Hot Chocolate Shortbread Cookie

Ingredients:

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon finely ground coffee
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup almond flour
• 1/4 cup sugar, for dusting

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 dergees F. Line a baking sheet with a Sil-Pat or parchement paper.
2. In a large mixing bowl, beat together butter, brown sugar, vanilla, and almond extract until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes.. Add cocoa powder, cinnamon, salt, coffee, and cayenne pepper; mix until combined.
3. In a medium bowl, combine all-purpose flour and almond flour. Add flour mixture to butter mixture in 3 additions, mixing until just combined after each addition. Scrape sides of bowl as needed.
4. Portion dough by the tablespoonful onto the prepared baking sheet. Roll each portion into a ball, and then roll the ball in granulated sugar; place back on baking sheet. Use the bottom of a drinking glass to flatten the cookie dough balls.
5. Bake cookies for 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool on baking sheet for 2 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Notes:

The original recipe calls for a 1 hour minimum refrigeration time after you flatten the cookie dough balls. I was in a time crunch and didn't do this. The cookies still turned out great.

Source:  whitelightsonwednesday.com