DOUBLE CHOCOLATE COOKIES WITH CINNAMON, CHILLI & GINGER

There are loads of recipes over on Amanda’s blog that I have to try.  The diablo cookies in particular looked so good, and when I realised that we had some cinnamon chocolate hanging around, I couldn’t wait to give them a go.  My recipe is a bit of an adaptation – I didn’t have any chipotle or fresh ginger, so I flavoured the cookies with ground cinnamon, chilli flakes, and crystallised ginger (and used less sugar to allow for the sweetness that the ginger brings.)  I was low on oil so used butter instead, and the chocolate I had on hand was milk, not dark.  The good:  despite being a near novice in biscuits and the like, the recipe came together really easily, and although I made half, it still yielded twelve decent sized cookies.  The kitchen, in fact the entire flat, smelt incredible as they baked – as must have the pavement below our windows, as I heard a little kid saying ‘Daddy!  The grass smells like brownie cakes!’  The bad?  Well, I burnt a couple.  Yep.  Bad times.  More than a couple.  About half.  And the half that didn’t burn aren’t gooey inside, like they should be.  They’re closer to cakey, like a bad brownie.  Well, I’m being a little hard on myself – they taste delicious and are soft in the middle.  Just not gooey.  Next time I’ll be keeping an eagle eye on the oven and grabbing them the hell out of there at the first sign of cracked tops.  And I’ll be throwing some orange zest in the mix.  Can’t wait…

 

 

 

Ingredients (makes 12)

110g plain flour

75g cocoa powder (I use Green & Blacks)

1/2 tsp. bicarb

1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. chilli flakes

50g chocolate, chopped into chunks

50g crystallised ginger, chopped

90g brown sugar

50g butter

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla

 

 

 

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C.  Line a baking tray with foil or baking paper.

Over a low heat, melt the butter, then allow to cool.

Into a large bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa, bicarb and cinnamon, then stir through the chocolate, crystallised ginger and chilli flakes.

Lightly beat the egg in a small bowl, then add to a mixing bowl along with the sugar, melted butter and vanilla, and mix with a fork until combined.  Add this mixture, a little at a time, to the dry ingredients, using the fork to work it in.  When all of the wet mixture has been added, get your hands in there and bring the mix together to form a dough.

Split the dough in half, then form each half into six more or less evenly sized balls.  Arrange on the baking tray (remember to leave gaps in between) and flatten them down a little with the palm of your hand.  Bake for 10-12 minutes, depending on your oven (they’ll be ready once the top starts to crack.)

 

Tags: chilli flakes, chocolate cookies, Cinnamon, Cookies, crystallised ginger