Post-Break-Up Cookies

A year and a couple of months ago my mom divorced her second husband. It was tough but good decision, and in the last year I've seen my mom come into herself as an artist and a independent person. Despite all claims of never wanting to be in a relationship again, about six weeks ago she found herself smitten with a new beau. Things were going well, but this was not a "forever" relationship, and  for a number of reasons she decided that it would be best if they stopped seeing one another. It's exciting and scary to see my mom dating - I don't want to see her hurt, I want to see her happy, and there have been some funny conversations regarding dating that I thought I'd have w/ my own teenagers (when I have them), not with my mom.

After she left her second husband, I sent her a care package of her favorite oatmeal cookies done two ways. This time I invented a new recipe just for her. Next to my and my sister (I hope), my mom's deepest loves are coffee and cookies. This recipe tries to combine her two favorite tastes in one easy-to-ship cookie. This recipe combines the nutty, carmel flavor of browned butter with coffee and chocolate. Now if only I can find a way to make them melt proof (AZ is currently rocking 98 degree days)....

Post-Break-Up Cookies (for a really Broken Heart, double recipe)

• 4 oz (1 stick) butter
• 100g (1/2 c) brown sugar
• 75 g (1/3 c) white sugar
• 1 egg
• 1-3Tbl instant espresso (I used Trader Joe's instant coffee) - amount depends on how intense you want the coffee flavor to be
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 120g (1 cup) flour. (dough will be soft, but if too soft, you can add more flour)
• 100g (1 1/4 c) rolled oats
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/8 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 bag of chocolate chips (I recommend Guittarrd 55% chocolate or stronger)

1. Cut 2 Tbl off stick of butter and put into a large bowl. Brown remaining butter over medium heat in a small saucepan. (Melt butter on stove and keep stirring it. It will get bubbly and start to brown after 4-5 min. You should be able to smell a nutty aroma as it browns. The trick is to keep stirring and give it a little bit of time once browning starts, but be careful not to burn it.) Pour browned butter over the 2Tbl of butter in bowl, stir to melt. Add sugar and stir for a few vigorous strokes (you want the sugar and butter to combine well). 
2. In a small prep bowl, combine egg and instant coffee/espresso and whisk. Add egg/coffee mixture to the butter sugar mixture and beat until the batter lightens a bit in color. You can use a hand held mixer for this, but I was able to beat the batter sufficiently by hand. 
3. In a separate bowl, combine flour, oats, salt, nutmeg, and baking soda. Stir to combine. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients in two steps. Mix enough to just combine the dry and wet (don't beat the dough to death, it'll make tough cookies - mix just enough to combine).
   
   
   
   
   

   Dough!

   From KellysIrishRed

   Stir in chocolate chips.
4. Wrap dough and refrigerate overnight (yes, overnight. Why? It allows the sugars to more fully dissolve, the gluten to develop every so slightly. The flavors blend together better and the texture is much improved.)
5. I made 12 medium-large cookies with this dough and baked them at 375 for 12 min. For smaller cookies, reduce cooking time to 8-10 min.

From KellysIrishRed

I only remembered to snap a cooked cookie photo minutes before devouring this last bite...