Espresso and White Chocolate Drop Cookies

Weeks ago I declared there would be no Christmas baking in 2014, none, nada, zero, zip... this would be the year to simplify holiday preparations. Well, that resolution lasted midway through the month and then poof! disappeared in a weekend burst of baking activity. Can I blame it on the internet, brimming with food blogs, foodie Facebook pages and Pinterest boards that feature holiday cakes and cookies? Forget the blame, I'm busy baking.  

The baking began with these ordinary-looking  and flavor-packed drop cookies. Sweet, but not too sweet, they resemble flattened chocolate chip cookies but carry a noticeable caffeine back note. A Google search produced a gazillion variations of cookie recipes featuring coffee and white chocolate; rolled flat and shaped with cookie cutters, rolled into cylinders and sliced like a refrigerator cookie, crispy twice-baked biscotti, soft and gooey like fudge or brownies, frosted or plain... Omigosh, so many choices! I went with this recipe from joythebaker. That girl can bake!

Not fancy enough for holiday cookies? Whatever these Espresso White Chocolate Drop Cookies might lack in fancy frosting and exotic ingredients, they make up for in satisfying flavor. Even the raw dough smells temptingly good... just saying. Thanks Joy, we'll enjoy this recipe year 'round.  
     

Espresso White Chocolate Drop Cookies

recipe from joythebaker

Yield: 3+ dozen cookies

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

3/4 cup light brown sugar

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg plus 1 large egg yolk

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 scant teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons instant espresso

1 cup white chocolate chips

Directions:

Position the racks in the center and upper third of the oven. Line two or three baking sheets with silicone mats or parchment paper. Set aside; you'll preheat the oven after chilling the dough.

Use a medium bowl and whisk together the dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, salt and instant espresso powder.

Use a stand mixer and beat together the butter and sugars until light and fluffy, about 3 to 5 min. Stop the mixer; use a rubber spatula to scrape down the bowl. 

Add the egg and egg yolk; beat on medium speed until incorporated and fluffy, about 1 to 2 min. Add the vanilla extract and beat briefly to mix in. 

Stop the mixer; add all of the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and mix on low speed until just barely combined. 

Stop the mixer again and add the chocolate chips; fold together with a wooden spoon or spatula until well combined. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Scoop heaping tablespoonfuls of dough onto the prepared baking pans, spaced several inches apart to allow room to spread. 

Bake for 10 to12 minutes, until lightly browned around the edges. (My dough was darker than joys, making it hard to see any browning.) Remove from the oven and cool undisturbed on the baking sheets for about 10 minutes. When the cookies have firmed up, remove to a wire rack to cool completely. Store the cookies in an airtight container. where they will last several days... if they last that long. Betcha you can't eat just one!