Fudge Drops

Hi there!  It has been a busy few weeks.  You can rest assured that I have been baking and tinkering around in the kitchen even if I haven't been posting.  I'm sure my lack of posts was at the forefront of your thoughts.  Truth be told, I'm only posting this now because I wrote part of it on my cell phone on my way home from work.  I hadn't even thought about doing that until Nancy reminded me today that I have finally joined the modern age of smart phones and have a handy little computer at my finger tips.  Thanks, Nancy!  How convenient!  I love multitasking! 

My guilt for riding the metro today instead of my bike instantly disappeared.  Plus, reading Vanity Fair: A Novel without a Hero on my way in this morning was getting a little tedious.  Why can't Amelia realize that Dobbin likes her?  Don't even get me started about Becky!  I know that is the whole point, but I've been reading it on and off again for a few weeks now and I'm ready to reach the end.  Luckily I'm almost there...

OK.  Enough Thackeray talk!  Let's get down to business.  These cookies are awesome.  They are tiny little pillows of chocolaty goodness that are somewhere in between a brownie and a cookie.  I would eat one right now if they weren't already gone.  I love how the pearl sugar makes them just a touch fancier.  You're going to love them!

Notes:
If you don't have any pearl sugar, you could roll these cookies in granulated sugar or top them with colored sprinkles or finely ground nuts.  If you're just rolling the cookies in granulated sugar, you don't need to use the egg wash.  If you're going to top them with sprinkles, nuts, or a different topping, you'll need to use the egg wash to get the topping to stick.  My "regular" cocoa powder is Natural High Fat Cocoa from Penzeys Spices, and the black cocoa powder is from King Arthur Flour.  The black cocoa powder makes the cookies more chocolaty.  If you don't have any, replace it with regular cocoa powder.  Using a medium-sized cookie scoop will make shaping these cookies easier. 

Ingredients:
2¼ cups (286 g) all-purpose flour
¼ cup (24 g) black cocoa powder
1 cup (91 g) cocoa powder
½ teaspoon (4 g) salt
1 teaspoon (4g) baking powder
1 cup (222 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
1½ cups (281 g) dark brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 egg white, optional
1 teaspoon water, optional
pearl sugar for decoration, optional

Yields about 5 dozen cookies

Sift, Cream, Add, Shape, Top, Bake:
Adjust the oven racks to the upper and lower thirds of the oven, and preheat it to 350ºF.  Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper or Siplat mats, and set aside.  Over a large bowl, flexible cutting board, or piece of wax paper, sift together the flour, cocoa powders, salt, and baking powder, and set aside.  In a separate bowl, cream the butter with the dark brown sugar.  Add the eggs, one at time, beating until fully incorporated.  Beat in the vanilla, add the flour mixture all at once, and beat until no more flour streaks remain.  Scrape the bowl well to ensure that there are no flour bits hiding at the bottom.  Use a cookie scoop or two spoons to scoop out a tablespoon's worth (approximately 16 grams) of dough.  Roll the dough ball between your palms to smooth out the edges, and place it on the prepared cookie sheet.  Repeat with the remaining dough.  Once the cookie sheets are full, make the egg wash by beating together an egg white and a teaspoon of water in a bowl with a fork.  Brush some of the egg wash over the top of each cookie and sprinkle with pearl sugar or the topping of your choice.  Bake the cookies at 350ºF for 10-12 minutes, rotating the cookie sheets halfway through baking.  The cookies will not be browned, but they will be very fragrant.  It is better to remove them a minute early than to over bake them, so pay attention to them during the last few minutes of baking.  Remove the cookies from the oven and transfer them to a rack to cool.  Store cooled cookies in an airtight container between layers of wax paper at room temperature or in the freezer.

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