Espresso Chocolate Chip Shortbeard and the Hunger Games.
>> Monday 27 February 2012
Whenever I see the word 'shortbread', I giggle.
I do this because I think back to when I was at the Nook restaurant in Northern Ireland at the Giant's Causeway, my pal Samantha and I noticed that 'Shortbeard' was available on the menu.
Shortbread for me will now only ever equal shortbeard.
Say it with me now...shortbeard.
That will stick with you. I'm not even joking.
Ironically, I've also been reading The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. I completely enjoyed the book (and will be reading the complete trilogy), but found it comparable to a book I read a few years ago.. Battle Royale by Koushun Takami. (Which I loved.) Both are very good and definitely worthy of munching on some cookies while you await the fate of the characters!
I am a lazy baker sometimes. I'm pretty sure I've mentioned this before. I throw caution to the wind and improvise with ummmm..not rolling them out properly & not even using a mixer..or chilling them.. Improvisation usually works okay for cooking, but not necessarily so for baking. Suprisingly, these cookies managed quite well with my abuse and came out pretty darn perfect.
(borrowed from Smitten Kitchen)
1 tbsp boiling water
1 cup unsalted room temp butter
2/3 cup icing sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup store-bought mini chocolate chips
1. Dissolve the espresso in boiling water & let cool ..preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, beat butter & icing sugar together until the mixture is very smooth.
3. Add in the vanilla and espresso & mix again.
4. Add flour, mixing only until it is only mixed in, do not over mix.
5. Fold in the chocolate chips.
6. Chill the dough (I didn't do this) for a couple of hours
7. Roll out on even surface and cut into squares
8. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes. Remove from oven at timing as cookies will not brown, but stay relatively the same colour.
9. Transfer the cookies to a rack.
10. Let cookies cool before serving.
