Espresso Chocolate Chip Brownie Cookies

Yesterday I took the day off. I celebrated the infrequent event with a fabulous Pilates session (first session in three weeks and my body is reminding me of that right now), watching re-runs of The Cosby Show, a nice lunch, chocolate and Christmas planning...

Yep, you read right. Christmas planning. I have already started searching for the perfect Christmas card, planning decor, planning gifts and menu planning. Christmas is my favorite holiday and I'm a planner ya know. This cookie was part of the plan in addition to satisfying my chocolate craving. I'm always on the hunt for the perfect Christmas cookie to gift and share with my family and this one is in the running...

"Delectable" is the best way to describe this cookie. It tastes just like a moist, fudgy, fabulous brownie - except it's a cookie. Once I bit into it, I smiled, poured myself a glass of milk and forced myself to eat just one in an effort not to ruin the purpose of my Pilates class. If you are a chocolate lover, these should be added to your recipe repertoire sooner rather than later I think...

Once you have the ingredients above, here is what to do...

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a few cookie sheets with parchment paper and set aside. In a double boiler, melt the butter (cube it first), unsweetened chocolate and 1 cup of the chocolate chips. Once it is melted, set aside. In an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, add the eggs, instant coffee (I used instant espresso) and sugar and whisk until the mixture is really thick and forms a ribbon once the whisk is lifted. Slowly add in the melted chocolate. Sift in the flour, salt and baking powder. Stir the flour mixture in with a spatula until it is well mixed. Stir in the remaining cup of chocolate chips and walnuts. 

Place heaping tablespoons of the batter two inches apart on the cookie sheet. Bake for 10 minutes, or until the tops of the cookies are puffed and cracked. Cool on the cookie sheet for 1 minute, then transfer to a cooling rack. 

One more thing  - I didn't use walnuts this time, BUT I did add a few sprinkles of chocolate chips to the top of each cookie right before I baked them. A little extra chocolate never hurt anybody...:)

Am I the only one already planning for Christmas???

Recipe via