Chocolate Cookies with a Kick

This morning, my friend, Paula, and I had to bake for our synchronized swimming team for a bonding activity. We decided that I should meet Paula at her house and make vegan chocolate chip cookies. I walked into Hopkin’s kitchen and Paula told me we were missing the main ingredient for the cookies- chocolate chips. This was not bad news because Paula lives in a co-op so we had plenty of other ingredients to choose from so we could make other dish. Paula told me that she had tons of cocoa powder in the pantry. I decided to type into Google what kind of dishes could use cocoa powder and the search came up with a couple of options. Nothing really stood out to us. Then, I remember my friend from home, Karen, and I made a great recipe from a food blog called The Post Punk Kitchen (TPPK). The Post Punk Kitchen is a cooking blog all about vegan food and the few recipes I have used from there have all been delicious.

I typed into the search bar of TPPK cocoa powder and instantaneously something caught my eye- Mexican Hot Chocolate Snickerdoodles. The recipe is extremely simple and the cookies taste fantastic. The girls from the team loved the recipe and Paula and I both left some cookies for our housemates. The cookie has a nice sweet sugary taste in the beginning, but when you finish the cookie, there is a bite due to the spicy cayenne powder. Give these vegan cookies a try!

Mexican Hot Chocolate Snickerdoodles

Makes 2 dozen Cookies

For the topping:
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

For the cookies:
1/2 cup canola oil
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
3 tablespoons almond milk (Or your preferred non-dairy milk)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon chocolate extract (or more vanilla extract if you have no chocolate)
1 2/3 cups flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cayenne

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. Mix the topping ingredients together on a flat plate. Set aside.

3. In a medium mixing bowl, use a fork to vigorously mix together oil, sugar, syrup, and milk. Mix in extracts.

4. Sift in remaining ingredients, stirring as you add them. Once all ingredients are added mix until you’ve got pliable dough.

5. Roll dough into walnut sized balls. Pat into the sugar topping to flatten into roughly 2 inch discs. Transfer to baking sheet, sugar side up, at least 2 inches apart (they do spread). This should be easy as the bottom of the cookies should just stick to your fingers so you can just flip them over onto the baking sheet. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, they should be a bit spread and crackly on top. Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Recipe from: http://www.theppk.com/2009/09/mexican-hot-chocolate-snickerdoodles/