Espresso Delights

I’ve discovered that at times I am a bit too reliant on technology. I’m a librarian and while I rely on electronic resources so much, I can always work without the technology. (I just might be less efficient.) I should be as wise in regards to my baking. I wasn’t able to post cookies last Friday as I had no power. This week, the recipe that I was planning to make was safely stored on Pinterest. Which is great until your Internet is out. Oh well, time to figure out Plan B.

When I get home from work in the afternoon, I often browse through the cooking magazines that I have on the bookshelf. These are usually fairly old, as I tend to purchase magazines around the holidays when there are lots of baking recipes! I had recently looked at Ultimate Cookies and Bars, which was a special holiday publication from 2010. It has great recipes and I had noted a couple of recipes that I wanted to try. I grabbed it and looked for something great to make, and I stumbled on this recipe for Espresso Delights.

These cookies would be perfect to serve with afternoon tea or coffee: petite butter cookies flavored with espresso powder and chocolate. The ingredients are simple but the flavors are perfect together. My house smelled wonderful when these were baking. This doesn’t make a big batch of hearty cookies, but that’s ok. I really like simple cookies sometimes!

1 cup butter, room temperature
2/3 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon instant espresso powder
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ teaspoon cinnamon
2 cups flour
1 ounce semisweet chocolate, ground
Powdered sugar and cocoa powder, for dusting

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats.

In a large mixer bowl, beat the butter for 30 seconds until light. Add the powdered sugar, espresso powder, vanilla and cinnamon and mix on medium until incorporated. Add the flour and stir on low until combined. You may need to mix the last bit of flour in by hand. Stir in the ground semisweet chocolate.

Shape dough into 1 inch balls and place on the prepared baking sheets; press down to flatten the dough slightly. Bake for 12 minutes, until the cookies are set and bottoms are lightly browned. Remove to a wire rack to cool.

Combine a small amount of powdered sugar and cocoa powder and dust over the cooled cookies.

Recipe from Ultimate Cookies and Bars