Recipe: Bittersweet Chocolate Snowball Cookies

Christmas is a wonderful time of the year.

But rather than bore you with my musings, allow me to present the recipe for some lovely cookies.

(P.S.: This recipe makes an awful lot of cookies, so you may want to halve it.)

Bittersweet Chocolate Snowball Cookies
Adapted from a recipe at One Perfect Bite, which was in turn adapted from a Martha Stewart recipe.

Ingredients
100g 70% cocoa dark chocolate
125g dark chocolate
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened Dutch cocoa powder
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
100g unsalted butter, softened
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla/hazelnut extract
1/3 cup milk
Granulated sugar (for rolling)
Icing sugar (for rolling)

Melt chocolate slowly in a double-boiler. Allow to cool.

In a medium bowl, whisk flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt together, until well-blended. Separately in a large bowl, beat butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy.

Add eggs and vanilla or hazelnut extract to the butter mixture; beat well until combined. Add melted chocolate and beat until blended.

Alternate adding the flour mixture and milk to the butter mixture, mixing with a spoon until just combined. Divide the dough into four portions, wrapping each in cling film, and refrigerate until firm, for at least 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 175 degrees C. Line a baking tray with ungreased baking paper or aluminum foil.

Place the granulated and icing sugars each into a separate shallow dish. Remove a dough portion from the refrigerator, unwrap, and roll into 2 cm balls. If the dough becomes sticky, rewrap and chill in the refrigerator for 15 minutes. Roll the dough balls in granulated sugar, then icing sugar, coating the balls completely. Lightly dust off the excess sugar with your fingers.

Place the cookies onto the baking tray, spaced about 3 cm apart. Bake, one tray at a time, for 12-15 minutes until the cookies flatten and cracks form in the sugar coating. Remove from oven and place baking sheets on wire racks to cool completely. The cookies can be stored in an airtight container, layered between waxed paper, for about a week. Makes about 60 cookies.