Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

Last month I decided to try this new recipe from The Art & Soul of Baking for my friend Andrew's Superbowl party. The cookies were amazingly good -- light, cakey, rich and chocolatey... one of the best recipes I've made.
Before I type up this recipe, I have to say that chocolate crinkle cookies ALWAYS make me think of my friend Nicole who made them in our college dorm kitchen. Thanks, Nicole, for doing your best to turn me into a baker. :)

Circa... 1997?

Ingredients
3 Tbsp unsalted butter, cut into 1/2" pieces
1 Tbsp cooled brewed coffee
6 oz of 70% bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
(I used 1 oz of 100% unsweetened chocolate, 2 oz of 60% bittersweet chocolate, and 3 oz of 60% bittersweet chocolate chips, all from Ghiradelli)
 2 large eggs
1/2 cup + 1/2 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (3 oz) whole almonds, toasted and cooled
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 cup unsifted confectioners sugar

1) Make-shift a double boiler (glass bowl over a medium-sized cook pan) and bring 2" of water to a boil.  Place the butter, coffee, and chocolate in the top of the double boiler, turn off the heat, stir occasionally until melted and smooth.

2) Place the eggs and 1/2 cup sugar in a bowl and beat with an electric mixer on high speed until very light in color and thick, about 5- 6 minutes (I think this step is what gave the cookies their incredibly light texture).  Scrape the melted chocolate into the eggs and whip until blended, about 1 minute.

3) Place the flour, nuts, cinnamon, baking powder in a small food processor and process until the nuts are finely chopped (60-90 sec). Add the flour mixture to the egg mixture and beat on low speed until just combined.  Stir gently with the spatula.  Cover the dough with plastic and refrigerate 1-2 hours, until firm.

4) Preheat oven to 325-degrees and position rack in center of oven. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

5) Scoop chilled dough into Tbsp-size balls.
Place 1/2 cup granulated sugar in a small bowl and place powdered sugar in a small bowl.
Roll each dough ball in the granulated sugar, then the powdered sugar (coating generously, the more the better). Space cookies 1.5 inches apart on the cookie sheets.

6) Bake for 11-14 minutes (until cookies slightly cracked), rotating the sheet halfway through baking time.  Better to underbake than overbake (too dry).

Yum!