Mexican Hot Chocolate Cookies

(Adapted from Martha Stewart's recipe)

This cookie is crispy from the sugar-cinnamon coating and cake-like in the middle, fresh from the oven. If you have no spice tolerance (like me) don't worry because the only spice used is cinnamon. No sriacha lava sauce for this. This cookie species was reccommended for me to try by my friend Danny. 

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 teaspoon cream of tartar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup (2 sticks) butter

1 3/4 cup sugar

2 large eggs 

2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 cup normal sized chocolate chips

3/4 cup mini sized chocolate chips

Recipe: 

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. 

2. Whisk together the flour, cream of tartar, salt, cocoa powder, and baking soda in a large bowl. 

3. In an electric mixer whisk butter and 1 1/2 cup of the sugar together until light in color and fluffy. 

4. Add eggs to fluffy butter-sugar mixture until fully combined. 

5. Pour the flour mixture in 2 portions into the electric mixer bowl. 

6. In a small bowl combine the remaining 1/4 of sugar with the cinnamon as a sugar coating for the cookies. 

7. Make tablespoon sized balls of dough and roll in the sugar coating then put on tray. 

8. Bake for 10 minutes until the tops are cracked and the center of the cookies are only slightly squishy. 

9. Transfer to wire cooling rack and enjoy. 

Brownie Cookies

I now realize what one is supposed to do on a blog. Basically rant about life in a deep way. Every other friday I basically cry about chemistry (or math) and lament about my problems to my dog. The bane of my existence. Honestly I wanted to make cream puffs but the recipe I tried was screwed up and they came out as butter cardboard disks. Not fun times. So to make myself feel better, as redemption, I made these cookies because they taste good and you literally cannot screw these up intentionally. I wish i could have this redemption in my educational system. Can I just go to school in Finland? Enjoy baking!

Recipe:

Ingredients: 

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp baking powder 

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter

3/4 cup sugar 

1 egg

1/2 cup cocoa powder

Directions: 

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. 

2. Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt together in a bowl.

3. In a stand mixer (or hand mixer) cream together the butter and sugar. Then add the egg, vanilla extract, and cocoa powder. Mix until well combined.

4. Slowly add in your flour mixture and your batter should look like the picture above.

5. Roll out cookie dough (in my opinion chilling the dough isnt worth the time) into 1/4 inch thickness. Cut out your cookies. 

6. Place the cookies on a parchment lined baking tray and bake for 8-10 minutes or until the edges are firm and the middle is slightly soft. 

7. Place on cooling rack for a couple minutes before enjoying 1 or 2 or 5 of these delicious cookie-brownie hybrids. 

Small Lemon Bundt Cake

Recipe:

Ingredients:

1 1/8 cup all purpose flour

1 1/8 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

2 eggs

1 cup sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 tbsp lemon zest

3/8 cup milk

5 tbsp butter

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F and butter bundt mold. 

2. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Whisk together. 

3. In stand mixer beat eggs on high until fluffy and thick. 

4. Beat sugar into eggs gradually until light and fluffy.  

5. Add lemon zest and vanilla extract to mixture. 

6. Gradually add flour mixture in until smooth and combined. 

7. Microwave butter (cubed) and milk together until butter is melted (dont let the mixture boiled). 

8. Gradually add butter milk mixture to batter (will be liquidy). 

9. Pour mixture into mold. 

10.  Put into fully preheated oven for about 30 minutes (or until a toothpick comes out clean). 

11. Let cake cool for 5 minutes and the flip onto wire cooling rack. 

12. Let the cake cool then cut and enjoy your fluffy lemony heaven goodness.