Coffee Chocolate Chip Cookies

I have an excuse for tempting you with these indulgent cookies...I have a drawer-full of chocolate to use or lose before we move and, you know the saying, you can't take it with you!

This shortbread style dough is a little softer than some of my other versions and the slices don't hold their shape as sharply in the oven.  They look a little more like classic chocolate chip cookies.  But worry not, they still have that unmistakable melting texture of shortbread.  The coffee flavor is subtle but definitely there.  These get a gold star.

Oh, and by the way, the dough itself  tastes amazing, and has no eggs, so snack away.
Espresso Chocolate Chip Cookies
oven to 325 
makes about 16-18 large cookies
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp instant espresso dissolved in 1 tsp tap water (this imparts a subtle coffee flavor, use 2 tsp powder for a stronger coffee taste)
2 cups flour
1 rounded cup dark chocolate chips

• In a stand mixer or processor fitted with the dough blade, put the flour, sugar, and well softened butter.  Add the vanilla to the espresso and pour in as well. Pulse until the dough starts to come together, scraping down the sides if necessary.
• Process until the dough comes completely together, then finish with a wooden spoon or spatula, folding in the chips well.
• Turn the dough onto a piece of parchment paper and form into a log shape about 10 or 12 inches long.  Roll the log in the paper, smoothing the shape as you go, and twist the ends to secure.
• Refrigerate for a couple of hours until firm.
• Slice the dough into 3/8 inch rounds and bake on a silpat or parchment lined baking sheet for about 12 minutes or until set.  If the dough crumbles, just reform the slice on the baking sheet, it won't affect the cookie at all.
• Let the cookies remain on the baking sheet for a few minutes before carefully removing them to a rack.  These cookies will be delicate, especially when warm.   

Notes:  Be sure your butter is truly soft, the dough will come together better that way.  It helps to use a sharp knife to slice the chilled log, and you can dip it into very hot water between slices to make a cleaner cut. If the dough crumbles, don't worry, just form it back into shape right on the baking sheet, these don't have to be perfect--- the lumps and bumps are part of a chocolate chip cookie's charm.  The crumbling can be annoying, but you'll forget all about it when you bite into a melt-in-your-mouth cookie with big molten chunks of dark chocolate.  You can dispense with the slicing altogether and just scoop out small mounds of the chilled dough onto the baking sheet.  These will be smaller, so watch your baking time.

I highly recommend eating one of two of these hot out of the oven.  I don't care if it's 10 minutes before dinner, or 8 in the morning.  Just do it.

*This might be a good time to address some of the comments I've been getting recently about sometimes posting recipes that are high in sugar and fat.  Most of us over the age of 18 struggle with our weight in one way or another, and everyone is concerned about their long term health.  There are so many conflicting reports about the relative benefits or dangers of this or that ingredient, I think it makes a lot of us stressed out about what and how we are eating.  My husband and I have basically given up desserts, except for holidays, when the kids are around, or the occasional treat in a restaurant.  We do indulge ourselves a little bit in the morning, with muffins or scones, etc., and then try to tow the line the rest of the day.  So I certainly don't eat all the cookies and sweets I make for the blog.  I do test everything, but then the rest might get given away, or frozen.  But I do think there is a place in our lives for sweets and special desserts. Michael Pollan is one of my favorite food writers, and his advice is simple: focus on eating varied, 'real' foods, in limited amounts, mostly plants, and don't worry excessively about any of the current 'evil' foods, whether it be butter, beef, sugar or whatever.  Personally I'm more concerned about getting artificial hormones in my milk than I am about how much fat is in it.

You might notice I often alternate sweet recipes with healthy ones.  I don't plan it that way, but my natural cravings run towards fresh healthy foods after I've made something sweet.  My philosophy, in a nutshell, is that life is short, whether or not you eat butter.  And it's a whole lot more fun if you indulge now and again.