Chocolate-Espresso Snowcap Cookies

I feel like I have been baking non-stop -- that's one reason I love this time of year!  I wanted to make cookies to bring to a friend's gathering this past weekend.  However, when I woke up to freezing rain (which persisted all day), I knew I wouldn't be making the trek to the grocery store (reason #1 I wish I had a car in this city).  I made due with what I had and found a cookie recipe that only called for 4 tablespoons of butter and 1 egg (since that's all I had) -- this awesome chocolate-espresso cookie.  Rich, chocolatey, chewy goodness.

One more thing -- I was out of milk so I substituted one tablespoon of milk for a heaping tablespoon of sour cream.... like I said, I had to make due with what I had!  Anyways, they still turned out great.

Chocolate-Espresso Snowcap Cookies

Source:  Martha Stewart, as found on Buns In My Oven

Prep time: 45 minutes  Total time:  1 hour 45 minutes

Yields: 18 cookies

Ingredients

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

4 teaspoons instant espresso

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/8 teaspoon salt

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

2/3 cup packed light-brown sugar

1 large egg

4 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, melted and cooled

1 tablespoon milk

1/ 2 cup confectioners' sugar, for coating

Directions

In a medium bowl, sift together flour, cocoa, espresso, baking powder, and salt. With an electric mixer, cream butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg until well combined; mix in cooled chocolate. With mixer on low, gradually add flour mixture; beat in milk until just combined. Flatten dough into a disk; wrap in plastic. Freeze until firm, about 45 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Pour confectioners' sugar (about 1/2 cup) into a medium bowl; working in batches, roll balls in sugar two times, letting them sit in sugar between coatings.

Place on prepared baking sheets, 2 inches apart. Bake until cookies have spread and coating is cracked, 12 to 14 minutes; cookies will still be soft to the touch. Cool cookies on a wire rack.