Espresso. Butter. Chocolate. The three building blocks o’ life for some folk.
Rich’s cousin Lois gave us this cool autographed copy of Anna Olson’s book ‘Sugar’, and I came across this recipe while paging through for a little sumpin, sumpin sweet and different (even faux madeleines get old after a while).
INGREDIENTS
•1 cup butter at room temperature
•1/2 cup confectioners sugar
•1/4 cup espresso – we keep a jar of Medaglia D’Oro instant in the pantry for occasions such as this
•4 tsp vanilla
•2-1/4 cup flour
•1/4 cup cocoa powder
•1/4 tsp salt
•Sugar, for coating
Cream butter and sugar together until smooth (I’d use the whisk attachment as opposed to the paddle in your stand mixer – seemed to work better). Stir in the espresso and vanilla.
Sift flour, cocoa and salt together, then add to the butter mixture; mixing until the dough comes together.
Turn dough out onto a board dusted with powdered sugar. Divide in half and shape into logs.
I rolled my dough on waxed paper dusted with the powdered sugar, then wrapped each log in the paper and tossed into the fridge for an hour or so.
Preheat oven to 325º.
Remove dough from fridge and slice each log in about 1/2 inch pieces. Hmmm. My slices didn’t come out that neatly, so I took my (very) rough portions, rolled ‘em into a ball, and then flattened them in the palm of my hand. Worked for me.
Place cookies on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes. They won’t spread, so I got 16 or so per sheet – ending up with 42 cookies (the ULTIMATE ANSWER, for you Douglas Adams fans). I also only baked one sheet at a time – which kind of worked out with the next step:
After removing the cookies from the oven, and while still warm, toss gently, two at a time, in sugar and allow to cool.
Ignoring all the ‘tossing one’s cookies’ comments I KNOW are bubbling up out there, I should note that I assumed they meant I should use more confectioners sugar for the final coating, but maybe they meant granulated – opinions?
Irregardless (my Aunt Buzz is now rolling in her grave) – this is one fine batch o’ cookies.