Mocha Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies

For those of you who follow CWW on Facebook, you might remember that a few nights ago, I posted a link directly to another blog, for a fabulous cookie recipe. I saw the recipe first thing on the morning on her blogs Facebook page and decided I had to make the cookies, right then and there. While I was out and about running errands, I picked up the butter and Andes mints, since those were the only two ingredients I needed. Then I came straight home to mix up the cookie batter and chill it, so I could bake them later in the evening! Man, what all around good life choices. These are probably some of the best cookies I've ever had. Chewy for days, soft, and full of mint and coffee flavors, these things are addicting! I realized after a couple days of scarfing several down a day, that the coffee was winding me up and keeping me up late. So I realized that next time I make these, I need to make sure to eat them earlier in the day so I'm not losing any sleep. But other than that little side effect, these cookies are beautiful. All my favorite flavors in one place, in the chewiest cookie recipe I've ever made!

Baking Notes: I didn't change a thing because I knew going in these would be perfect cookies. If anything, I made them a little smaller so I could have more to last longer! I also chopped my own Andes mint bars, since I couldn't find the baking chips at the grocery store.

Mocha Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies (adapted from Sally's Baking Addiction; makes 3-4 dozen)
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp cornstarch
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tbsp instant coffee
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted
3/4 cup light brown sugar, loosely packed
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 egg yolk
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups Andes mint bars, chopped

Toss together the flour, baking soda, cornstarch, salt, cocoa powder, and instant coffee in a large bowl. Set aside. In a medium size bowl, whisk together the melted butter, brown sugar and white sugar until no brown sugar lumps remain. Whisk in the egg then the egg yolk. Finally, whisk in the vanilla. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix together with a rubber spatula to create a very soft dough. Fold in chopped Andes mint pieces, evenly dispersing. Cover the dough and chill for at least 1 hour.

Once dough has chilled sufficiently, take it out of the refrigerator and allow it to soften to room temperature for 10 minutes. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside. Roll the dough into balls, with about 1 to 1 1/2 tbsp of dough each. The dough will be crumbly, but your hands will warm it up and help it stick together. Roll the cookie dough balls to be taller rather than wide, to ensure thick cookies. Put 9-12 balls of dough onto each cookie sheet. Bake for 11-12 minutes--cookies will look soft and underbaked (bake longer for crispier cookie). Allow to sit on cookie sheet for another 10 minutes after removing from the oven, so they continue to cook. Once 10 minutes are up, transfer to a wire rack to complete cooling. Serve with milk!

Recipe: Sally's Baking Addiction: Mocha Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies