookies do not over bake.  Over baking these cookies will cause them to be dry.)  Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool.  These cookies are best eaten the day they are baked.

Yield:  Makes about 3 dozen cookies

Source:  "The Joy of Baking" website - http://www.joyofbaking.com/ChocolateCrinkles.html

Paper Copy? Yes