3 Hours, 2 Cookies and 1 Empty Cocoa Can

When Husband and I consolidated our personal belongings as part of the marital ritual, we didn't anticipate issues to arise from the task of combining our kitchen ingredients and spices. Since returning from our honeymoon, however, we have spent a few good hours organizing our seemingly spawning spices and such.

During a recent evening of organizational fun, Husband came across three opened and used containers of cocoa powder. Now, Husband is not a baker. The creator of such an anomaly could only be me. When he inquired as to why this situation existed, I looked at him with my best Shopgirl face, shrugged my shoulders and said, "Oopsy! Time to bake, I guess." Husband smiled. Thankfully, he enjoys the fruits of my baking adventures.

For the sake of our pantry, I knew I needed to do major cocoa powder damage. So, on a recent sunny afternoon a dutch cocoa powder can and I came to blows. I believe I won -- at least I put a serious dent in our cocoa inventory.

For my first cookie, I wanted to recreate chocolate-covered dried apricots that I once made as part of a Christmas present for two friends. The lovely couple actually fought over the apricots before my eyes. As and experimenting baker, I took that as a good sign.

(adapted from Orangette's Chewy Cocoa Cookies with Chocolate Chips)

Note: Allow time for batter to chill in the refrigerator for 20-30 minutes before baking. (Notes like these are better at the beginning of a recipe, aren't they? If you are anything like me, you are often running late and don't read the recipe all the way through beforehand. Then you get to a note like this and think "Aw, crap!". You then tell yourself, next time I WILL begin reading the recipe all the way through before starting to bake. Naturally, however, the cycle continues...) The batter is a little sticky, so chilling it helps you avoid cursing when the batter sticks to your fingers instead of to the parchment paper.

1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. baking soda

1/8 tsp. Kosher salt
2 tsp. ground ginger (I think crystallized ginger would be fantastic in this...will try next time for more of a ginger kick. You could also omit this if you don't like ginger.)
4 tbsp. unsalted butter
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup light brown sugar
7 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder (I used Dutch Process.)
1/3 cup plain yogurt (I used low-fat as I had it on hand but this may have contributed to the sticky factor)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 cup (heaping) chopped dried apricots
1/4 cup dark chocolate chips

Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

In a small bowl, combine flour, salt, ginger and baking soda. Mix thoroughly.

Melt butter in the microwave or in a saucepan over low heat. Pour butter in a small bowl and add the sugars and cocoa powder. Mix until ingredients get thick and are thoroughly combined. Add vanilla and yogurt and mix some more. Add flour mixture and gently combine. Add dried apricots and chocolate chips. Stir until these ingredients are well-coated and semi-disappear into the batter. Stick batter into refrigerator and use the time to crank up some tunes, make yourself a nice french press coffee & clean up the mess you made.

Once batter is sufficiently chilled, measure out by a tablespoon full & lightly roll between hands that are lightly dusted with cooking spray. Set on parchment paper-lined cookie sheet (9 cookies per sheet). Bake for 9-11 minutes or until the top of the cookie gets puffy and begins to crinkle a bit. Place on a wire rack and allow cookies to cool on cookie sheet for 10 minutes. Transfer to wire rack. Repeat process. This makes about 20 cookies.

Note: This cookie is better as it sits. On Day 2 and 3, I thought was better than day 1. Soft, chewy, dark with the sweet surprise of dried apricots...yum! Next time I might add more apricots so I can have that flavor in every bite.


To use the last of my cocoa powder, I was craving a Mexican twist on a chocolate cookie. To be honest, I was wishing I was at my coffee shop so that I could make our espresso drink that is 5 oz, 2 shots of espresso, and cream steamed with out-of-this-world Mexican chocolate. I am salivating right now.

To be truthful, I was also wanting an excuse to use some of the chocolate-covered espresso beans leftover from our wedding favors. I never knew they were so versatile! A couple of weeks ago I used them to make Mocha Snickerdoodles. I will get you the recipe, I promise.

So, here it is....our espresso drink in cookie form. I did however replace the ususal cinnamon you would find in Mexican chocolate with cayenne. You could keep the cinnamon, if you want. I may next time.

Slightly Angry Mocha Cookies
(Or Pleasantly Perturbed Mocha Cookies...you decide)
(Adapted from Orangette's Chocolate Featherweight Cookies with Walnuts & Cocoa Nibs)

Note to save you time: Before you begin the recipe, crack 4 large egg whites and let sit. You'll see why in a minute.

3/4 cup Dutch process cocoa powder

2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/8 tsp. Kosher salt (Regular is fine, too. I'm just obsessed with Kosher salt.)

1 tsp. cayenne pepper
(1 tsp. cinnamon...the option is yours)

1/4 cup chocolate-covered espresso beans, coarsely ground in food processor (could be replaced with finely ground espresso beans or gasp instant espresso).

1 tbsp. vanilla extract
4 large egg whites at room temperature

1 3/4 cups chopped walnuts

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place parchment paper on baking sheet. (Orangette advises that the parchment paper is nonnegotiable, with no substitutes. I followed this advice gladly.)

In a mixing bowl, use a whisk attachment and mix together the first 4 ingredients (or 5 if using cinnamon) until there are no lumps.

Combine the egg whites and vanilla in an easily pourable container and slowly add them to the mixing bowl. When all is added, mix for 2 minutes on medium speed until incorporated and batter looks shiny. Batter will be thin. It's ok. Add processed espresso beans and walnuts. Stir with spatula until combined.

To scoop batter, use a medium-sized ice cream scoop. Place about 5 circles of batter on parchement paper, allowing for sufficient room for spreading. It will spread before your eyes. This batter is drippy and seems so wrong, but trust me, you will be amazed by its transformation.

Reduce the heat to 325 F and place sheet on middle rack. Allow to bake for 14-17 minutes or until you see crackles in the tops akin to dry soil...this is much tastier than that aforementioned soil.

Remove from oven and allow them to cool completely on a wire rack. When completely cool, you have the fun task of carefully peeling them from the parchment paper, like peeling Fruit Rollups when you were a child before stuffing them in your mouth. Repeat the process above 2 times, including increasing the oven temperature to 350 degrees and reducing to 325 degrees before baking.

These cookies are like eating a corner brownie...crinkly, chewy and a little crispy. I also love their beautiful, shiny finish. Even if they don't turn out completely round, the shiny finish & crinkly effect still give them a look of perfection.

The cayenne is almost unnoticeable until you finish the cookie...then the heat lightly rises in your mouth until you are slightly warm and satisfied. I'd suggest letting people know that there is cayenne in the cookie before serving. That way they will not wonder why they are suddenly getting warm. I liken this courtesy to telling your passengers you have heated seats before the ride so they don't feel as if they wet their pants mid-drive. Maybe this only happens to me.

One cocoa container down, two to go. I will keep you posted.