Mocha Sables

This morning I woke up an hour earlier than I needed to. Wondering what to do with my morning, my mind wandered to baking and all the lovely recipes I have collected and not yet tried. I made some tea and flipped through my recipe binder and this one stuck out to me because of the short ingredient list and the quick prep time. I knew they would be good but these little gems blew me away! Anna Olson is amazing and I try to catch her Food Network (Canada) TV show "Sugar" as much as I can.

I have decided to participate in Cookbook Sundays with Brenda's Canadian Kitchen. Just like Magazine Mondays with Creampuffs in Venice, this group tries to bake its way through books/magazines that you own but have yet to use. What a great idea - it will give me incentive to actually bake from my existing cookbook collection before buying MORE books, lol.

The cookies are light, crisp with strong coffee flavor. The granulated sugar they are rolled in after baking adds a nice crunch and hit of sweetness. These are the kind of cookie you could nibble on all day long. The photo does not do these cookies justice. You've gotta try them and I promise you will be pleasantly surprised.

Mocha Sables
Adapted from "Sugar" by Anna Olson

1 cup butter
1/2 cup icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup espresso or 2 1/2 tsp instant coffee powder in 1/4 cup hot water
2 1/4 cups flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 tsp salt
icing sugar for rolling and granulated sugar for dusting

1) Cream together butter and icing sugar until fluffy.
2) Add in vanilla and cooled espresso.
3) Sift together flour, cocoa and salt. Add to creamed butter mixture.
4) On a surface dusted with icing sugar, shape the dough into 2 logs, approximately 1 1/2 inch in diameter.
5) Cover and refrigerate until fully chilled (or freeze if you want to bake them at a later date).
6) Remove chilled dough and slice into 1/4 inch thick slices and place on baking tray. These do not spread so they can be placed quite close together.
7) Bake at 325 degrees F for 15-20 minutes.
8) In a bowl filled with sugar, toss warm cookies to coat. *To make sure the sugar sticks you need to work quickly while the cookies are still hot/warm.