Spiked Cookies

These were supposed to be spiked coffee cookies, but it turned out that I didn't have any kahlua in the house so I used the Caramel Irish Cream I had on hand instead. They were also only supposed to have a 1/4 cup of liqueur in them, but I misread the amount and used 1/2 a cup. And last, they were supposed to have a chocolate liqueur glaze on them, but I skipped that part because they looked perfect fresh from the oven.

Despite all of these things, these were very good cookies with a great soft and chewy texture. While they are still warm from the oven the Irish Cream smell and flavor is almost overwhelming -- in fact, Chris didn't even like them that much since he's not a huge fan of Irish Cream. However, once they cooled completely and sat for a few hours, the smell and flavor of the Irish Cream settled down and melded perfectly with the chocolate in the cookies.

One day I might get around to using kahlua in these, but in the meantime Irish Cream works great in them too. I think I would also continue to skip the glaze, but if I decided not to glaze them, I would definitely roll the cookie dough in sugar before baking them -- making them more like an Irish Cream Chocolate Snap -- only soft and chewy of course. I'm not sure how much of a difference the extra 1/4 cup of liqueur made in the texture and flavor, but it worked out okay with the extra in there, so I would be highly tempted to add the extra the second time around too.





Ingredients:
3/4 cups (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup coffee liqueur (or Irish Cream, Godiva?, ???)
1 large egg
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp espresso powder
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 3/4 cup unbleached all purpose flour

Glaze
1 cup chocolate chips
6 tbsps heavy cream
1 tbsp coffee liqueur

Preheat the oven to 350 and line baking sheets (I used insulated sheets) with parchment or silpats.

Cream the butter and brown sugar in the bowl of a mixer until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and beat until well combined and fluffy. Add the liqueur and blend well.

In a separate bowl combine the dry ingredients, then add them to the wet, blending just until the flour disappears into the liquid.

Bake 12 minutes until the cookies have spread and look done in the middle. Remove from the oven and let cool on the cookie sheets until then move to a cooling rack.

To make the glaze, melt the chocolate chips in the microwave for a minute, then stir until the lumps are gone. Stir in the heavy cream and liqueur and spread on the cooled cookies.