52 cookies :: week 33 :: mexican chocolate icebox cookies

first off thank you for your kind words here and via email. much appreciated. and lots of good ideas too. things are moving forward. slowly. but forward. and that is all we can ask for. your good thoughts, as always, mean so much.

thought i'd kick it up a bit this week. i've been a long time fan of jenny's - first at cookie - and then at her blog. I have spent time poolside this week reading through dinner a love story and these caught my eye. i knew this one wouldn't be a hit with the little sister. the big sister has always had a love of heat in her food, but k likes it mellow.



Mexican Chocolate Icebox Cookies
from Dinner a Love Story :: Jenny Rosenstrach

1 1/2 c all-purpose flour
3/4 c cocoa powder
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cayenne
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
12 tbsp unsalted butter at room temperature
1 c sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg

Sift together in a bowl: flour, cocoa, cinnamon, cayenne, salt and pepper.

In a large bowl cream together sugar and butter. Beat in vanilla and egg.

With your mixer, gradually add the dry mixture to the butter mixture until dough is uniform color and no unmixed flour remains. Divide the dough into two pieces and shape each half into a log (about 8" long). Wrap tightly in wax paper or plastic wrap and freeze inside two tall drinking glasses on their sides for a minimum of 2 hrs and up to 6 weeks.

When ready, preheat oven to 375 F. Slice the frozen dough into round (about 1/4" thick) and place on baking sheets. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes; until the edges feel a bit firm. Careful not to burn.



Store in an airtight container when cooled.

Makes about 4 dozen cookies. (I baked one roll, and saved the second to bake one evening this weekend, and serve warm with vanilla ice cream. Mmmmmm...)



K: Spicy, delicious cookie. A little too spicy for me. But so delicious. (I have realized that K finds it very difficult to criticize my cooking in a public forum. No trouble at the dinner table though!)

E: Delish! These cookies are awesome with a hint of spiciness. They would rock with ice cream, and are super with milk. Mmmmmmm...

D: Wow, what an interesting cookie. Have you ever had chili with chocolate chips in it? Well these two flavors are great conspirators. Chocolate with every bite and chili in every breath. Added bonus, the chili keeps cookie monsters like me from eating the whole jar.

*Double added bonus...your redo on last weeks bars was s.m.a.r.t. Nobody wants to struggle through a crumbly cookie mess. It made them more delicious, the flavors coalesced better with more compression.


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*a cookie so nice, I baked it twice ;) i made last week's cookie again earlier this week. this time i pushed them into the pan with more force and the help of a tumbler. i also put them into the fridge overnight before cutting. they held together much better and were still yum. they are a perfect mid-day snack cookie for me - liking that they are wheat and egg free too.