12 Days of Cookies - A Gourmet cookie extravaganza

This wonderful event is the brain child of Andrea of Andreas Recipes. How I got asked to be involved with this incredible group is beyond me but all the thanks goes to Kelly of Sass & Veracity. There are 7 of us that have decided to do The 12 Days of Cookies - A Gourmet cookie extravaganza. We will be choosing, baking, tasting, blogging and sharing with you a cookie a day for the next 12 days of December.

These cookies are coming from Gourmet's Favorite Cookie Recipes: 1941-2008. They’ve published a lot of cookie recipes in their 68-year history, many of them around the winter holidays. This season they decided to choose the very best from each year.

These are my partners in crime. We will all be choosing different cookies and surprising each other. How fun is that???? Be sure to check out their selections for the day!

Jerry - Cooking...by the seat of my Pants
Sandy -At the Baker's Bench
Courtney - Coco Cooks
Kelly - Sass & Veracity
Claire - The Barefoot Kitchen
Andrea - Andreas Recipes


Day 4 of the 12 Days of Cookies features the Mocha Cookies The Bakery!

With melted chocolate in the dough, a ton of chocolate chips, and a spot of espresso powder to play up the bittersweet nature of chocolate, this recipe could be the only one a chocolate lover ever needs...Gourmet

Mocha Cookies The Bakery - October 1990 (link to the recipe as it was originally printed)

Ingredients:

4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
3 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, cut into bits
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon double-acting baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 large eggs at room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons instant espresso powder
2 teaspoons vanilla

Directions:

• In a metal bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water melt the unsweetened chocolate, 1 1/2 cups of the chocolate chips, and the butter, stirring until the mixture is smooth, and remove the bowl from the heat.
  
• In a small bowl stir together the flour, the baking powder, and the salt.
  
• In a bowl beat the eggs with the sugar until the mixture is thick and pale and beat in the espresso powder and the vanilla.
  
• Fold the chocolate mixture into the egg mixture, fold in the flour mixture, and stir in the remaining 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips.
  
• Let the batter stand for 15 minutes.
  
• Drop the batter by heaping tablespoons onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper and bake the cookies in the middle of a preheated 350° F. oven for 8 to 10 minutes, or until they are puffed and shiny and cracked on top.
  
• Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets, transfer them to racks, and let them cool completely. Makes about 36 cookies.

See the flat, shiny, non crackled top? Not how they were suppose to be!

I did not like these cookies. I had more trouble with these than I have with any cookie recipe ever. Was it the way it was written or was it user error? Not sure. They never puffed up for me and I also waited for the top to become shiny and crack. As you can see that didn't happen for me. I think I ruined one of my favorite baking sheets as the batter oozed under the parchment and baked on tight! Oh well...

Will I make these again? No way! I didn't even finish baking these ones. Hope the rest of you faired better if you tried them!

******I was lucky enough to be interviewed by the wonderful Amber Scott of Capessa. Check it out here Capessa - Real Women, Real Advice!!!

As Always...

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy