Spicy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Have you ever seen the movie Like Water for Chocolate (Como Agua Para Chocolate)? It's one of my favorite films. The basic concept is that when people eat food prepared by the woman in the movie, they experience whatever emotions she was feeling when she cooked the dish. Passion. Sadness. Joy. Anger. You get the picture.


That said, it's hard to be in any mood other than adventurous when I make these cookies. They are by far my favorite recipe as I've added ingredients and adjusted the measurements over time to create a truly spicy cookie. Ready to go on an adventure?

WHAT YOU NEED

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons cayenne pepper (reduce or increase depending on your taste)

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

3/4 cup granulated sugar 

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 large eggs

2 cups semi-sweet chocolate morsels

Preheat your oven to 375° F. Combine flour, baking soda, cayenne pepper, cinnamon, and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time and beat well. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels.

Roll dough into 1 inch balls onto un-greased baking sheets. BAKE for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes. Enjoy!

Earl Grey Tea Cookies

Good day to you all! I hope that you had a fantastic weekend! I know I did! It's truly rewarding when you can find a few moments to not only relax, but to try out some new recipes. This past weekend, I had a craving for cookies and tea, so I decided to combine the two. I love earl grey tea - It's probably the fanciest thing that I drink. I like to pull out my monocle, handle bar mustache, and top hat when I drink it (if only :/). It's the smooth taste of bergamot and citrus oils that makes my weekends so special. Earl grey just adds a new level of richness to sugar cookies. Anyway, cookies!

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WHAT YOU NEED:
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons Earl Grey tea leaves, fine (or 6 tea bags full)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).  In a small bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Set aside.

In a larger bowl, cream the butter and sugar together until smooth. Beat in the egg, vanilla, and tea leaves. Gradually blend the dry ingredients into the butter-sugar mixture. Roll rounded tablespoons of dough into balls, and place onto un-greased cookie sheets. 

Bake 12-15 minutes or until golden brown. Let stand on cookie sheet for two minutes before serving. Enjoy with milk or a cup of earl grey tea!

I hope that you have a wonderful weekend and try to find some time to be fancy :)!