Sometimes just a tiny bite of not-too sweet is enough to warm your soul. These simple-to-make cookies are a sophisticated twist on the traditional shortbread bar. Thin and crispy, they hit the spot out of hand or punctuate the end of a meal without eclipsing what came before.
Michael’s Spiced Chocolate Shortbreads
From the “El Paso Chile Company’s Burning Desires: Salsa, Smoke & Sizzle From Down by the Rio Grande.” The recipe was developed by veteran cookbook author Michael McLaughlin, who likes these little treats with fresh-fruit desserts, especially ices and sorbets, or with a big cup of hot chocolate
Ingredients
- 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 2/3 cup lightly packed unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon finely ground fresh black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, softened, plus additional butter for the baking sheets
- 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar, plus additional sugar for coating the cookies
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Directions
Sift the flour, cocoa powder, cinnamon, pepper and salt together twice onto a piece of waxed paper. In a medium bowl, cream together two sticks of butter and the 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons of sugar until light and fluffy. Mix in the vanilla, then stir in the flour mixture. Stir and then knead the dough – it will be dry and crumbly at first – until it is moist, dark and supple. Roll the dough between two sheets of waxed paper until it is 1/4-inch thick. Chill for 30 minutes.
Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 275 degrees. Lightly butter two baking sheets.
Cut out the cookies with a 2-inch round cutter. Pierce each cookie twice with the tines of a fork. Spread the sugar for coating on a plate. Lightly press the top of each cookie in the sugar so the sugar clings to the dough. Arrange the cookies, sugar side up, on the prepared baking sheets, spacing them about 1 inch apart. Bake the cookies until crisp and firm, about 40 minutes, exchanging the baking sheets on the racks from top to bottom and from front to back about halfway through baking. Cool the cookies on the baking sheets on a rack for 5 minutes. Remove the cookies from the baking sheets and cool them completely on a rack. Store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature. The cookies can be baked up to one week ahead.
