As all my readers know, I am not much of a baker. I do what I can on occasion, but it’s just not a big part of my life. Craig doesn’t like sweets (weirdo) and I don’t want to be responsible for finishing up a batch of brownies on my own. I bake usually twice a year, for my little brother Jeff’s birthday in January (he is a sugar addict), and around Christmas. I love bringing something yummy to the office or to a holiday get together. So I was excited to see this week’s #Sunday Supper theme: the ultimate cookie swap. What a great opportunity to experiment!
Usually I go right to America’s Test Kitchen for cookie recipes (their chocolate chip are incredible) but this year I decided to play around and come up with something a bit more original and exciting than your basic chocolate chip or oatmeal. I saw a version of these cookies on Martha Stewart’s website and they really appealed to me. I love the combination of chocolate and chili, it enhances the flavors so much. I was especially pleased to use some of my chili crop from my garden. We grew hundreds of chilies this summer and I dehydrated them in the oven and ground into chili powder. I get really excited when I get to use a home grown ingredient.
So I made two batches of these cookies, playing around with the amount of chocolate, spice and baking time. I made everyone in my office taste test and they were so helpful! I took elements of both batches and came up with this recipe. I am so thrilled with how they came out. The taste is sophisticated and rich and the texture is just chewy enough. The flavor comes from using high quality dark chocolate, Mexican vanilla, cinnamon, ginger and chili powder. I used a very small amount of spice, but it packs quite a punch.
What is your favorite holiday cookie?
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 4 tbsp (1/2 stick of butter)
- 2 eggs
- 2oz unsweetened chocolate
- 1 cup brown sugar
- ½ cup white sugar
- 1 tbsp vanilla
- ¼ tsp ground ginger
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 2 tsp sea salt
- ⅔ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- ½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- Preheat oven to 350
- Mix together flour, cocoa powder and baking soda, set aside
- In a microwave safe bowl, heat butter and chocolate together for 30 seconds, remove, stir, and cook for another 30 seconds and stir. Chocolate and butter should be melted
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, sugars, vanilla, ginger, cinnamon, chili, and salt. (Can also use a stand mixer on low setting)
- Add cooled butter/chocolate mixture and mix
- Fold in flour/cocoa mixture and mix on low (or by hand) until totally combined
- Add chocolate chips
- On a cookie sheet lined with parchment, scoop dough using a tablespoon. Each cookie should be around 1.5 tbsp of dough
- Recipe should yield 2 dozen
- Bake for 12 minutes on a center rack
- Remove from oven and cool
- Serve with milk!
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This Week, Sunday Supper has a special host who knows all about Cookies. Janet Keeler, Food & Travel Editor for the Tampa Bay Times and Author of Cookielicious will be joining us with tips on baking for the Ultimate Cookie Exchange and to answer any of your baking questions. Grab a glass of milk and join us for The Ultimate Cookie Exchange during #SundaySupper this week. We are giving away 5 signed copies of Cookielicious with 150 fabulous recipes to bake and share.
The Sunday Supper Favorite Cookie Exchange Cookies
Check out Cookielicious by Food Editor Janet K. Keeler from The Tampa Bay Times now while there is a special… Buy One Cookielicious Cookbook and get one for a friend!Do you have a favorite cookie to take to a Cookie Exchange? Please join on us on Twitter throughout the day during #SundaySupper on December 9th. In the evening we will meet at 7pm EST for our #SundaySupper Ultimate Cookie Exchange live chat.All you have to do is follow the #SundaySupper hashtag or you can follow us through TweetChat.We’d also love to feature your recipe for The Ultimate Cookie Exchange on our #SundaySupper Pinterest board to share them with all of our followers, too.
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Love these cookies! They are so good! Found you at The Lovely Pantry.
Gorgeous cookies! I made a similar version for today’s #SundaySupper!
Mmmmmm! Mexican chocolate is a new favorite of mine!
Yum! These cookies look wonderful! Love all the chocolate and spices.
I love that you went out of your comfort zone and made these gorgeous cookies. Mexican chocolate is one of my favourite flavours to bake with – it’s fabulous in a cake and brownie too. Doesn’t it make you want to bake more than twice a year?
I hardly eat homemade cookies, so I totally get Craig, but sometimes a very decadent chocolate cookie is perfect. The spiciness of these makes them sound so terrific! I´m pinning this recipe.
My husband doesn’t like sweets either…it’s a blessing and a curse I’ve decided. Usually it means I don’t cook dessert, but when I do get the chance I like to go all out. These cookies sound fabulous.
As someone who grew up in Boston, but now lives in Seattle I’m really excited to check out your blog more!
These look delicious!
There is one magic that happens when you add chili to chocolate. It is so delicious and these cookies sound amazing. You have some very lucky office mates
I would give all the stars in the sky to these cookies. I would spoon feed my grandmother this cookie dough. If you make this, please savor the entire process, as it maybe the best moment of you life. Make them with your children or your husband or your neighbors dog. It is best to share. Hear the trumpets and the stringed instruments in the background?
Mmmmm….I think I’d love a little spice added to my cookies!
wow I want some now!
I love the cracked texture on those cookies. They look like brownies
I always love the savoury / sweet combos, and chocolate makes everything amazing anyway!
They look fantastic and I like a bit of heat with the chocolate!!
these sound amazing!! i can’t believe you used your own chile powder, that is the most awesome thing i ever heard!
I love the combination of chocolate and red chile powder! I also love ooey gooey chocolate cookies, so these would definitely be irresistible if they appeared in my house! Great recipe!
I love the idea of chocolate and chili together – yum!
I would love to give a cookie like this a try – chocolate and chili? Yes please!
I heart chocolate…….great pics too, sure know how to make me want to bake some right now!
Um, YUMMY! I have to go out and get the ingredients to bake these asap!
I have always wanted to try chili and chocolate together because I have heard that it is such a good combination. But I must confess to being too afraid to try it, but I think I will give your recipe an attempt.
Question: where do the chocolate chips come in? Are they melted with the unsweetened and the butter?
Wow, I bet these have a unique and complex flavor!
It is so much fun to play around with recipes and come up with your own. Your cookies look so good. I may have to try these since I have never had a cookie that was sweet and spicey.
They look great! Choc and spice!
These looks so delish. I love the texture of these cookies too!
What addictively delicious cookies
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
Chili in the chocolate cookies! Something I MUST make and taste. I think the spice kick must be quite addictive.
I’ve been meaning to come by and check these out all week since they landed in my inbox because… i mean… come ON… chocolate and chili? In a cookie?? YES PLEASE! I’m obsessed with Aztec Hot Chocolate right now. I am so making these for my next cookie session (far too frequent). I’ll report back when I do. Plus, they look beautiful with their crackly tops! Awesome Dara!
What does “4 tbsp (1 stick or butter)” mean? 4 Tbsp is 1/2 stick butter…
I was wondering the same thing… 4 Tbsp seems like not quite enough butter for these, so I’m guessing it’s a typo and a stick of butter is needed? But clarification would be good.