Salted Dark Chocolate Espresso Cookies

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I think this has been my new year's resolution every year... but once again, it's to update this blog more often!  Honestly, 2012 just flew by and I can't believe it's already 2013 today!  Hope everyone had a great holiday and we'll have select photos from the Farrell's California Christmas posted soon.

This is probably not a surprise but Michael and I rang in the new year with food!  I spent this cold and overcast new year's day being lazy and catching up on our pile of magazines from last month.  Fortunately a recipe for baked beans caught my eye in this month's Food & Wine.  And since no one questions a pregnant lady's cravings, Michael made us an amazing hamburger with baked beans and salad for the first day of the new year!

Impressive, right?!?!  And yes, it was as delicious as it looks!  Mmmmm...

Of course, this meant that I had to make an equally impressive new year's day dessert!  I meant to try these salted dark chocolate espresso cookies for the cookie swap last month, but ran out of time.  Fortunately, that meant that I had all the ingredients already!  Plus, it was the first time that I got to use coconut oil, which is supposed to be healthier than butter... perfect for starting out the new year on a healthy note!

Healthy coconut oil.  Healthy dark chocolate.  Everything's healthy in moderation, right?  Right.

INGREDIENTS
6 oz good quality unsweetened chocolate
4 oz Ghirardelli 60% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate Chips
¼ cup coconut oil (I used Trader Joe's organic brand)
⅓ cup all-purpose flour
¼ tspn baking powder
¼ tspn salt
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1⅓ cups sugar
1½ tspn instant espresso powder (I used Folger's instant coffee)
1 tspn vanilla extract
smoked sea salt flakes (I used kosher salt)

1. Finely chop 6 oz unsweetened chocolate and set in a double boiler over simmering water with the coconut oil. Stirring constantly, melt. Once melted, remove from heat, set aside, and let cool to room temperature.

2. In a bowl, whisk to combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

3. In a mixer bowl with the paddle attachment, combine the eggs, sugar, espresso powder, and vanilla extract. Beat on medium high for about 5-7 minutes, until pale and fluffy and the batter drops off the beaters in a thick ribbon. Fold in the flour mixture, followed by the cooled melted chocolate mixture. Fold in the chocolate chips. Cover and chill until firm, about 1 hour. (Or chill in the freezer for about 30 minutes.)

4. Preheat oven to 350° F. On lined or greased cookie sheets, drop 1 to 1½-inch balls of dough, leaving about 2 inches between each ball. Sprinkle the dough balls with salt flakes.

5. Bake the sheets one at a time for 10 to 14 minutes, rotating once half-way through baking. The centers should still be soft when you remove the pans from the oven. Let the cookies cool at least 5 minutes before enjoying hot, or store in air tight containers for about two days. Serve with a shot of milk.

TIP: Let batter sit out a little while after chilling - it makes it easier to roll into balls.  (Warning: Hands will get very chocolaty when rolling batter into balls.  It's messy!)