Double Chocolate Espresso Cookies

This recipe calls for Cashews but I didn't have any around so I left them out.

This batch turned out a little more crispy than I would like so I think next time I will cut down on the baking time. That being said, they are DELICIOUS!



Double Chocolate Espresso Cookies
Adapted from David Lebovitz’s cookbook
The Great Book of Chocolate

Ingredients:

1/2 pound unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons instant espresso powder
2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch-process)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup cashews, toasted and chopped
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Instructions: Makes About 24 Cookies
Preheat oven to 325° F. Line 3 baking sheets with parchment paper or oil them lightly with vegetable oil.

In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, vanilla, and espresso powder. Mix well, stopping once to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl.

Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix into the creamed butter mixture, scraping again. Stir in the cashews and chocolate chips.

Scoop the cookie dough into large (1/4 cup) balls, arranging them at least 2 inches apart, 8 on each baking sheet. Bake until the cookies are just flat, 20 to 25 minutes, turning and rotating the baking sheets as necessary for even baking. Let cool about 10 minutes before transferring from the baking sheet to the cooling rack. Once cool, store at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

christmas cookie memories...

it seems like a million years ago. i was just a kid. barely 13 i think. my mom used to order christmas cookies by the dozens from someone that she worked with so that we would have them for the season. my brother fred and i would get so excited because we knew there would be a ton of cookies in the house.

mom thought she was outsmarting us by hiding them in this huge tupperware container under the bed in our parents room. as the holiday draws ever closer this year i find that i am more in the spirit this year than in many years past. i find myself wanting to make a ton of cookies, even though i can't find a container to keep them in. i so wanted to find a big flat container of some sort that is airtight like that one my mother used.

i have my annual ornament exchange coming up this sunday. this year i am doing a brunch. but i think i will try to make a pile of cookies too so that everyone can take some home. there is nothing like homemade christmas cookies!

Chocolate Dipped Madelines

MADELINES
4 eggs
2 c. sugar
2 c. flour
1 1/2 c. clarified butter
1 tbsp. vanilla
Confectioners' sugar
Stir eggs and sugar into top of double boiler until creamy and lukewarm. Remove from heat and beat until cool; add flour gradually, mixing well. Fold in butter and vanilla.

Use special shell-shaped Madeline molds that have been buttered and floured (or small 1 1/2 inch muffin pans). Fill molds 2/3 full; fill muffin tins less than 1/2 full. Bake in a 425 degree oven for ten minutes or until lightly browned. Dust cooled tea cakes with powdered sugar. Yield: 5 dozen.

I dipped these in chocolate instead of dusting them with powered sugar.