Espresso Pretzels
- Parchment paper for lining baking sheets
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon finely ground espresso beans
- 1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 large egg white
- 4 ounces fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened)
- Preheat oven to 325F.
- and line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.
- 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.
- Form a level teaspoon of dough into a ball and with your fingertips roll back and forth on a work surface to form a 6-inch-long 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 1/2 inch apart.
- 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.
- 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).
- 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.
baking sheets, flour, beans, cocoa, salt, unsalted butter, sugar, egg white, bittersweet chocolate
Taken from www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/espresso-pretzels-14534 (may not work)