You know how your parents always told you “No dessert before dinner” as a kid? I decided that, as a 20-something adult, I will eat dessert when I please. And if that means cookies for breakfast, then darn-it-all, I will have cookies for breakfast.
In addition to my fondness for baked goods, I’m a coffee fiend. I have had an unhealthy, borderline obsessive, this-girl-should-probably-not-drink-coffee-in-public-because-the-noises-coming-out-of-her-are-making-me-uncomfortable relationship with coffee. In college, I drank two pots a day. And when I say pots, I mean the 12-cup, family-sized pots. And I drank it alone. Straight from the pot if I was busy. I should probably be ashamed, but I’m really not.
Since my school days, I’ve cut back significantly. I’m down to about six cups a week. (And when I say cups, I don’t mean the 6-ounce recommended daily intake cups because, let’s be serious, no one adheres to the suggested dosage.) However, the second I saw a recipe that combined coffee and chocolate chip cookies, I got all jittery like an addict looking for a fix. Combining two of my favorite things for an incredibly sweet breakfast cookie was enough to make me giddy, no caffeine necessary.
I was so pleased with how these cookies came out (and that I had something sweet with my breakfast for the week) that I had to share this holy coffee-and-cookie union.
I ran out of the regular-size chocolate chips mid-recipe (should’ve checked, but hey, what’s the point of baking without a bit of improvisation?), so I ended up using a combination of the mini semisweet chips and the normal-sized ones that I had, which made the cookies delightfully more chocolatey. I also used instant coffee because espresso crystals were harder to find in my area; I may order online next time. I chopped the pecans with a food processor so the nuts were more evenly distributed in the cookies (and to match the tiny chips, I suppose).
In any case, I will definitely be making these again (sooooo delicious), because why settle for one good thing when you can combine a few? Enjoy, my fellow coffee and chocolate lovers!
FOR THE COOKIES:
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 whole egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon instant coffee granules or instant espresso crystals
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped pecans
12 ounces by weight semisweet chocolate chips (about 2 cups)
FOR THE GLAZE:
1/2 teaspoon instant coffee granules or instant espresso crystals
1 tablespoon hot water
1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar*
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350 F.
In a large bowl, beat sugars, butter, egg, and vanilla with an electric mixer on medium speed until creamy.
On low speed, beat in flour, coffee granules, baking soda, and salt. Stir in pecans and chocolate chips.
Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart onto ungreased baking sheets.
Bake at 350 F for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown and edges are set. Cool on the pan for 2 to 4 minutes; remove cookies from pans to wire racks and cool completely.
For the glaze:
In a small bowl, dissolve instant coffee in hot water. Stir in confectioners’ sugar, adding more confectioners’ sugar if necessary to reach desired drizzling consistency.
Drizzle glaze over cooled cookies. Allow glaze to set before storing cookies in an airtight container between layers of wax paper, plastic wrap, or foil.
Makes about 2 dozen cookies.
* — I always start with 1/2 cup of confectioners’ sugar and then add more because the glaze can become too thick too fast. I suggest starting small and adding more to your preference. Go back