Addictive Chocolate Dessert aka Best Krinkle Treats

It’s time. I’ve made my people wait long enough. To follow is the recipe for “my” version of Krinkle Treats. I suspect the word Krinkle is used because dough is rolled in a ball, then placed in powdered sugar (confectioners sugar), rolled around/covered completely. When it bakes, the white breaks apart, or krinkles, like a chocolate earthquake.

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Note to all: you have read, sympathized and laughed at my obsession with these cookies. These are highly addictive; the dough moreso for me than the actual baked cookie. I believe it’s because the dough is thicker than a mousse before it’s been chilled, and has a different texture than chocolate cornstarch pudding, which is also divine to eat when warm. The picture and trend is clear: warm, chocolate and dense.

Another minor note: The heavyweight, tastebudless, caffeine freaks in the northwest like the darker stuff, as in, the original recipe calls for 100% bittersweet chocolate, unsweetened cocoa and coffee. However, I puke on that recipe. A single bite of the dough or half a cookie literally flies me to the moon from the caffeine rush. Within fifteen minutes, I get a splitting headache, and I’m morally opposed to spending money on rich butter and expensive chocolate only to let others eat my wares. Thus, I cut this down for myself, making my guests eat my own concoction. Guess what? It’s been beloved for years now.

Note to the ‘true lightweights’ e.g. those that don’t eat a lot of chocolate. I’ve found that no matter how much “sugar” a person eats, chocolate brings forth a very different reaction. Thus, I suspect persons like my mother will go so far as to substitute out the bittersweet chocolate for a 100% semi-sweet recipe. That’s OK. Part of being a great cook is knowing your own tastes, the preference of your family/friends, and adjust the recipe accordingly.

To give proper credit where credit is due, the original original recipe can be found on page 155 of my all-time favorite chocolate cookbook, The International Chocolate Cookbook by Nancy Baggett. The book is unreal. I’ve made every recipe in the thing, resulting in a book that should be replaced every other year, but I can’t let go of it, much like Rog’s bball jersey from the state basketball finals. (mine book isn’t as stinky as his jersey fyi).

Below is my recipe and it eliminates 4 items in the above and changes a few other items (like mine btr of course!)

Krinkle Treats

Time to make dough: @20 min
Time to freeze dough: 4 hours
Cooktime: 9-9.5 min

Ingredients
7.5 oz salted butter (I love Tillamook)
4 oz Bittersweet chocolate, chopped
4 oz Semisweet chocolate, chopped
*Note: use a high quality, Ghiradelli or better. If you use Baker’s, the dough will be rougher/corser and lack the smooth, silky texture.
3 eggs
2/3 cp superfine sugar (if you have none, you can use regular, but it dramatically changes the dough and cookie. It will turn out a bit more like cake versus a wonderfully dense product). A word to the wise-if you have only Baker’s chocolate and regular sugar, this notches the recipe way down to being ok-good, not spectacular-great.
1 tsp good vanilla (see note above. Real vanilla creates a superior taste. Imitation vanilla is not half as good, and actually changes the flavor).
1 1/2 cup flour
salt to taste (in other words, it’s up to you. I always put in about 1/2 tsp or so)
1/2 tsp baking powder

Preparation

  • Place butter in a metal bowl over boiling water. 
  • When the butter is half-way melted, add the chocolate. Continually stir so as not to burn the chocolate. When the chocolate is nearly melted, remove the bowl from the stove and place on the counter. Let the mixture cool slightly. 

*Baker’s tip: when a recipe says “let cool slightly” what it really means is that the mixture can’t be burning to the touch, but still warm enough to dissolve the other ingredients, like sugar. The best way to test this is to dip your index finger in a bit of chocolate and place on your wrist (like a baby’s bottle). It should be warm but not burning.

  • Add the eggs one at a time, mixing with a fork. Don’t overbeat. Overbeating adds air in to the mixture, creating a fluffy, cake experience which is the opposite of a nice, dense cookie. Just stir enough to mix the eggs. 
  • Add superfine sugar and let stand for 8 minutes. This is required for the sugar to dissolve.
  • Combine the flour, salt and baking powder first (do not sift, as the result will be cakey-not dense)
  • Once the entire batter is mixed, place in a covered container, like a Ziploc plastic container, and place in the freezer for 4 hours.
  • Remove, and using a spoon or small ladel, scoop out the batter is equal sizes. 
  • Roll in your hands, then place in the sifted powdered sugar.
  • Coat completely
  • Place on a non-stick pan (with or without parchment paper but do NOT use non-stick spray of any kind as it will utterly ruin the recipe.
  • Cook for 9-10 min.
When you are ready to cook- 325 degrees

Baker’s tip: this last part is absolutely critical–and I’m talking the cook time. If you bake for more than 10 min, these little babies will harden up like hockey pucks within 15 minutes of being out of the oven. You must, I repeat must, slightly undercook. They will be slightly gooey when removed. That’s what you want. The cookies cool, and then can be placed in a container once cooled. When eaten, either cold or room temperature, the inside is moist and divine. The cookies can last up to 4-5 days if stored in the fridge or someplace cool. 

There you have it. Go forth and attempt to remain unaddicted.