So I’ll admit to a wee bit of food snobbery. Blessed with mad baking skills myself and a husband who cooks like a Michelin chef, I can eat “five-star”-style at home almost anytime I like. And the truth is that Chocolate Crinkle Cookies- or simply “Crinkles”- is one of the things I used to turn my nose up at.

Here’s the thing, though- Crinkles are simply brownies that have been rolled into balls, rolled in powdered sugar, and baked like cookies- til their tops crack and they gain that distinctive “crinkly” appearance. There are bad versions, yes- made from metallic tasting box mixes, or the cheapest ingredients possible, but when made right, they are just awesome. Slightly crunchy and sugary on the outside, moist and fudgy on the inside- properly made Crinkles can be even better than “five-star”.

Chocolate Crinkles
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
4 ounces good bittersweet chocolate, callets or chopped small
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped small
**Note: You could very well substitute 6 ounces of semisweet chocolate for the 2 chocolates here. It’ll be just as good, I promise.
3/4 cup white sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup powdered (icing) sugar, sifted

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Prepare a cookie sheet by lining it with parchment paper.

Combine butter and chocolate in a medium sized saucepan. Over very low heat, stir until melted and smooth, and remove from heat immediately, Add sugar, then slowly whisk in eggs, one at a time (so as not to cook them!) Add vanilla and salt, and gently stir in flour just until it disappears… do NOT overmix.

Chill this batter in the refrigerator for at least an hour.

Scoop out into balls, and roll each ball in powdered sugar. Place on cookie sheet.

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, but no more- you know those “bad Crinkles” I was talking about? Most of them were overbaked. Better to underbake slightly than to overbake.

Serve with coffee, tea, or a jug of chilled milk.