Spicy Crackled Chocolate Cookies

Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1½ cups granulated sugar
• 1 tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
• ⅔ cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
• ½ cup salted butter, melted
• 4 large eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup icing sugar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Combine flour, sugar, baking soda, salt and cayenne pepper in a bowl. Set aside.
3. Whisk together cocoa and butter in a large bowl. Whisk in eggs and vanilla. Add flour mixture and stir just until combined. Gather dough into a ball. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, about 45 – 60 minutes.
4. Shape dough into 1 inch balls. Roll balls in icing sugar. Place balls 3 inches apart on parchment paper-lined baking sheets.
5. Bake until tops of cookies are cracked, about 12 – 13 minutes. Do not overbake. Let cookies stand for 5 minutes on cookie sheets. Remove from cookie sheets and cool on racks. May be refrigerated for up to 1 week or frozen for up to 3 months.