almond mocha cookies

I think I must be in cookie mode, because that's really all I want to bake (and eat) lately. These puppies come from one of my favourite cookbooks, Better Homes and Gardens' "The Ultimate Cookie Book". (They're on page 54, for those of you playing along at home.)  I have never had these cookies not turn out, they're delicious and dead easy to make. Plus? They're a teensy bit caffeinated. Perfect!

Almond Mocha Cookies
Makes about 5 dozen

Ingredients:

1/2 cup instant coffee crystals

2 tbsp. hot water

1 cup butter

1 1/4 cup sugar

3/4 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

2 2/3 cups flour

2 cups chocolate pieces - I prefer dark chocolate myself

3/4 cup slivered almonds, toasted

Preheat the oven to 350˚ F and line your cookie sheet(s) with some parchment paper. Take your slivered almonds and put them onto a baking sheet or pan, and toast them (at 350˚ F) for about 5-8 minutes.

Dissolve the instant coffee into the hot water, give it a really good stir, and set it aside.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the butter, sugar, baking soda, and salt. Beat at about medium speed, until it's well-combined, scraping the sides of the bowl if you need to.

Once that's all nice and mixed, beat in the coffee, eggs, and vanilla, until that's combined.

Next, mix in the flour. The cookbook said to just mix in as much as you can with the mixer and the rest while stirring by hand. I like to take my mixer to the max, give it a bit of a challenge, and honestly? The amount of flour really shouldn't be that big of a deal. Once it's mixed well, add in the chocolate pieces and almonds. Again, the cookbook says to do this by hand, but I like to live on the edge. Take that, Better Homes and Gardens...result!

Now, drop the batter by heaping teaspoons onto a cookie sheet. I got five dozen (60) cookies, the cookbook says you'll get about 40. Clearly their teaspoons were more heaping than mine, so depending on the size of your cookies your mileage may vary.

Bake the cookies for 8-10 minutes, until they're soft on top and just a shade darker around the edges. Pull them out of the oven and let them stand for about a minute on the cookie sheet, before transferring them to a wire rack to cool.

And there you have it! Seriously, these could not be easier, and they get rave reviews. I like to think of them as breakfast cookies, because you get caffeine (chocolate) and protein (almonds) in one tiny, delicious package. Okay, maybe not the healthiest choice, but they're tasty! Enjoy.

c.