Chocolate Crack Cookies

In the kitchen at Chez Panisse, we called these “chocolate crack cookies” because of the craggy fissures that formed on the surface of the cookies as they baked. But because the restaurant was (and still is) located in Berkeley, California, we were conscious of what that name suggested, so we came up with all sorts of less objectionable aliases: baked chocolate truffles and chocolate quake cookies, to name just a couple.

• Add the chocolate, butter, and liquor to a medium heatproof bowl. Set the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water, stirring occasionally until melted and smooth. Remove the bowl from the heat.
• In a food processor fitted with the metal blade, pulverize the almonds with the flour, baking powder, and salt until as finely ground as possible.
• In a stand mixer fitted with the whip attachment, whisk together the eggs and granulated sugar on high speed until the mixture forms a well-defined ribbon when the beater is lifted, about 5 minutes. Using a rubber spatula, mix in the melted chocolate-butter mixture, then stir in the almond mixture. Cover and refrigerate the dough until chilled and firm, 1 to 2 hours.
• Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven; preheat the oven to 325°F (160°C). Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
• Pour some granulated sugar into a small bowl and sift some powdered sugar into another. Shape the cookie dough into 1-inch (3-cm) balls. Working a few at a time, rolls the balls of dough in the granulated sugar until coated, then roll them in the powdered sugar, coating them completely. Set the sugared cookies on the baking sheets, spacing them about 1 inch (3 cm) apart.
• Bake, rotating the baking sheets midway through baking, until the cookies are just slightly firm at the edges but still quite soft at the centers, 12 to 14 minutes. The cookies should slide on the baking sheet when you nudge them with your finger. Don’t overbake them.
• Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets until firm enough to handle, then use a spatula to transfer them to a wire rack.
• STORAGE: The dough can be refrigerated for up to 5 days or frozen for up to 1 month. The cookies are best eaten the day they’re baked.