Chocolate crinkles, or moonrock cookies

It's no secret that I was a terrible child. Fortunately for me (but maybe not so much for my parents at the time) kids don't come in a box that can be sent back marked "Return to Sender" in bold, black ink. And so my family was subjected to a life-changing years-long adventure called Cookie's Childhood, whose protagonist - more like an antagonist, really - was a stubborn, pesky, talkative, annoying little sister with a knack for breaking things, getting injured, and making her big sister cry.

I vividly recall wasp stings, encounters with fiery red ants, busted appliances, dog bites, hair on fire, collapsing bookcases ... and that was just when I was playing on my own. Things got so much more exciting when I had playmates around, including my sister, who ended up with my tagging along much more often than she would have liked.

My parents knew better than to send me to a corner, or to my room, or outside: I could cause trouble anywhere I was. There was no point in taking away TV or videogame privileges, because we were already hardly ever allowed to watch TV or play videogames anyway. Talk and reason? I could go into screensaver mode before screensavers even existed. And - dare I even mention it - the menacing wooden spoon? I didn't fear it, not one bit.

Name it, they tried it, and I proved that it didn't work. Parents, though, are usually wiser and more resilient than their children (or so I would like to think, now that I am a parent myself) and however bleak my situation may have been, my folks were, at the very least, one step ahead of me. They finally discovered a very highly effective cure for my bad behaviour, which, after being administered a handful of times, had the effect of whipping me into shape: Dessert Deprivation.

Yup, that was how I got grounded, and how I eventually learned. Bad behaviour took me to a very, very lonely place: no desserts and sweets for a whole week (maybe even two).

I think what finally did it were the chocolate crinkles. You know, those fudgy cookies with crackled tops prettied up by a snowy coating of powdered sugar? For my sister and me, chocolate crinkles were a very rare treat - the kind that made an appearance only on special occasions, all the more hyped by an anticipation-filled drive to the bakery. We were allowed only one each, and our encounters with chocolate crinkles were very few and far between.

Now I don't recall the specifics, but I do remember the essentials: a bakery-worthy special occasion happened to come up during one such period of deprivation and misery in my life. In the car I was hopeful that my parents would have a change of heart and temporarily lift the ban they had imposed on me, but that was only because I had no idea how skilled they were in the Tough Love department. So there I was, in my favourite of all places, nose and hands pressed against the glass case, absolutely aching for a chocolate crinkle. That I didn't get.

Of course my sister got hers. She has never had a mean bone in her body but I swear she flaunted that cookie with gleeful sisterly spite. I don't remember ever being grounded again ... no, I didn't do a 180 - the punishment was effective, not miraculous - but from then on I think I got smart enough to stop just shy of being grounded, until I eventually (thankfully) grew out of my bad child phase.

I probably held a grudge against my sister for a while, but she unknowingly obliterated any chance of bitterness rehashed when she clipped out a recipe from the Vancouver Sun and snail mailed it to me, many winters ago. "The World's Best Cookie", they said it was, or Thomas Haas' Chocolate Sparkle Cookie.

New recipe! Cookie! Chocolate! Of course I had to try it. The first time I made these cookies I rolled them in granulated sugar as instructed, but upon tasting them I was instantly reminded of chocolate crinkles, so ever since then I've coated them in powdered sugar.

Faintly chewy, meltingly truffle-like, deeply chocolatey, these cookies are crinkles turned sophisticated. Almond flour is used instead of all purpose flour, and very good quality chocolate is a must, because there isn't much else that goes in. The recipe is a bit of a diva, requiring an electric mixer to beat the eggs to a cloud-like consistency, an overnight stay in the fridge to firm up the batter, and tedious hand-rolling to shape and coat each cookie, but I play along because I know that my efforts will not be thwarted: this is, after all, the recipe that ended my search for those childhood chocolate crinkles (which, incidentally, my husband insists should be renamed "moonrock cookies").

My days of mischief are long gone and sometimes sorely missed, but being a grown-up does have its perks: dessert deprivation, if ever it happens, is now completely by choice, and chocolate crinkles, many of them, can make their way into the cookie tin and beyond, on special occasions or any time at all.

Chocolate Crinkles, or Moonrock Cookies

Adapted from Thomas Haas' Chocolate Sparkle Cookies,
featured in The Vancouver Sun some time around 2003

It's actually not that hard to make these cookies, but you will need to plan ahead since an overnight stay in the fridge is required. You'll also need an electric mixer, unless you have superhero arms for whisking. When scooping out the dough, I find that it helps to take the bowl out of the fridge and let it sit out on the counter for a few minutes to let the dough soften a bit. Using a disher (ice cream scoop) makes it a bit easier to portion out the dough, but be warned that it will be quite stiff so your disher needs to be sturdy enough or else it will likely break. Work quickly when rolling so that the chocolate doesn't melt.

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Combine in a small bowl:

  2.75 ounces (¾ cup) ground almonds

  2 tsp cocoa powder

  pinch salt

Place another bowl (heatproof) over a pot that has a small amount of steaming water, making sure that the water shouldn't touch the bottom of the bowl. In the bowl, add:

  ½ lb bittersweet chocolate, chopped into chunks

    (I like the 60% range of Valrhona, or Callebaut, or Felchlin)

Stir the chocolate occasionally. When it has melted, remove from heat and stir in:

  3 Tbsp butter, at room temperature

Set aside.

In another bowl, beat using an electric mixer on medium speed until frothy:

  2 eggs

Increase the speed to high and gradually add:

  1 Tbsp honey

  2.5 ounces (⅓ cup) sugar

Continue beating on high speed until light in colour and very, very fluffy - this could take up to 10 minutes.

Fold the eggs into the melted chocolate, then gently stir in the nut mixture. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Preheat oven to 325ºF, with the rack in the middle position.

Scoop out small portions of dough (I used a #60 disher), enough to make 1-inch balls. Roll into balls, then into granulated sugar (you'll need just a few tablespoons).

If desired, roll also in confectioner’s sugar.

Place the dough balls about 2 inches apart on a parchment lined sheet. If you feel that the dough has softened too much, place the cookie sheet back in the fridge for a few minutes.

Bake at 325º for 12 minutes. The cookies will form crackly tops, and their centres will be moist but not wet.

Allow them to cool directly on the pan, set over a rack.

Makes about 30 cookies.