Instructions: Preheat the oven to 400 deg. F. Lightly grease two large baking sheets with butter or veg. shortening. In a large mixing bowl, cream together the sugar and butter. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, and continue to beat until the mixture is creamy. Sift the flour with the baking soda. Add the flour mixture to the batter, 1/2 cup at a time, and work into a soft dough,. On a floured work surface, roll out the dough to a thickness of 1/4 inch. Cut out the cookies using a 4-inch, round cookie cutter or a small bowl. Place the cookies 1 inch apart on the baking sheets. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until the cookies have browned around the edges. Remove from the oven,. After the cookies have cooled for 2-3 minutes, but are still warm to the touch, use a spatula to transfer them to wire racks to cool completely.

When the cookies have thoroughly cooled, prepare the icing. In a saucepan over low heat, combine the chocolate, sugar, coffee, cream, and salt. Bring to a boil and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture reaches the soft-ball stage (when a teaspoon of liquid dropped into a glass of water forms a soft ball). Remove the pan from the heat. Stir in the butter and vanilla, then set aside. In another bowl combine the butter, cream and vanilla extract. Beat until the mixture is creamy. Gradually add the sugar until the icing thickens. Spread half of each cookie with the choc. icing and the other half with the vanilla icing. Let the icing harden and dry.

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