Spicy Mexican Chocolate Cookies

Over a year ago, Tom and I went out to dinner with a few members of his family. As most folks sat eating their desserts, my nephew's wife pulled a chocolate bar out of her purse, opened it up and asked if anyone wanted a piece.

"What kind is it?" I asked.

"Chocolate Chili," she said.

It was the first time I'd tasted sweet chocolate and heat together. I loved it.

Fast forward. I decided to try the combination in a chocolate cookie, attempting to emulate the flavors in Mexican hot chocolate, but with a little kick. I took my best chocolate cookie recipe, added cinnamon, vanilla extract, Ancho chili powder and cayenne. The result was a cookie that is chewy, sweet and chocolatey at first bite, but once it begins to melt in your mouth, the flavor of the Ancho chili emerges and you feel the heat of the cayenne. They were, in a word: delicious. They were so good, in fact, that I didn't really want to share them, but I had to or we would have eaten every single one of them.



Who would have thought a cookie would be unpopular? Not me.

Color me shocked when I took a bag of these cookies into the Clothes Closet where I volunteer and came home with a bag still full of cookies minus maybe half a dozen tops. The feedback was too spicy, except for the volunteer in his 80's who smacked his lips, held up his second cookie and said with a twinkle in his eye, "these are good!"

Well, Tom and I thought so too. We happily ate the remaining cookies!

I had toyed with the idea of using a chocolate cookie recipe and adding bacon, but I sort of already did that with the Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Bacon Cookies. And I wasn't all that sure about adding bacon to something with such a delicate balance of spices, so this time I left out the bacon.

I know. I know. Some of you will chastise me for the omission. But trust me, you won't miss it.

If you must have bacon, fry up 3 or 4 pieces, drain them well, chop them up and add them at the same time you add the chocolate chips. I won't be offended.

Spicy Mexican Chocolate Cookies

• 1 cup, plus 2 tablespoons butter, room temperature
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon Ancho chili powder
• 1 teaspoon cayenne
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons instant espresso powder
• 1 - 12-ounce package semisweet chocolate chips 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

With a hand or stand mixer, cream the butter and sugars until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add the vanilla and mix well.

In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients: flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, chili powder, cayenne and espresso powder. Make sure all ingredients are mixed well.

Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture a cup at a time, mixing gently on low speed after each addition until all the ingredients are just combined. Do not over mix. Use a silicone spatula to stir in the chocolate chips (and chopped bacon, if you are adding it).

Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silpat. Drop nice rounded teaspoonfuls of dough on to the cookie sheet about 2-inches apart. I have a small 1-1/2-inch inexpensive ice cream scoop I use strictly for scooping cookie dough. It measures the dough perfectly and the cookies come out uniform.

Bake for 12 to 14-minutes. Cool on a wire rack covered with paper towels.

I dare you to eat just one.

Szechwan Pork Curry

About 30 years ago (oh, yes, I was merely a child), I copied this recipe from a co-worker. At that time, I used to type recipes out on lined paper on an old typewriter and keep our favorite recipes in a binder. Obviously, this recipe is one of our favorites. Now protected in plastic sheeting, you can see it has been very well used.



We have since moved most of our collection to our laptop, but we still have binders full of recipes and recipe cards that still need to be converted.

This dish is spicy, but extremely flavorful and very quick from wok (or large frying pan) to plate. It does not taste like an Indian curry dish, as you might expect. Cooking the spices prior to adding to the sauce brings out the medley of flavors in the curry powder.

Warning! Your kitchen will smell like this dish for a minimum of 24 hours, but it is worth it.

Pork Curry
by Terri Powers for Terri's Table

2-1/2 lbs. pork chops
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 egg white
1 medium sized red pepper
1 medium size green pepper (since we don't care for green peppers, I use orange or yellow)
1 onion
4 large cloves garlic
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 tablespoons curry powder
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 teaspoons tomato paste
5 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons sherry
2 teaspoons sugar
1 tablespoon soy sauce

Carefully cut the meat away from the bone and cut meat into 1/4 inch slices about 1 inch long. Put in a large bowl. Add the cornstarch and egg white. Stir well in one direction with your hand so that you have coated the meat thoroughly. Refrigerate while preparing the vegetables.

All vegetables should be cut the same size as the pork for even cooking.


Cut the peppers into 1 inch pieces. Separate the onion halves into their natural layer divisions, then cut into 1 inch pieces. Smash garlic; peel and roughly chop. Place the vegetables, separated, on a platter.

In a small cup or dish, mix the sherry, sugar and soy sauce. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Set aside.

Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a small pan. Stir in curry powder and red pepper flakes. Cook and stir 1 minute. Be careful not to burn. Add the tomato paste and mix quickly. Remove from heat and set aside.

Heat 3 tablespoons of oil in a wok. Add the pork. Stir-fry over high heat about 4 to 5 minutes. Remove from pan to bowl.

Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in the wok. Stir fry garlic (do not brown). Add peppers and stir-fry over high heat for 1 to 2 minutes; add onions and stir-fry for another 1 to 2 minutes. Remove the vegetables from the wok.

Add remaining 1 tablespoon of oil to the work. Stir in curry mixture. Add the sherry/sugar/soy sauce mixture and stir well. Return the meat and vegetables to the wok. Stir-fry thoroughly until sauce has covered the meat and vegetables and the mixture is hot. Serve with hot white rice.

Note: We really like the sauce for this dish and I usually double the sauce recipe except for the red pepper flakes, i.e., 2 tablespoons oil (for the curry and red pepper), 4 tablespoons curry powder, 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, 4 teaspoons tomato paste, 4 tablespoons sherry, 4 teaspoons sugar, 2 tablespoons soy sauce.