This is a tasty grown up cookie.  It has all the elements of a child’s cookie – but it has the unmistakable quality of an adult cookie.  The espresso in this coffee is wonderfully pronounced.  This is originally from a Dorie Greenspan cookie which – as you know, is one of my favorite Pastry Chef’s.  I have adapted it slightly, not because it needed it, but I either didn’t have the item required or didn’t read the steps entirely – you know, winging it.  The type of thing I preach to never do – baking is a science, not an art.

I was going into withdrawal from all the lack of sugared treats in the house.  I had been baking a lot of cakes for various birthdays, family gatherings and work events, but nothing that wasn’t for an occasion.  What better to give me my fix than a great cookie recipe?!  I know I would have all the major components to bake a cookie – flavorings maybe not, but always eggs, flour, butter, sugar.  When I saw this recipe, I knew I had to try it.  That’s where the Milo comes in.

At one of my evening classes at the PC Cooking School in Georgetown, I met a wonderful couple, he was from Australia and loved to cook.  We got to talking in the class and he mentioned Milo.  I knew of it, but never had it.  For clarification, Milo is a combination of malt and chocolate powder (if Ovaltine and Horlicks were to have a love child, Milo would be the result), that when added to milk or water results in a lovely, refreshing drink.  At the end of class, before I left the school, he bought and gave me a can of Milo.  I told him I would definitely use it in something cooking project – and of course have it in a drink.  So when I saw this recipe that called for malted milk powder – I was delighted.

The combination of malted milk and coffee is incredible and could only have been done so well in a recipe by Dorie Greenspan.  In this variation, in addition to the Milo, I also used Venezuelan dark chocolate in the center of some of the cookies as well as a piece on top of some I also did some without the chocolate.  I got 30 cookies using the purple handled scoop – 15 plain and 15 with dark chocolate.  I also made a batch of these (I’ve actually made these several times since the first batch pictured below) using a slice and bake method which gave me a total of about 60 smaller cookies, so both methods work – both are described below.  These are lovely cookies with an amazing taste.  Try them with or without (really?!) the chocolate.  As always – enjoy!

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
¼ cup Milo or malted milk powder (unflavored)
½ tsp baking powder
1 stick butter
½ cup white sugar
¼ cup brown sugar
1 ½ tbsps. instant espresso powder
½ tsp sea salt
1 egg and 1 egg yolk at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract

Combine the flour, milo, baking powder and espresso powder – whisk together, set aside
Using your stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugars on medium speed – about 3 minutes
Add the flour to the mixer and slowly pulse the mixture – careful, cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a towel to avoid a “flour shower”
Mix until combined
At this stage, you can use either of these methods
Method 1 – scoop the dough using the ice cream scoop, push a disc or piece of chocolate into the center of the cookie ball, roll to cover and place on a parchment lined baking sheet – you can also place a chocolate disc/piece on top of the cookie and flatten slightly
Bake at 350f for a total of about 15 minutes – rotating the pans at the 8 minute interval
Or
Method 2 – divide the dough in half, roll each half into a log about 1” diameter and refrigerate for about 30 minutes, remove from the fridge, slice into ¼” discs and spread onto a parchment lined baking sheet
Put a chocolate disc on top of half of the cookies and bake for 10 – 12 minutes at 350f – rotate the trays half way through baking
Remove from the oven when the cookies are done – let cool and devour (remember it is an “espresso” flavored cookie soif you are caffeine averse – not after 2:00 pm – okay!?)
As always – enjoy!