The Hip Hostess

When we were in Hawaii, we visited the Kailua Candy Company in Kona and bought a box of the most delicious Kona Coffee Swirls (a blend of finely ground Kona Coffee with white and dark chocolate).  They literally melted on our tongues before we had a chance to chew and elicited a long, audible moan.  After rationing these little morsels for the past few months we finally depleted our supply.  In an attempt to quell my craving for the swirls, I picked up a bar of Green & Black’s Organic Espresso Dark Chocolate.  The chocolate was nothing like the swirls so I decided to find another use for it.  I chopped it up into chunks, added more chocolate and substituted it for regular chocolate chips in my variation on the Neiman Marcus chocolate chip cookie recipe.  While they don’t compare to the legend of the swirls, they are super tasty in their own right. 

These are great served with espresso or cappuccino after dinner, or served with little shots of milk and coffee for an afternoon book club meeting.  They are also really portable so they would be perfect for a BBQ or picnic.

Espresso Chocolate Chunk Cookies

½ C. (1 stick) butter, softened

1 C. light brown sugar

3 Tbs. granulated sugar

1 large egg

2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

1 ¾ C. all purpose flour

½ tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. baking soda

¼ tsp. salt

3.5oz bar Green & Black’s organic espresso dark chocolate, chopped
3.5oz bar 60% dark chocolate, chopped

1.       Preheat oven to 300 degrees.  Cream softened butter with the sugars using an electric mixer on medium speed until fluffy.  Scrape down sides as needed.  Beat in the egg and vanilla extract for another 30 seconds.

2.       In a mixing bowl, sift together the dry ingredients.  Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture, beating at a low speed for about 15 seconds.  Stir in the chopped chocolates.

3.       Using a 1 ounce scoop or a 2 Tbs. measure, drop cookie dough onto ungreased cookie sheet about 3 inches apart.  Gently press down on the dough with the back of a spoon to spread out into a 2 inch circle.  For a chewier cookie, bake for about 20 minutes or until very slightly browned around the edges.  Bake a little longer for a crispier cookie (about 25 minutes).  Cool on cookie sheet for 2 minutes and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.  Store in an air-tight container for up to 4 days.

• To keep your cookies moist and chewy put a piece of bread in with the cookies.  It sounds odd, but it works.
  
  If you are interested in the Kona Coffee Swirls, you can purchase them online ($26 for an 8oz box) at: http://nisbet.net/mivastore/merchant.mvc?Screen=PLST&Store_Code=kcc 

  Check out other great recipes at:
  http://expatriateskitchen.blogspot.com/2008/06/recipe-carnival-for-june-9.html

  Check out the Coffee and Tea Festival Carnival, where this recipe is featured:
  http://blog.cafeevoke.com/2009/02/coffee-and-tea-festival_20.html