Rainy day, baking day

Today I woke up to an overcast sky and an appetite for baking. Since Natalie was busy with Taste of Japan, I couldn't exactly snap my fingers and have her appear in my kitchen ready to bake. So at 9am, under a gloomy sky, I set out to bake a batch of cookies by myself.

The recipe is called chocolate lace crisps, but I prefer to call it dark chocolate cookies, since nothing about it is lacey or crispy.

Dark Chocolate Cookies (Chocolate Lace Crisps)
(Recipe adapted from "Australian Women's Weekly: Cupcakes and Cookies")

Ingredients:

• 100 g dark cooking chocolate, chopped coarsely
• 80 g butter, chopped
• 1/2 cup caster sugar
• 1 egg, beaten lightly
• 1 cup plain flour
• 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 cup icing sugar

Method:

1. Melt chocolate and butter in small saucepan over low heat. Transfer to medium bowl.
2. Stir in caster sugar, egg and sifted flour, cocoa and soda. Cover; refrigerate about 15 mins or until mixture is firm enough to handle.
3. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 180 C. Grease oven trays; line with baking paper.
4. Roll level tablespoons of mixture into balls; roll each ball in icing sugar, place on trays 8cm apart. Bake about 15 mins; cool crisps on trays.

Makes approx 30 cookies.



(Print-friendly recipe here)



The texture is quite cake-y. I suppose if the cookies had been baked longer in the oven, it would turn out nice and crispy.
If you love dark chocolate, you would love the taste of these cookies. I'm more of a white chocolate fan, so these weren't my favourite batch of cookies to bake, but still very satisfying.

Perfect accompaniment to a glass of milk and a good book on a rainy day.