mocha cookies

January 11, 2013 by catherine | 1 Comment

in light of the fact that all i ever post about is kids, and running and depression and prozac and our life, i thought it might be time to get back to my roots. aka: the reason i even started this particular iteration of my blog – food!

i have a favorite chocolate cookie recipe – it includes red pepper and black pepper and a healthy dose of salt, along with dark chocolate. it gets crisp on the outside as it matures (although it rarely lasts past 2 days at our house) and the inside gets so crumbly and light, it just dissolves. in light of the fact that i didn’t have dark chocolate, but i really really wanted to make those cookies, i decided to improvise. and i’m sharing it with you.

these cookies have a hearty bit of instant espresso, because hello, i’m homeschooling a 5 year old with the attention span of mere nanoseconds. they also use melted semi-sweet chocolate, though in light of the higher sugar in the chocolate, i reduced it a good bit in the cookie. i wanted them to taste like a mocha, the not too sweet it melts your teeth kind (aka: i’m NOT looking at you, starbucks.) but without the need to go to a coffee shop, because ain’t nobody got time for that.

and in light of the fact that i will have to go run later, they do use less butter and flour and sugar than your average massive cookie recipe. use a cookie scoop if you have one, as your cookies come out to be the perfect size. if not, make sure you adjust the baking times appropriately. you want them *just* done, rather than over done.

Mocha Cookies: makes 48ish 2 1/2″ cookies

ingredients:

• 1  11oz bag semi sweet chocolate chocolate chips
• 1 1/2C all-purpose flour
• 1t ground cinnamon
• 1/2t baking powder
• 1/2t salt
• 1/4-1/3C instant espresso powder – i used 1/4C but thought it could use a little more.
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 stick butter, softened
• 2 large eggs
• 2t vanilla extract

directions:

• preheat oven to 350 degrees
• melt the chocolate chips in the microwave – 30 seconds at a time, and stirring until all the way melted, let cool to room temp.
• mix the espresso powder, and sugar, and then add butter. blend using a hand held mixer, or stand mixer, until well integrated. add eggs and mix until smooth.
• add in the melted chocolate and vanilla, mixing again until smooth.
• add 1C flour, cinnamon, baking powder and salt. then top with the remaining 1/2C of flour. this is to keep from using a million bowls, and i haven’t noticed a difference in terms of texture, but it’s certainly less dishes to clean up.
• mix dry ingredients in, until just combined. don’t over mix this, but don’t leave dry spots either.
• use a cookie scoop, or tablespoon measure and drop cookies 2 inches apart on a cookie sheet.
• bake for 10 minutes, or until just done. you may want 11 minutes, but don’t go more than that.
• let cool on the cookie sheet for 4 or 5 minutes, and then remove to a cookie plate. no need for a cooling rack, that’s just more dishes.

enjoy these! they’re still sweet, and i could see reducing the sugar again by 1/4C or so if you wanted. dark chocolate would be tasty in these, but i used what i had. eat them with a cup or 4 of coffee, and stay awake! base ten counting won’t teach itself.

About these ads