Double Chocolate Crackle Cookies

It's Christmas Eve, still plenty of time to still make cookies for family and friends and these snowy white Double Chocolate Crackle Cookies are a perfect choice.

The dough is easily mixed by hand and the resulting cookie is crunchy, chewy and very chocolaty.

What makes them double chocolate is that there is dark cocoa powder and melted dark chocolate in them and also some sea salt and instant coffee which makes chocolate goodness really pop. My husband has changed the name of these to "Addictive".

Here's the recipe:

Double Chocolate Crackle Cookies
(makes 4 dozen)
1 cup flour
1/2 cup dark unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 1/2 cups dark brown sugar, packed
3 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon instant coffee
4 ounces dark chocolate chips
1/2 stick (4oz) unsalted butter
About 2/3 cup each of granulated sugar and powdered sugar for coating the cookies before baking

Preheat oven to 325-degrees and line four baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a medium-sized bowl mix together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and sea salt and set aside.

In a large bowl whisk together the brown sugar, eggs, vanilla and instant coffee and set aside.

In a small microwavable bowl combine the dark chocolate chips and butter. Microwave for 30 second intervals, stirring well in between until the chips are melted.

Whisk the chocolate mixture into the egg mixture and then stir in the dry ingredients, mixing just until well combined. The result will be a fairly loose batter. Let the mixture set at room temperature for about 15 minutes and it becomes firmer and more scoopable.

Put some granulated sugar and powdered sugar in separate small bowls. With a 1-inch scoop or two teaspoons, form an inch-sized ball of dough and drop it into the granulated sugar and coat it well. Then transfer it into the powdered sugar and using your hands, gently roll the dough into a nicely shaped ball. Place the ball on a parchment lined cookie sheet and repeat until all the dough is used and the sheets are filled, spacing the cookies about 1.5 inches apart.

Coat the cookies with granulated sugar and then powdered sugar before rolling into a ball with your hands and placing them on your baking sheets. I like to drop two or three cookies at a time into the granulated sugar and then work from there.

Bake one sheetpan at a time in the center rack for 8 minutes or until the cookie is cracked and the edges have just set. The centers should still be soft since they will set during cooling. Let the cookies cool completely on the baking sheets before removing and enjoying them.

Let the cookies cool completely on the sheetpans before removing them.

These cookies look so pretty piled on a platter.

They also make a great gift. I like to stack three or four in a cupcake paper and then seal them in small cellophane bag.