Saturday, January 28, 2012

Recipe: Mocha Rounds


The girls within my family have an annual Cookie Exchange each year.  The gathering has been a tradition since before I was born, and continues with each generation.  It is with each cookie exchange that I have garnered my love for baking and learned to perfect my grandmother's recipes.  I'll continue to share these timeless recipes over the course of the year. P.S.- If you haven't visited Sara on Twirly Girl yet, go check out her blog where I shared this recipe in a guest post!

Mocha Rounds
1 tbsp. milk (warmed)
1 ½ tsp. instant espresso powder
1 cup sugar
1 cup butter, softened
1 egg
2 1 oz. squares semi-sweet baking chocolate, melted
2 ½ cups flour
2 tsp. cinnamon
¼ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt

Coating
4 (1 oz.) squares white baking chocolate, melted
6 tsp. shortening
4 (1 oz.) semi-sweet baking chocolate, melted





Combine milk and espresso powder in small bowl. Let stand for 5 minutes.

Sift flour, cinnamon, baking powder and salt. Set aside. 

Beat sugar and butter in large mixing bowl at medium speed until creamy, scraping bowl often. Add milk mixture, egg and 2 oz. melted chocolate; continue beating until well mixed.  Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture in 3 portions; beat until well mixed. 

Divide dough in half. Shape each half into 7-inch long roll.  Wrap each roll in wax paper and refrigerate until firm (1 to 2 hours). 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Cut rolls into ¼-inch slices with a sharp knife. Place 1 inch apart on cookie sheets lined in parchment paper.  Bake for 10 minutes or until set. Cool completely.

Microwave white baking chocolate and 3 teaspoons shortening in microwave-safe bowl for 1 minute, or until melted and smooth.  Dip cookies halfway into melted white baking chocolate. Place on cooking rack (put wax or parchment paper underneath the cooling racks to avoid a mess). Allow the cookies to set until coating is firm, about 30 minutes.

Microwave semi-sweet baking chocolate and the remaining 3 teaspoons of shortening in microwave-safe bowl for 1 minute, or until melted and smooth.  Dip cookies halfway in chocolate, so the semi-sweet chocolate overlaps the white chocolate.  Place on cooling rack and allow coating to become firm.


Note: Shaping the dough into a log was more difficult than I imagined.  To get a nice, round cookie you will need to shape each cookie before putting in the oven.  Baking time will vary depending on oven and your preference.  My adapted recipe calls for 10 minutes, which results in soft, chewy cookies.  For biscotti-esque cookies, bake for a few minutes more.  



No comments:

Post a Comment