cookies

When cold weather rolls around, I definitely find myself spending more time in the kitchen in hopes of warming up around a toasty stove.  Typically, my work day begins at around 7 am and ends at around 6 pm, unless I have a blogger event or other plans. However, somewhere in the middle of research, writing, pitching, seeking new clients, tweeting, etc. I do find time for a break, either for a workout, to do a few household chores, or to cook or bake. It is the ultimate luxury to be able to do my job while fitting in things during the day, and to take advantage of it, I have started once again trying to bake one item a week

Chocolate and coffee are two favorites of mine when it comes to desserts, and with a huge stash of all sorts of coffee, I decided to Google recipes for mocha cookies. Cookies are for bakers like me who aren’t very precise with tarts or cupcakes and don’t have all sorts of baking equipment. All you need are some bowls, spoons, and pans.

I found a ton of recipes for chocolate coffee cookies, and I decided on one from cooks.com because I loved the way the recipe melted together hot coffee with chocolate. As you can imagine, this smelled amazing. I didn’t have chocolate squares, so I improvised with bittersweet chocolate chips, which melted beautifully into the coffee.

While I let the coffee and chocolate mixture cool, I whipped together butter, sugar, and eggs. As always, I used less sugar than called for, instead of two cups, I used about one and a half. I don’t have a hand mixer or fancy Kitchenaid stand mixer, so I just did what I always do, used a fork to whip this butter into shape. It does the trick and makes my arms tired.

Once the butter, eggs, and sugar were ready, I poured in the coffee and chocolate and slowly started adding the flour and baking soda bit by bit. I actually only used about six cups of flour instead of the eight called for. The dough just looked and felt right, and after baking the cookies, I was glad I did not add more flour.

The cookies ended up being very light and fluffy. The chocolate and coffee flavor are both subtle, maybe a little too subtle, but nothing that can’t be fixed by making Nutella sandwich cookies, right?

I didn’t add cinnamon or nut to the recipe either. Though I am sure those additions would have been delicious, I am a purist when it comes to chocolate and coffee and didn’t want to mask those flavors at all.

Baking and cooking are both great escapes during the work day when I have time. I have been feeling under the weather the past few days; I swear the second it gets cold, I get sick, and these cheered me up.

Have you baked anything lately that has warmed a chilly day or cheered you up? Are you tired of being cold already, like I am?

Adapted from:

CHOCOLATE COFFEE COOKIES

Read more about it at www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,173,144188-225194,00.html
Content Copyright © 2011 Cooks.com – All rights reserved.

6 squares Baker’s chocolate
2 c. hot coffee
1 lb. (2 c.) Crisco
3 eggs
1 lb. (2 c.) sugar
2 lb. (8 c.) flour
2 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. baking soda
1 c. chopped nuts

First, melt chocolate and coffee. Then, cream together Crisco, eggs, and sugar. After creaming, add first mixture. Then sift together flour, cinnamon, baking soda. Add nuts. Alternate dry and wet ingredients. Hand roll in small balls. Place on greased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for 8-12 minutes.