Christmas Crinkle Cookies

Ingredients 

•  1 cup all-purpose flour  
•  1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 
•  1 tsp baking powder 
•  1/4 teaspoon baking soda
•  1/2 tsp salt
•  3 large eggs
•  1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
•  1 teaspoon vanilla extract
•  4 oz unsweetened baking chocolate
•  4 tablespoons  (1/2 stick) salted butter

Coating:

•  1/2 cup granulated sugar
•  one half cup powdered sugar

Preheat the oven to 325℉. Set up 2 cookie pans and line with parchment paper, set aside.  In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Whisk them together. Crack the eggs into a large mixing bowl and look for shells. Add the brown sugar and vanilla. Beat together until combined. Break up the chocolate into small pieces by placing it in a resealable plastic bag and hitting it with a kitchen mallet, or big spoon. Place the chocolate and butter in a microwave safe bowl. Heat on high in 30 second sessions, stirring it in between, just until melted. Use oven mitts to remove the bowl from the microwave. Slowly pour the melted chocolate into the egg mixture, whisking the whole time. Once the chocolate is mixed in, stir in the flour mixture. Be sure to scrape the bowl and check for hidden pockets of dry flower. Let the dough sit for 10 minutes. Next coat the cookies. Set up your cookie assembly line by placing the granulated sugar on a clean pie plate. Then, place the powdered sugar on the separate pie plate or dish. Pinch portions of dough and roll them into 2 inch balls. Drop ball first into the granulated sugar and roll it around coat it completely. Then, roll the cookie ball in the powdered sugar to coat and placed on the prepared cookie pan. Place the cookies 3 inches apart on the pans. Bake the cookies just one pan at a time, for 8 to 10 minutes. They will puff and crackle around the edges and seemed to soften the center, but you don’t want to overbake them. Remove from the oven and let them cool in the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.