Mocha Crackle Cookies

These taste more like a brownie than a cookie. They are delicious. Actually, delicious is an understatement. Brad decided that these are his favorite out of all the cookies that I have made. He is also really enjoying the different cookie everyday when he comes home from work. He will be very sad in January when we are all on a diet. hee hee

For this recipe, which I found in my Taste of Home Cookbook, but you can also see HERE, you will need: 1/2 cup butter, cubed, 5 squares (1 ounce each) unsweetened chocolate, 1 tablespoon instant coffee granules, 4 eggs, 1/8 teaspoon salt, 1 cup sugar, 1 cup packed brown sugar, 2 cups plus 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder and 1/3 cup confectioners' sugar.

I admit that I didn't have instant coffee, so I used a dark chocolate coffee drink mix that I had. Brad said that he could definitely taste the coffee, so I was happy with the substitution.

Guess what??? We don't have to cream the butter and sugar! I know, I was shocked too. In a microwave safe bowl, or in a saucepan on the stove, you need to melt the 1/2 cup butter, the 5 oz. of unsweetened chocolate and the 1 Tablespoon of instant coffee granules. I microwaved the mixture in 30 second intervals on 50% power, stirring between intervals until completely melted. Set this aside and let it cool.

Now we need to cream together the 1 cup of granulated sugar, 1 cup of packed brown sugar, the 4 eggs and the 1/8 tsp of salt. I always crack my eggs into a bowl before I add them to any mixture just in case I get a weird egg. I have gotten some really creepy eggs in the past. Ugh.

Beat together until thoroughly mixed. It might look a little frothy because of the eggs.

Now, stir in the chocolate mixture that has been cooling. Don't worry, it doesn't have to be completely cooled.

While your mixture is, well, mixing, you can sift together the dry ingredients.

Gradually add the sifted flour and baking powder. Once the mixture has been completely combined, you will need to chill the dough. It will be very sticky and will resemble brownie batter. Chill this dough for at least 2 hours, but even longer is better. I covered the dough and let it rest overnight.

Once the dough is easy to handle, you need to roll the dough into 1-inch balls. If you want to freeze these, you know the drill. Freeze individually on a plate or cookie sheet until frozen completely through. Once they are frozen, you can move them to a Ziploc bag to keep in the freezer for up to 3 months. When you are ready to bake, just move the bag to the refrigerator the night before so that the dough will be ready and waiting for you!

If you are ready to bake now, once you have rolled all of the dough into balls you can roll the cookies in powdered sugar. Place the cookies on a cookie sheet that has been lined with parchment and bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes, or until set.

Once you remove these from the oven, don't let them set on the cookie sheets because they will continue to cook and you don't want to brown the powdered sugar. Just move them to a cooling rack as soon as possible.

This recipe makes about 5 dozen cookies, so you will have plenty to enjoy and share. Only 2 days left of the 12 days of cookies and then I start the 12 Days of Christmas with my kids! So many things to enjoy this time of year!! Happy Baking. :)