Recipe - Espresso Pretzels

Parchment paper; for lining
baking sheets
1 One half cup Allpurpose flour
1 tablespoon Finely ground espresso beans
1 teaspoon Unsweetened cocoa powder
One fourth teaspoon Salt
One half cup Unsalted butter; softened
One half cup Sugar
1 lg Egg white
4 ounce Finequality bittersweet
chocolate; (not
unsweetened)

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F and line 2 large baking sheets with
parchment paper.

2. In a bowl stir together flour, ground espresso beans, cocoa powder and
salt. In another bowl with an electric mixer at low speed beat butter until
just smooth. Add sugar and beat until creamy. Beat in egg white, scraping
down side of bowl with a rubber spatula occasionally. Gradually beat in
flour mixture until dough forms.

3. Form a level teaspoon of dough into a ball and with your fingertips roll
back and forth on a work surface to form a 6inchlong rope. Form rope into
a simple pretzel shape on baking sheet (2 loops with ends meeting in
center). Make more cookies in same manner and arrange about One half inch apart.

4. Bake cookies in batches in lower third of oven until firm when lightly
touched, 12 to 15 minutes. Cool cookies on baking sheets on racks 5 minutes
and transfer with a spatula to racks to cool completely.

5. Chop chocolate and in a double boiler or a metal bowl set over a
saucepan of barely simmering water melt chocolate, stirring until smooth.
Transfer chocolate to a pastry bag fitted with a #3 plain tip (slightly
smaller than
1/8 inch).

6. Pipe thin lines of chocolate over pretzels in a back and forth motion to
form stripes. Let chocolate set 30 minutes at cool room temperature.
Cookies keep, layered between sheets of wax paper in an airtight container
and chilled, 5 days.

Makes about 60 cookies.

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Busted by Barb on 2/21/98

NOTES : Gourmet magazine's Sara Moulton brought in these awesome holiday
cookies.

Recipe by: Gourmet magazine

Posted to MCRecipe Digest by "abprice@wf.net" abprice@wf.net on Mar 22,
1998