Mocha Pecan Balls

Simplify the Season, p. 1

1 roll (18 oz) refrigerated sugar cookie dough

¼ cup baking cocoa

1 tbsp instant espresso coffee (dry)

1 cup finely chopped pecans

48 milk chocolate candy drops or pieces, unwrapped

¾ cup powdered sugar

Chopping your own nuts is always cheaper, and in this case it's strangely cathartic.

I watched the Roseanne series finale while I unwrapped all of my Kisses.

Heat oven to 375F. Into large bowl, break up cookie dough. 

Let the dough get room temperature-ish, and then you can hack it to bits with a knife and all of your pent-up holiday frustration.

Stir in cocoa, dry espresso and pecans.

Now things get interesting. 

Shape dough into 48 balls (1-inch); wrap each around 1 milk chocolate candy. 

Heh. Heh.

Place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet.

They do expand, so mind the gap and all that.

Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until set. Immediately remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool slightly, about 5 minutes.

See?

Roll cookies in powdered sugar. 

The first layer!

Cool completely, about 15 minutes. Roll cookies in powdered sugar again. 

Again! Again-again!

Store in tightly covered container.

My Rating: 4/5 "One of the most unique things I've ever made. I took them to a holiday party and they didn't exactly fly off of the plate (probably in part because I didn't pimp them out very well, and also because coffee at night was a hard sell to begin with). But then we took them on our two-day road trip from Louisiana to Connecticut and they were just the thing to keep us buzzed to drive for long stretches. They're like little energy balls! And they taste really good to boot."