Featured Recipe-South-Of-The-Border Chocolate Cookies
Don’t these look good!! Photo by hardlikearmour
Today’s featured recipe is from Sara, her cooks name on Food52 is hardlikearmour. She is a Veterinarian, experienced and prize winning cook and a cake decorator, her cakes are amazingly beautiful and professionally done. Her recipes are approachable, comforting and so very delicious. This recipe for her soft, spicy chocolate cookie is just one of her 110 recipes on Food52. She has been a finalist and/or won prize after prize on both Food52 and Whole Foods. Her Pear and Rosemary Danish is unbelievably delicious and won the contest for Best Recipe for Pears on Food52. Her prize winning recipe for State Fair Cream Puffs is so wonderful, you will think you have died and gone to heaven and the Bourbon Chocolate Whipped Cream filling is truly heavenly. It’s not just sweets that Sara specializes in, her savory dishes and drinks are amazing also, try her incredibly complex and delicious Chili El Pastor one bite and you will understand that she is a master at blending and balancing spices. I am also including my favorite summer drink that she developed. I triple the recipe every time I make it, Sara’s Lime in the Coconut Float is made with a delicious lemongrass and Lime simple syrup. The simple syrup makes an outstanding drink when added to seltzer or make the float, either way it’s absolutely delicious. Please visit Food52 and peruse her recipes, you will want to make each and every one, they are all so good you will have a hard time deciding which to make first and many of her recipes I make over and over, they are just that good.
Makes 40 to 50 cookies
1 ¾ cups sugar (12.25 oz)
1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks), room temperature
2 large eggs,room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
2 cups all-purpose flour (10 oz)
1 cup dutched cocoa powder (3.25 oz)
1 tablespoon aluminum-free baking powder
2 ½ teaspoons cinnamon
½ teaspoon cayenne – see cook’s note at end of recipe
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
½ cup turbinado or sanding sugar
Preheat oven to 350º F with a rack near the middle. Line 2 to 3 baking sheets with parchment paper or Silpats.
Cream sugar and butter using a stand or hand mixer, until light and fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add eggs and extracts, and beat until well-combined, about 1 to 2 minutes. In a separate medium sized bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, baking powder, cinnamon, cayenne, and salt. Add them to the sugar and butter mixture, and mix on low speed until the flour has been incorporated. Increase to medium speed and mix until well-combined, another minute or two.
Roll dough into 1- to 1 1/4-inch diameter balls, then roll balls in sugar. Place 12 to 15 balls on prepared baking sheets – stagger 3 rows each of 2 and 3 balls to get 15 on a sheet. Flatten balls slightly, so they are about ¾-inch thick . Bake one sheet at a time for 9 to 9 ½ minutes, rotating the baking sheet after 5 minutes. The cookies will look puffy, and may seem like they’re not done, but they will be perfect! Allow to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing the cookies to a cooling rack. Once cool store in a sealed container to maintain perfect texture for at least several days.
Cook’s notes: 1.) 1/2-teaspoon cayenne gives a pleasant warmth to the back of your throat after eating a cookie or two. If you’re not a fan of heat, feel free to scale back or omit the cayenne. 2.) If you prefer to use regular cocoa powder just add 1 teaspoon baking soda and decrease baking powder to 1/2 teaspoon.
Lime In The Coconut Float
Lime/Lemongrass Simple Syrup
I want to leave you with a picture of just one of the beautiful cakes that Sara designed.
Gorgeous isn’t it!!
apuginthekitchen 
Sara sounds like an amazing baker – thanks for sharing her delish creations:D
Good thing this recipe makes 40 odd cookies – they look so yum they wouldn’t be lasting very long 😀
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
She is truly amazing, she is one amazing cook, baker and cake decorator and a wonderful human being!
Thanks for the incredibly flattering feature!
I meant every word! You are amazing!
These cookies look so good! I am going to attempt making them. Thank you for the recipe! And the cake- Elegant!
Those cookies are fabulous! I made them and loved them. There is another recipe I got from food52 for these chocolate espresso cookies that are also so delicious I make them over and over during the holidays and always include them in gift boxes. You can’t go wrong with either recipe. Thanks so much.
I hope you don’t mind if I reblog your link on my reblog page?
I am definitely going to try preparing these for the holidays. They really remind me of a cookie my mom made when I was very young. Unfortunately she allowed someone to borrow the handwritten recipe and they lost it. This is the closest of that recipe I have seen! And I have searched for years. Thank you!
They are delicious for sure! I am working on a post a week of holiday cookies, have some fab recipes some from family archives some from other sources. I love the holidays and love baking cookies to send to friends and family!
Me too! I cannot wait to see your recipes : )