They may not be the prettiest of cookies, but these White Chocolate Mocha Shortbread Hearts may just win you the undying affection of your coffee-loving Valentine. The recipe is just a basic shortbread which I tarted up with a few special things mixed in to give these cookies the not-too-sweet but rich and delicious taste of a classic coffee house drink. The idea came to me when I noticed I had an open bag of white chocolate chips leftover from Christmas. My choices were to 1) eat them or 2) invent a cookie, so I went with 2.
White Chocolate Mocha Shortbread Hearts
Makes 12 generously sized hearts, can easily be doubled
Ingredients:
1/2 cup softened butter
1/3 cup icing sugar
1 and a half teaspoons instant espresso powder or instant coffee, pushed through a strainer to make a fine powder
1 teaspoon cocoa powder
1/3 cup cornstarch
2/3 cup flour
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
How to:
Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Cream butter and sugar together. Mix in coffee powder and cocoa. Add cornstarch and flour and mix to combine. Stir in white chocolate chips and pull together to form into a ball. Squish flat, wrap in plastic and refrigerate 15-30 minutes. Unwrap, roll out to about 1/4 inch thick and cut your shapes, re-rolling scraps until you've used up all the dough. Bake on a parchment lined sheet pan for 18-20 minutes. There will be no browning, but the cookies will look matte and dry when they are done. Cool on a rack, sprinkle with icing sugar and enjoy.
Maybe I was just in the mood for cookies tonight, but: complex, delicious, and satisfying!
Posted by: David | February 04, 2009 at 10:17 PM