espresso spice cookies
aka a gingerbread latte, cooling, sorry for the delay it was inevitable
ahoy!
Is that land I see? I’m adrift in black coffee waves of networking events, free water bottles of varying quality, and the federal rules of civil procedure. My ship is built of cheese sticks from the school vending machine and $400 casebooks. If I could send a bird to shore to bring back a twig it would inevitably come back wearing the singular business formal outfit I own (I am washing it often, but probably not as much as you’d like). What’s a girl to do?
Currently, a girl is to make cookies that are warmly spiced with the all-too-familiar coffee bitterness. She’s probably to roll them in turbinado sugar for crispy and crackly tops. I’ll stop with this sentence structure now, for both of our sakes, but just understand that these are good, I guess.
Well, not much has happened since I’ve been gone. Surely the state of affairs is no more dismal than before? Democracy intact, all systems a go, etc. etc.? If for some reason you’re feeling like you could use a warm hug, could I suggest this cookie? It’s easy and you don’t have to dig out your mixer.
Alternatively, you could come to Chicago and stand under the bean and contemplate infinite versions of yourself, or you could eat what I have determined to be the best doughnut I’ve had (outside of my last chef’s noodling around for staff meal) in quite some time. I ate the whole thing, which I actually almost never do with pastries, because I am an asshole and I prefer salt.
Or, you could go to the cultural center and take a peek at the rotunda and mosaics, find your zodiac sign and watch them set up a wedding underneath. I like to be reminded of my sign because in the nerdiest way you could imagine, whenever I’m nervous, I’ll think “shut up, you’re a sagittarius” and move on from there. That’s a deep dark secret you get from me because of my absence, and I hope you take this nugget of wisdom and hold it near to your heart.
If none of that works, may I suggest Nepalese food? You could bring a family friend who still speaks some Nepali from his time over 30 years ago in the Peace Corps, and if you do, you can watch the server’s astounded face as he asks what’s good.
espresso spice cookies
makes 12-14 cookies, adapted from nyt
3/4 cup unsalted butter (168g)
2 tablespoons espresso powder (10g)
2 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg (preferably freshly grated from a whole nutmeg)
1/4 teaspoon ground clove
1/2 cup granulated sugar (100g)
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar (107g)
1/4 cup molasses (80g)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract (or you can use rum - rum rum not rum extract)
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups all-purpose flour (252g)
for rolling sugar
1/4 cup turbinado or granulated sugar
2 teaspoons espresso powder
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
directions
Melt butter in medium saucepan. When it melts and begins to bubble, pour into a medium bowl and immediately whisk in espresso powder, ground ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. Let cool for about 10 minutes.
Add sugars, molasses and salt and whisk well to really combine. Add egg, vanilla and baking soda and whisk well until mixture is smooth and thin (a minute or two). Add flour and stir until evenly combined. Press plastic wrap into the surface and chill for at least two hours.
Heat oven to 375F. Line a baking sheet or two with parchment. Combine rolling sugar ingredients in a small bowl. Using a 2-tablespoon scoop, portion cookie dough and roll each in the sugar mixture. Place at least two inches apart on baking sheets and bake, rotating once halfway through, for about 10 minutes, until the edges have set but the centers are still puffy (they’ll fall when they cool).
Let cool (at least a little) and enjoy. Shaped cookies can be frozen and baked directly from the freezer - they’ll just take a little longer.
side notes
new fave mug (yes sorry after this I will take a break from telling you to get into jacqueline novak)
