Chocolate Cookies for Santa
Just like many families across the country, Nicholas and I will be leaving cookies for Santa on Christmas Eve. Nicholas loves to make cookies, and any excuse will do. Santa’s hungry? Let’s get cooking. As soon as he hears me in the kitchen, he comes running in, drags the stepstool over to the counter and exclaims, “I want to help! I want to help!” He loves being in the kitchen and since he spends so much time in there with me, he’s actually proving to be quite a big helper.
Santa actually called Nicholas last Thursday, via a really cool service that I found, Santa Speaking. You fill out a form online, detailing your child’s likes and dislikes, what he/she wants for Christmas, members of the family and what they need to work on (i.e., cleaning their room). It is a live person that calls and he held a rather lengthy conversation with Nicholas, hitting all the points on the form I submitted. It was the coolest thing ever. You can also opt to receive a CD recording of your little one’s call with Santa, which is just the cherry on the top. I think it will be great to have a CD for every year, pulling them out when Nicholas is older, to reminisce.
Santa asked Nicholas if he could leave him something to eat on Christmas Eve, because he was going to be awfully hungry. Nicholas said he would, and Santa asked what kind of cookies he’d be leaving him. He was very happy to hear “chocolate.” After much deliberation and taste testing from my Baking Blitz this weekend, Nicholas has decided that we’ll be making Mocha Truffle Cookies. The recipe could not be simpler to make and I bet Santa will be thrilled with their fudgy, chocolatey goodness.
Yield: 3 dozen
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips
- 1 tablespoon instant espresso
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 cups flour, all-purpose
- 1/2 cup cocoa
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup chocolate chips
Melt butter and 1/2 cup chocolate chips. Add instant coffee and blend well. Allow to cool for 5 minutes. Add sugars, eggs, and vanilla to coffee mixture. Add dry ingredients. Stir in 1 cup chocolate chips. Drop by tablespoon on greased cookie sheets. Bake at 350 degrees for exactly 10 minutes. Do not overbake.
Notes: An excellent, devoured, tried-and-true for us. Make sure to not go past the 10 minute baking time — very important. Tastes great warm from the oven.
