1/2 pound butter room temperature

1 1/4 C sugar

1/4 C instant espresso powder

2 t vanilla

3 egg yolks

2 3/4 C flour

sugar to roll cookies

Combine the sugar, butter, and vanilla.  Whisk together the egg yolks and espresso powder and stir into the butter sugar mixture.  Stir in the flour.  Scoop the dough with a 1 oz. scoop and roll in the sugar.  Place on a parchment lined cookie sheet and bake 350 for 15-18 minutes.  It’s hard to tell if these cookies have browned since they are so dark to begin with.  Sometimes I carefully lift one with a spatula and look at the underside to make sure I’m not burning them.

Optional-when the cookies are still warm I press a chocolate covered espresso bean on top, I do this so that people can tell they are different from a molasses cookie.  Since it’s a dark cookie people may not be able to tell the difference.

Makes 3 dozen.