SMiLes by Meg

Mocha Truffle Cookies

Christmas with the Muncey’s was a marathon this year. I got home from skiing in Utah on Tuesday, and then had a party every day through yesterday. That’s four separate Christmas parties. A night-before-the-night-before party, a Christmas eve party, Christmas, and Pickett Christmas. Like I said, a marathon.

Unfortunately, I was not able to bake for all of them, as I may have left quite a bit of my Christmas shopping for the last minute, and because if I didn’t make Chocolate Trifle for Christmas day I’m pretty sure my family would disown me.

But I did get to bake for Pickett Christmas. And, though most of my favorite cookbooks are at my apartment in Cambridge, I do leave a couple on my bake center at home for emergencies. One of those is the Taste of Home Cookie Special magazine, from a phase I went through when I think I bought all of the Christmas Cookie special magazines one year. Or, more accurately, from a phase I went through when I threw them into the grocery cart when I thought my mom wasn’t looking one year.

Regardless, I have a bunch of them, and they provide endless variations on cookies that hold up well to travel and make very large batches.

Earlier this season, right after Thanksgiving, I think, Whole Foods was handing out chocolate truffle samples that were actually the best chocolate truffles I had ever had. I think that’s why this particular recipe, Mocha Truffle Cookies, caught my eye. They are rich, mostly chewy with a bit of texture from the chips, and as chocolatey as chocolate gets.

First, melt the butter and 1/2 cup of chocolate chips in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring until smooth.
IMG_3650 IMG_3651Remove from heat and stir in the espresso powder. Allow to cool five minutes before proceeding.IMG_3652Next, stir in the sugars, eggs, and vanilla extract with a whisk until smooth. You’ll notice that my pictures don’t have brown sugar – that would be because I had the “Oh s***!” moment later in the process. You should add it at this stage even if I forgot.IMG_3653 IMG_3654In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. IMG_3655Add the flour to the batter and stir to combine. Then add the remaining cup of chocolate chips and stir to distribute.IMG_3656 IMG_3657This is when I looked over at the counter and saw that I had taken the brown sugar out, thought it was strange that I would do that if the cookies didn’t call for it, and then realized they did in fact call for brown sugar. So I just stirred extra hard.IMG_3658 IMG_3659Drop the dough by the rounded teaspoon onto an ungreased baking sheet. If you shape the dough into balls, the cookies will look nicer. Bake at 350°F for about 10 minutes, or until the edges are browned and the tops look dry.IMG_3660 IMG_3661

Allow to cool on the pan for a minute or two before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.IMG_3662These are the kind of cookie that would be excellent with milk. But they’re pretty awesome on their own as well.

Enjoy!IMG_3663

Mocha Truffle Cookies

Ingredients:

  •  1/2 cup butter, cubed
  • 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips, divided
  • 3 teaspoons instant espresso powder
  • 2 eggs
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 2 cups flour
  • 1/3 cup cocoa powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:

  1. In a small saucepan over low heat, melt the butter and 1/2 cup chocolate chips until smooth. Remove from heat.
  2. Stir in the espresso powder. Allow to cool for 5 minutes.
  3. Whisk in the eggs, sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla extract.
  4. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. Stir into the chocolate mixture.
  5. Stir in the remaining 1 cup of chocolate chips.
  6. Shape the dough into rounded teaspoon sized balls and place on an ungreased baking sheet.
  7. Bake at 350°F for about 10 minutes or until tops are dry. Allow to cool on pan for a minute before transferring to wire rack to cool completely.