Grandma’s Chocolate Butterball Cookies

I think everyone’s grandma has a version of these simple chocolate fudge cookies, but the holidays just aren’t the same without them. They’re like eating hot chocolate in cookie form, and much like my brownie recipe, they’re simple enough that you can do a lot with them.

Ingredients:
1 c. butter
1/2 c. sugr
2 tsp. vanilla
1/4 c. cocoa
1 3/4 c. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp instant coffee (optional)
2 c. finely chopped nuts (optional)
powdered sugar for dusting or glaze (optional)

As you can see, there’s a lot of optional stuff with these. Everyone in my family makes them just a little bit differently, but I’m not going to lie… mine are the best. Here are my two favorite varieties:

Pre-heat the oven to 325 degrees F. Cream the butter, sugar, and vanilla in a medium sized bowl. In a separate bowl, combine flour, cocoa, and salt.

Now, if you plan to use the instant coffee, add that to the dry ingredients as well. (When I add coffee to the recipe, I like to use a hazelnut variety for a chocolatey, hazelnutty, nutella-y flavor.)

Gradually add the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture, but don’t overmix. If it seems wet and buttery, add a little more flour to stiffen it up. If the dough is too wet, they’ll spread like a regular cookie instead of keeping their ball shape. (If you want to add nuts, now would be the time to fold them in. I like hazelnuts or walnuts to complement the nutty coffee flavor.)

Roll the dough into 1-inch balls, again not handling them too much or they’ll spread. Bake for 15 minutes on an ungreased cookie sheet, until slightly dry and cracked on the outside. Remove from pan immediately.

The cookies may be served plain, rolled in powdered sugar, or frosted with a chocolate glaze made of powdered sugar, cocoa, and hot water. Favorite variety number 2, I’ll ditch the coffee and nuts and add a little peppermint extract to the glaze for a pepperminty chocolate taste. They’re amazing.

My aunt makes teeny tiny cookies, since people just pop them in their mouths by the handful no matter how big you make them. My mom likes to toss in chocolate chips or mini M&Ms. I like the hazelnut and peppermint variety. Whatever you decide to do with them, you’ll probably want to make a double batch!