Mocha Orange Cookies
Makes 5 to 6 dozen 2" cookies
Some folks think of cookies as the kiddie version of dessert. Of all the different sweet ways you can finish a meal, cookies seem negligible somehow in comparison to a cake or pie, and downright callow next to a mousse or soufflé. This perception is compounded by the common tendency to adorn cookies with icing and itsy-bitsy colored candies in the shapes of cars or shamrocks or dinosaurs. This sort of thing works against cookies, making them seem frilly and out of their depth when compared to other desserts.
For those of you who love cookies but long for something more adult, Mocha Orange Cookies are just the ticket. They are profoundly chocolatey, but not cloyingly sweet. The flavors complement each other: chocolate tempered by coffee, coffee sparked by orange, orange given gravity and depth by chocolate. In short, these are sophisticated cookies, perfectly suitable for serving to people in tuxedos and rustling silk gowns. Failing that, serve them to your family and friends.
2 sticks (8 ozs.) unsalted butter
3 cups (1 lb., 2 ozs.) bittersweet chocolate chips, divided
2 Tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons instant coffee crystals
1 cup (8 ozs.) packed brown sugar
1 2/3 cups (12 1/4 ozs.) sugar
4 large eggs
2 Tablespoons pure orange extract
4 cups (1 lb.) all-purpose flour
2/3 cup (2 ozs.) unsweetened cocoa
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
-- Over low heat, melt together the butter and 1 cup only of the chocolate chips. Remove from heat, stir in instant coffee crystals, and allow to cool for 5 to 10 minutes.
-- Preheat oven to 350° and set oven racks at top and lower middle levels. Line with parchment paper or lightly grease two cookie sheets.
-- Stir both sugars, the eggs, and the orange extract into the chocolate mixture. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt. Stir this into the butter mixture, which will give you a very thick cookie dough. Fold in the remaining two cups of chocolate chips. Drop dough by rounded spoonsful (about 1 Tablespoon per cookie) onto prepared cookie sheets, placing 8 or 9 cookies on each sheet.
-- Place one cookie sheet on each oven rack. Bake at 350° for 6 to 8 minutes, then reverse the cookie sheets, putting the one from the top rack on the lower middle rack and vice versa. Bake for another 6 to 8 minutes, or cookies have puffed and only slightly spread.
-- Remove from heat and allow cookies to cool on cookie sheets for 1 minute before removing to wire racks to cool completely.
Storage
These cookies do not keep well -- they're best eaten the same day they're made. You can make the dough in advance and freeze it, though; just chill the dough in the fridge for 30 to 60 minutes, or until firm enough to handle, and form it into a log about 12" to 14" long. Lay it on a double thickness of waxed paper and wrap the waxed paper around it firmly, twisting the ends closed. Store the wrapped dough in an airtight container in the freezer up to 6 weeks. To bake the frozen dough, chop off pieces with a sharp knife and bake as indicated, adding about 2 minutes to the total baking time.
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