Chocolate Cookies

These are "the cookies."

1-1/2 cups chocolate chips
2 ozs unsweetened chocolate
7 tbs butter
1 tsp coffee powder
1 tsp vanilla
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
½ cup flour
½ tsp baking powder
1-1/2 cups milk chocolate chips

1. Melt chips, unsweetened chocolate, and butter in double boiler. Remove and set aside to cool.

2. Stir coffee powder and vanilla together until dissolved. Beat eggs and sugar. Add vanilla-coffee mixture. Add melted chocolate mixture.

3. Whisk flour and baking powder together. Fold flour mixture and additional chocolate chips into batter. Let stand for 20 mins until batter firms up. (Looks like brownie batter).

4. Roll cookies into 1 tbs balls. Bake 350 F for 11 to 14 mins.

Nutcups

These are pretty much my favorite Christmas cookie that my mom makes. It really isn't even a cookie, but it is oh so delicious. It is like a small pecan pie but with a better filling to crust ratio. It is a little bit of a tedious process to make 4 dozen mini 'pies' shaping each one in a mini muffin tin but it is so worth it. The dough is a super simple cream cheese dough and can be made in advanced and left in the fridge for a few days. For a savory alternative skip the sweet filling and instead make mini quiches, caramelized onion tarts, or what ever else you can think of.

The Dough:

2 cups flour

1 cup butter/marg.

1 8 oz. cream cheese

Sift flour. Blend butter and cream cheese together. Blend into flour. Shape into ball, Wrap in wax paper, Chill.

The Filling:
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
2 T melted butter
1 1/2 cups chopped pecans or walnuts
1/4 t vanilla

Beat eggs, add sugar, melted butter. Stir in nuts and vanilla.

The Process:
Preheat oven to 375.

Divide dough into 4 parts. Work with 1 section at a time and refrigerate rest. Roll into 1 foot log. Cut into 12 equal parts and make each into a ball. Press each ball into a mini muffin pan cup (here is where my mom uses a fancy pampered chef tool, but I have found that a champagne cork also works well).

Fill each 1/2 full with nut mixture. Bake 20 min until golden brown. Cool 2 min then remove from pan, put on their bottoms on wire rack to cool. Continue with each 1/4 until done.

Makes 4 dozen. Best when eaten warm.