Espresso Cookies

Mmmm coffee. Oddly enough, I'm not a huge coffee drinker. I allow myself Starbucks on Friday mornings and on the weekends. If I didn't, I'd be broke and probably a wee bit heavier. I do love me a grande iced skinny caramel latte though (or whatever order you are supposed to put the words in. I always get confused at that part.) They are only 80 calories for a grande (60 for a tall and 110 for a venti) so I'm a sucker for them. I also love anything coffee flavored. Coffee ice cream is probably my favorite.

People in my office though? They love coffee. Some don't even take lunch, just coffee all day. Crazy huh? so when it came time for said person's birthday, I knew just what to make. And believe me, these babies will make your heart race with the amount of caffeine in them! Just ask the birthday boy.

First I creamed the sugar, butter and cream cheese. Look at all that sugar! You know it's going to be good now!

I mixed the dry ingredients and added them to the creamed sugar and eggs.

They weren't kidding when they said the batter would be very thick! I added the chocolate chips and espresso beans. I think chopping them was the hardest part. Espresso beans can be quite tough, who knew?!

I baked them for 8 minutes at 350F. When they came out and cooled, they were soft and pillowy due to the cream cheese and cornstarch. You can almost feel how soft they are in the picture.

So people have asked me if I'm going to focus on having a healthy blog or just a baking blog and the answer is both. When I'm not baking for a special occasion (specifically birthdays), I will be focused on keeping my desserts and goodies as healthy as possible since that's the type of lifestyle I live. Because I love birthdays so much and truly believe that everyone should have a special day that's is "theirs" I like to focus on making things that people like. 

My tastes are so different from most people, I don't want to force what I like upon others but if I can give people other options, I'm all for that. I'm not here to have a specific type of blog, just something that documents what I'm learning and how my progression is going. I hope this answers some of your questions!

 

Recipe

Curly Girl Kitchen

Ingredients
4 ounces low-fat cream cheese, softened
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped chocolate-covered espresso beans
1/2 cup bittersweet chocolate chips or chunks
18 whole chocolate-covered espresso beans

Preheat the oven to 350 F.  In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese, butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar on medium speed until smooth and creamy, about 5 minutes.  Scrape the bowl down and beat in the egg and vanilla.

In a separate bowl, combine the flour, cornstarch, baking soda and salt.  Add the flour mixture to the mixing bowl in spoonfuls, mixing on low until combined.  Stir in the chopped chocolate-covered espresso beans and chocolate chips.  Batter will be very thick.

Scoop rounded tablespoons onto a baking sheet lined with a silpat or parchment paper, spacing them 2 inches apart.  Place a whole espresso bean on half the cookies.  Bake for 8 - 8 1/2 minutes, just until pale golden.   Cool for 1 minute on the baking sheet then cool completely on a wire rack.