June ABC Challenge: Chocolate Crackle Cookies

Not to be trapped in the house over the holiday weekend with a full batch of intensely chocolate cookies, I cut this recipe down by one quarter.  The only other change I made was to reduce the amount of sugar.  Here's what I used:

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
2 ½ tablespoons sugar
1/8 teaspoon baking powder
¼ tsp salt
¾ teaspoon cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
¾ ounce finely chopped bittersweet chocolate
¼ (about 14 grams) large egg
1/8 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 tablespoons powdered sugar for rolling

Preheat oven to 375°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Whisk together flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Rub butter into dry ingredients until mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Stir in chopped chocolate.  Whisk together egg and vanilla in a small bowl. Add egg mixture to chocolate mixture and stir with a fork until mixture is moistened and combined. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 30 minutes.

Shape dough into small heaped teaspoon-sized balls. Roll each in powdered sugar to coat; place on prepared baking sheets 2 inches apart. Bake for 8-10 minutes, until just set but still slightly gooey in the dead centers. Let cool on sheets for just a minute before carefully transferring to wire racks to cool completely, or serve warm.  Yield:  5 cookies

These didn't flatten much during baking, which caused me to over baked them slightly (they weren't gooey in the center).  I might not have used quite enough butter, as it's hard to measure out that small of an amount.  I suspected I might be shorting it at the time I was mixing them.

Conclusion:  Not impressed.  I blame myself for the uninteresting texture, which was soft and cake-like.  But they just weren't all that rich or chocolaty.  I can't think of when I might want something just sort of chocolaty; if I want a chocolate baked good, then I'll want it very chocolaty, and the only answer for that is cake or brownies.  I've yet to find a chocolate cookie that's worth the effort. This was no exception.

Recipe:  Tender Loving Crackle Cookies via Scientifically Sweet