Swapped!

Sadly, I was unable to rid myself of the scary acrylic yarn at yesterday's swap (what was I thinking? Clearly the Knitsmiths have way too much taste to even consider such a monstrosity), but otherwise, my unloved yarn did manage to find its way to new homes and future projects.

The highlight of the afternoon was the unveiling of Dana's completed second Jaywalker sock! Go visit her blog and congratulate her on her progress (and check out the poetry parodies while you're at it--if only we had some idea who was writing them--*wink wink*).

As for me, I picked up the self-striping fruits of Alison's latest dyeing adventures, as well as a bag of assorted Cascade 220 oddments, which will probably find their way into another Kristina bag (I've made two so far--they're great gifts). And, last but not least, two skeins of really lovely Malabrigo laceweight merino (so soft!) in light blue and light green from Colleen, who, in case you were worried, managed to score my own Malabrigo without sustaining bodily injury (or inflicting any herself)!

And, because I'm worried that someone will hunt me down if I don't provide this before next Sunday, here's the recipe for the highly addictive (Amber dubbed them "crack") cookies I brought to the swap. You've been forewarned--these things should indeed carry a warning label.

Chocolate-Espresso Snowcaps

Makes 18; Prep time: 45 minutes; Total time: 1 hour 45 minutes
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
4 teaspoons instant espresso
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
2/3 cup packed light-brown sugar
1 large egg
4 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate (I used a combo of Scharffenberger 70% cacao and Ghiradelli semisweet), melted and cooled
1 tablespoon milk
Confectioners’ sugar for coating

1. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, cocoa, espresso, baking powder, and salt. With an electric mixer, cream butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg until well combined; mix in cooled chocolate. With mixer on low, gradually add flour mixture; beat in milk until just combined. Flatten dough into a disk; wrap in plastic. Freeze until firm, about 45 minutes.

2. Preheat oven to 350°. Line two baking sheets with parchment (or silicone liners). Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Pour confectioners’ sugar (about 1/2 cup) into a medium bowl; working in batches, roll balls in sugar two times, letting them sit in sugar between coatings--rolling them two times ensures that the cookies will be totally covered and you'll get the "snowcap" effect.

3. Place on prepared baking sheets, 2 inches apart. Bake until cookies have spread and coating is cracked, 12 to 14 minutes; cookies will still be soft to the touch. Cool on pans about a minute, and then transfer to a wire rack.