Caffeinated Chocolate Cookies

I was recently in the mood to make something simple with things that I already had in my home.  Luckily, I was going through my “reader” here on WordPress and came across domestic diva, M.D.’s blog.  She had recently posted a recipe for caffeinated chocolate pecan balls.  I instantly fell in love and said I needed to make these ASAP.  Below is my take on her awesome recipe.  I only changed a few things.

• Ingredients:
• 2 sticks softened butter (I zapped mine for 15 seconds)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 1 and 3/4 cups flour
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder (I used dutch-processed)
• 1 tablespoon instant espresso powder (this is the money-maker)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups chopped pecans I hate pecans so instead I put a splash of Kahlua in there for some extra flavor
• Cooking spray

1. Mix together butter, sugar, and vanilla in a large mixing bowl
2. Add in the rest of the ingredients and stir until well-combined.  Pat down, cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and chill for at least 1 hour (I chilled mine overnight since I fell asleep hehe)

Your mixture should look something like this:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F
2. Coat cookie sheets (I ended up using 2) with cooking spray
3. While the oven is preheating, remove cookie dough from the fridge.  Roll dough into teaspoon-sized balls.  Place onto cookie sheets 2 inches apart (they expand, so make sure you do this)
4. Bake cookies for 12-15 minutes or until the cookies just feel firm.  Mine took 14 minutes total.  Let cool and serve.

They came out looking like this:

I changed the name of my version to Caffeinated Chocolate Cookies because when mine were firm, they resembled cookies instead of balls (go ahead, laugh).  They are super-yummy!  You will not like these if you dislike coffee, though.  The coffee flavor is pretty intense but not to the point that you would rather drink an actual cup of coffee.  I don’t think mine look too appetizing but trust me, they’re extremely tasty and very, very easy to make!

Thank you, domestic diva M.D.!