Dark Chocolate - Almond Crackles

Who makes Dark Chocolate - Almond Crackles in the middle of summer? A girl who has cookies on her mind, that's who! Or for that matter, a girl who loves almond and chocolate together :). Although crackles are usually eaten around Christmas, they provide for a hearty cookie with coffee/tea all year round. These were especially delicious: 85% dark chocolate, nutty almonds and sweet confectioners' sugar. Yum! Rating: 4+ out of 5.




Dark Chocolate - Almond Crackles: adapted from MarthaStewart.com

Ingredients:
- 4 ounces dark chocolate (such as 70 percent cacao), finely chopped
- 1 ¼ cup ground almonds
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon coarse salt
- ½ stick unsalted butter, room temperature
- ½ cup packed light-brown sugar
- 1 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup confectioners' sugar

Instructions:
- Melt chocolate in a double boiler or a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water, stirring. Let cool.
- Pulse almonds in a food processor until very finely chopped. Transfer to a medium bowl, and stir in flour, baking powder, and salt.
- Beat butter and brown sugar with a mixer on medium-high speed until fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Mix in eggs and vanilla. Mix in chocolate. Reduce speed to low, and mix in almond-flour mixture. Refrigerate dough until firm, about 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Form dough into 1-inch balls. Roll in granulated sugar to coat, then in confectioners' sugar to coat. Arrange on parchment-lined baking sheets, spacing about 1 inch apart.
- Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until surfaces crack, about 14 minutes. Transfer sheets to wire racks; let cool.


I'm signing off for 2,5 weeks now to do a bit of traveling.
Wishing everyone a very sunny & sweet summer!