College Candy

So, I wouldn’t necessarily advocate this, but if you want to eat a cookie for breakfast, this is totally the cookie to go for. It has a serving of healthy (flour), a serving of delicious (chocolate), and a serving of WAKE UP (instant coffee). Really, to be honest, there’s nothing better.

Here’s what you need: ¼ c brown sugar, 3 tablespoons of soft unsalted butter, 1 egg yolk, ¼ teaspoon of vanilla, just under ½ c flour, 2 teaspoons of instant espresso powder (woo-hoo!), ¼ teaspoon of baking soda, 1/8 teaspoon of baking powder, a sprinkle of salt, 1 tablespoon of milk, and 2-3 tablespoons of chopped chocolate. Chopped chocolate—not chocolate chips, so don’t even think about trying to substitute. The real deal makes all the difference.

This makes six nice-sized cookies, by the way.

First, warm your oven to 350. Then use an electric mixer (or do it by hand if you must, but a mixer is better for this recipe) to combine the sugar and butter until it’s creamy. Beat in the egg yolk and the vanilla, then add the flour, espresso powder, baking soda, baking powder, and sprinkle of salt. The dough will likely be a little thick and floury, so mix in the milk to help smooth it out (adding a little more than 1 tablespoon is okay if it’s really thick). Finally, stir in the chopped pieces of chocolate (they should be approximately chocolate-chip sized, or a little smaller).

Grease a baking sheet, coat it with parchment paper, or spray it with cooking spray, then divide the dough into six parts and place each part on the sheet. Press the top of each cookie down with your fingers just a tiny bit—not enough to completely flatten it. Then bake those puppies for about 12 minutes. Bite into a warm one, and experience mocha heaven!