GERMAN CHOCOLATE CAKE COOKIES (HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JORGE!)COOKIES DE PASTEL DE CHOCOLATE ALEMÁN ~ The Self-Taught Cook™

Today is my husband's birthday. Now, I wouldn't dream of telling everyone that he's 49 today; that would be rude. We'll just say that he's older than me. LOL

Then...

and now..... Isn't he handsome?

His favorite cake is German Chocolate, and in nine years of marriage I have made a few for him, some from scratch and sometimes, when in a hurry, from a mix. This year, I was trying to think of something different, and decided on birthday cookies. Since German Chocolate is his favorite, German Chocolate is what he would get. I was in a hurry last night and didn't take pictures, but I will tell you that they are not decorative or pretty, but they are delicious. I still have some ideas for revisions, so updates will follow in the future.

GERMAN CHOCOLATE CAKE COOKIES

COOKIE DOUGH

2 sticks unsalted butter

1 c milk chocolate chips

2 c sugar

2 eggs

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla (NOT IMITATION)

3 c flour

FROSTING

1/2 c brown sugar

1 c coconut flakes

1/2 c pecan chips

1/2 stick unsalted butter

2 egg yolks, beaten

In the microwave, melt the butter and chcolate chips on HIGH for 2 minutes. Stir until smooth. In a separate bowl, mix the sugar and eggs. Add the next 4 ingredients. Stir in melted chocolate and mix thoroughly. Add flour and mix well. Cover cookie dough and set aside while making the frosting.

IMPORTANT NOTE: While you can make this dough ahead of time and refrigerate, it is necessary to to set dough out and return to room temperature before using. Otherwise, it will be too solid to scoop out easily. Trust me; I made this lame-brained mistake myself.

Combine the brown sugar and coconut flakes, mixing until the coconut is in small pieces. I used my mini-processor for this, but you can do it by hand or use your food processor if you like. Add the pecans and butter. Chops the butter into several small pieces before adding. Butter should be soft if you are doing this by hand or using a mini-processor. At this point, I almost burned up the motor in mine. Add egg yolks and mix well. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place cookie dough balls on a greased cookie sheet ( I used Baker’s Joy® Baking Spray with Flour.) Leave plenty of room between cookies; they will spread out during cooking. Make indentation in the center with your thumb or the back of a spoon. Place frosting in each indentation. Bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes. Leave the cookies on the cookie sheet for 4 minutes, then finish cooling on a wire rack.

MUSIC TO COOK BY