Happily Ever After Chocolate Crackle Cookies

Chewy on the inside and crunchy on the outside, these chocolate cookies are an easy-to-make, indulgent treat. The recipe doubles easily and the cookies will keep up to a week in an airtight storage container.
- Amanda Haas is a cookbook writer, recipe developer, and founder of the website One Family One Meal.

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For a fun dessert at your storybook shower, serve these cookies with tall glasses or bottles of cold milk. Double the recipe and send a few home with each guest so they'll have some around as a special, parents-only treat right before storytime.
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Ingredients

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup confectioner's sugar

Preparation

In a large mixing bowl, stir together the flour, granulated sugar, cocoa, baking powder and salt. Using your fingers, blend in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse meal. It won't be smooth and pretty and should still have a few lumps. Stir in the eggs until the mixture is blended. Spread the dough in a thin layer in the bottom of the bowl and freeze for 10 minutes, or until firm.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Position two racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven
Spoon level teaspoons of the dough onto a sheet of wax paper. Place the confectioner's sugar in a small bowl and dust your hands with a little more of it. Roll each piece of dough into a ball and then in the confectioner's sugar in the bowl. Arrange the balls 2 inches apart on baking sheets. Bake the cookies about 8 to 10 minutes total, switching their positions halfway through. The cookies are done when they are just set and look dry on top. For larger cookies, shape the dough into balls using a tablespoon and place them 4 inches apart on baking sheets; bake for 10-12 minutes. Cool the cookies on racks.