Whenever I am excited or happy about an upcoming event or activity, I have this habit of being super efficient and I get everything that I possibly need to do before said event done as soon as and as quickly as possible. I’ve always called this “pushing time” with the irrational logic of “If everything is done, the happy thing will happen sooner.” I’ve done this since I was a little girl, and then usually got so excited that I would make myself sick (I guess that sometimes still happens, with my propensity of getting migraines). But I digress.
So, I’m going on vacation this evening, and by Wednesday, I was done with everything (at least on a personal level; work I have less control over the deadlines). So last night I was twiddling my thumbs and making myself crazy, thus I decided to do something calming and well, yummy.
Ingredients
1 1/3 cups unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened dark cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon coffee extract
1 tablespoon instant espresso powder
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
about 50 Hershey’s Kisses (milk or dark), unwrapped (one bag will suffice)
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
1/2 cup butterscotch chips
1/4 cup butter, divided
Directions
Preheat oven to 375F. Line two cookie sheets with silpat or parchment paper.
In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter, sugar, eggs and then the vanilla and coffee extracts on medium-high speed for about a minute. Add cocoa powder, baking soda, espresso powder and salt. Beat until combined, scraping the sides of the bowl occasionally. Beat in the flour. Your dough should be at ball-rolling consistency at this point. If it’s not, let it chill in the refrigerator for a while to firm up a little. Once easily handled, roll dough into 1-inch balls.
Place balls 2 inches apart on your lined cookie sheets, and, using your thumb or the back of a 1/2 teaspoon measuring spoon, make an indentation in the center of each cookie. Bake for 7 to 8 minutes or until edges are firm.
Remove from the oven and immediately press a kiss into each cookie’s center. Do not touch the kisses from here on out until the cookies are completely cooled as they will turn into puddles. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely.
Once cookies have cooled complete, decorate with the white chocolate and butterscotch, one after the other. In a metal bowl over a pan of simmering water, combine white chocolate chips with 2 tablespoons of butter. Let melt completely. Pour into a large ziplock bag (or squeeze bottle with a fine tip). Cut a tiny hole in one corner of the bag and drizzle over the cookies. Repeat with the butterscotch chips and butter. Let harden completely before putting the cookies in an airtight container.
