Betty Crocker: Crisp Chocolate-Espresso Ribbon Cookies

It is nearly Christmas, therefore I must bake cookies. It's like a law of the universe. It cannot be violated. And no, the linzer sables and the sugar cookies I made recently do NOT fulfill the quota. One of my favorite childhood memories was flipping through a cookie cookbook my mom had, and I would spend hours staring at all the amazing little things that fell under the heading "cookie". It was better than any Nancy Drew novel. Yes, I was that child. To make things more magical, these cookies made my whole kitchen smell like a Starbucks. Bonus.

Crisp Chocolate-Espresso Ribbon Cookies

From Betty Crocker

1 (17.5-ounce) pouch sugar cookie mix

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

½ cup unsalted butter, softened

1 teaspoon almond extract

1 large egg, slightly beaten

⅓ cup bittersweet chocolate chips, melted

½ cup coarsely to finely crushed chocolate-covered espresso coffee beans

⅓ cup coarsely chopped toasted almonds

Line bottom and sides of 9x5-inch loaf pan with plastic wrap. In large bowl, stir cookie mix, flour, butter, almond extract and egg until soft dough forms. Divide dough in half; place half of dough in another bowl. Stir melted chocolate into half of dough. To remaining half of dough, mix in espresso beans and almonds.

Firmly press half of chocolate dough evenly in bottom of loaf pan. Evenly press half of espresso dough over chocolate dough in pan. Repeat with remaining chocolate dough and espresso dough. Fold plastic wrap over dough to cover. Refrigerate about 2 hours or until firm.

Heat oven to 350°F. Remove dough from pan; unwrap. Place dough on cutting board. Cut dough crosswise into 4 equal pieces. Cut each piece crosswise into ¼-inch slices. On ungreased cookie sheets, place slices 2 inches apart.

Bake 9 to 10 minutes or until edges are light golden brown. Cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheets to cooling rack.