Sugar-Crusted Chocolate Cookies

 

 I am not a baker.  Bakers are artist of taste and chemistry.  It is all about the chemical reaction.  I can follow a recipe but I don't dare change anything but the add-ins.

Cookies, cookies scream my young'ins.  

This recipe reminds me of a cookie I ate as a child.  We bought delicious cookies from a local factory, yum.  The chocolate sugar cookie and the sandwich cookie with the hole in the middle (where we would push our finger through to eat the creamy filling goodness) were my favorites. We loved these cookies.

Are you excited for the start of Bravo's Top Chef Just Dessert??  Our calendar is marked August 24th.

Sugar-Crusted Chocolate Cookies

From Jacques Torres
 nothing changes, why mess with perfection?

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa

Pinch of salt

1 stick plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons

3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar

2 tablespoons cold milk

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 large egg white

1/2 cup granulated sugar

~ in a food processor, pulse the flour, cocoa and salt

~ add the butter and process until sandy, about 3 minutes

~ add the confectioners' sugar, milk and vanilla extract and process until a firm dough forms

~ transfer the dough to 2 sheets of plastic wrap and form into two 7-inch logs, about 1 1/2 inches thick

~ wrap in plastic and refrigerate until very firm, at least 4 hours or overnight.

~ preheat the oven to 350° and position racks in the upper and lower thirds

~ line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper

~ beat the egg white in a small bowl

~ sprinkle the granulated sugar in a 7-inch square on a sheet of wax paper

~ brush the logs with the egg white and roll in the sugar, pressing to help it adhere

~ cut the logs into 1/4-inch slices and transfer to the baking sheets, about 1/2 inch apart

~ bake the cookies for about 20 minutes, until just firm to the touch; shift the sheets from ~ top to bottom and front to back halfway through for even baking

~ transfer the baking sheets to racks to cool