A Coffee and Cookie Stop

 REINDEER BAR

A mid-morning stop at the Reinder Bar to celebrate National Cookie Day is a must!

A warm-up with a cup of hot Mexican Coffee pairs perfectly with cookies.  

Mexican Coffee

The recipe is from The San Antonio Tex-Mex Cookbook

A little Kalhua and cinnamon turn regular coffee into a fiesta in a cup

Ingredients:

• 1-1/2 oz Kahlua or other coffee liqueur
• 1 cup fresh brewed coffee
• 1 tablespoon whipped cream
• A dash of cinnamon
• Garnish cinnamon sticks

Directions:

• Combine coffee liqueur and coffee
• Top with whipped cream
• Sprinkle a dash of cinnamon

Today, there were choices on the cookie tray. I picked a Mexican Wedding Cookie  also known as Snowball Cookie or Russian Tea Cake and a Dark Chocolate Kiss 

The recipe for the Russian Tea cookies was previously posted  https://sockfairies.blogspot.com/2014/06/a-june-wedding.html  

Bake cookies at 350 degrees. 

This was a new recipe posted in Southern Living's December 2024 issue that I gave to the cook at the Reindeer Bar. The cookie is a brownie bite with a crunch. They were a hit, and the tray had to be replenished several times. 

Chocolate Kiss Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup softened butter
• 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar 
• 1 large egg at room temperature
• 2 tablespoons half-and-half
•  2 teaspoons vanilla extract
•  2 cups flour
•  1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa (Hershey Dark Chocolate was used) 
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
•  1/2 teaspoon salt
•  32 unwrapped milk chocolate kisses 
• Jinglr mix nonpareils

Directions:

• In a small bowl, place jingle mix nonpareils. You will use the full bottle. 
• Whisk together flour, cocoa powder, salt, and baking soda in a small bowl. Set aside.
• Cream together butter and sugars until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the egg, extract, and half and half. Mix well. 
• Add flour mixture to the creamed mixture on low speed just to combine.
• Chill the dough for 30 minutes. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and preheat oven to 375 degrees. 
• Flour hands and roll dough into 2-inch balls. Roll in jingle mix. Bake for 7 minutes. Add chocolate kisses, pressing slightly into the dough, and bake for 1 minute more. 
• Cool cookies on a wire rack.