Chocolate Dipped Coffee Cookies

I was at the grocery store today and thought... hmmm... I better pick up some veggies for Christmas Eve. Then I thought, well, maybe I could wait until the day is closer, you know, Christmas Eve. I went ahead and bought some asparagus. I came home from the market and I am unloading my groceries and a moment of panic... Oh my God... tomorrow IS Christmas Eve. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! My daughter, a very talkative three year old, keeps talking to me, in my panic. Ah! Um, honey Mommy is in time out, you can't talk to her right now. Why? Because I am about to have a melt down and I figure I will cut myself off at the pass and just put myself in timeout first.

Breathe... Lori... breathe... in and out. Do not deny the importance of this simple task... you know, breathing. Okay I am good. Thank you for allowing me this sound off.

Wow folks, where did the time go? I hope you all are ready.

Here is one of those cookies I just had to have this year. Coffee Cookies dipped in Chocolate. Fine Cooking had them in this months issue and I knew I had to make them. They are quite good. When you read the time for baking, it is not a mistake, they seriously take that long.

Chocolate Dipped Coffee Cookies
adapted from this recipe.

For the cookies:
8 oz. (1 cup) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 tsp. table salt
10 oz. (2-1/4 cups) unbleached all-purpose flour
2 Tbs. finely ground coffee, I used Starbucks, Italian Roast

For the dipping chocolate
9 oz. semisweet chocolate, chopped
1 Tbs. vegetable shortening

Line two baking sheets with parchment. Combine the butter, sugar, and salt in a stand mixer bowl (use the paddle attachment) or a large mixing bowl. Mix on low speed until the butter combines with the sugar, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the flour and ground espresso and mix on low speed, scraping the bowl frequently, until the dough has just about pulled together, about 3 minutes; don't overmix.

On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough to about 1/4 inch thick. Aim for a uniform thickness to ensure even baking. Using a round cookie cutter (or other), cut out shapes. Press the scraps together, roll them out, and cut out more cookies. If the dough becomes sticky, refrigerate it briefly. Arrange the cookies on two parchment-lined baking sheets and refrigerate until chilled, at least 20 minutes.

Position oven racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and heat the oven to 300° F. Bake the cookies until golden on the bottom and edges and pale to golden on top, 30 minutes to 1 hour. (After 15 minutes, swap the position of the baking sheets and rotate them 180 degrees for even baking.) If the cookies are done before 30 minutes, reduce the oven temperature to 275° F for the remaining batches; if they take longer than 1 hour, increase the temperature to 325° F.