Mexican Hot Cocoa Cookies

Wow is time flying by! I thought I was all set for Taste & Create, having finished my Stracoto with Shiitake Mushrooms a few days early. Then I noticed that I was getting a few hits on my blog from A Whisk & A Prayer...hmmm. The name sounded familiar, and I remembered perusing that blog...OMG! My Stracoto entry was from LAST MONTH!! Ack!

Let's get on with it, the deadline is approaching!

My partner for THIS month's Taste & Create is Liz from A Whisk and A Prayer. Taste & Create is a fabulously fun food blog event, created by the lovely Nicole of For the Love of Food. Participants are randomly paired off to choose and create a dish from their partner's blog. (If you'd like to learn more about T&C, go here!) And here we are. Liz chose to make my Yoghurt Coffee Cake...

I needed a dessert for dinner for cowboys tonight anyway, and had something chocolate in mind. I told Number One about Liz' Black Bean Brownies, but after a lively discussion about how "just" adding beans to something doesn't make that something "healthy" and him saying "Don't make brownies with beans in them"...I decided on a different course.

I noticed Liz' recipe for Mexican Hot Cocoa Dream Cookies, savory chocolate gems filled with...marshmallow fluff! YUM. (and I assume that's where the "Dream" part comes in)

Sadly, I'm almost completely out of marshmallow fluff myself, because someone has been eating it with a spoon. Ahem. So anyway, because we're having cowboys over for dinner, it just wouldn't be right to only have a few with fluff and the rest plain. That is not to say I won't personally sneak a couple cookies filled with fluff before everyone else arrives...I'm just being honest, here, sorry cowboys, maybe next time!

So, this time they're not exactly a "Dream," but I'm sure they'll be good.

Right in the middle of making these cookies, I realized with shock that our Abuelita Mexican Hot Chocolate Mix is GONE!! We have the Abuelita tablets (very very hard and must be mixed with hot milk), but no powdered mix. I was already committed ingredients up to the flour in the bowl to making a double batch of cookies, so I powered through it. Some of you may remember that I live 35 miles from the nearest town, so "running to the store" is ALWAYS out.

I added 5 packets (about 1 cup) of Swiss Miss Hot Chocolate Mix with mini Marshmallows (of course). I also threw in some cinnamon, nutmeg and a dash of cloves to make up for my sad lack of Abuelita. (see amounts below) I also substituted bittersweet chocolate chips for the semi-sweet. I have to say that I actually liked the taste of the dough (unlike Liz and the girl she got the recipe from). I am quite hopeful for these at-this-stage-experimental cookies! *After a test pan of 6 cookies, I decided to line the pan with parchment paper to prevent sticking. Also, these really spread so be sure to space them apart on the parchment. *I am sure the hot chocolate mix, which Liz originally substituted for baking cocoa, messed with the consistency--these might need some adjustments to compensate, but I don't have time right now*

The cookies are mildly spicy and pretty good after they've cooled down, although they do bake up thin. I decided to bake them smaller and turn them into ice cream sandwiches. I think I baked each batch right around 13 minutes, they weren't very golden, and still a bit soft, so that means when cool they are still chewy with just a bit of crunch around the edges.

As ice cream sandwiches, these cookies are AMAZING. Yum. The spices, the bittersweet chocolate, the ice cream, all complement each other perfectly. Not bad for an experimental emergency substitution!

I ran out of time to try one with fluff before everyone arrived, but there's always tomorrow!




Mexican Hot Cocoa Cookies

3/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup butter, softened
1-1/2 cups packed brown sugar
Scant 1/2 cup sugar
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup Abuelita Mexican Hot Chocolate Mix OR 5 packets Swiss Miss Hot Chocolate Mix with Marshmallows + 1-1/2 teaspoon cinnamon + 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg + 2 to 4 dashes cloves
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup vanilla or white chocolate chips
1 cup bittersweet chocolate chips

In a large bowl, beat the oil, butter & sugars until well blended. Add eggs, one at a time, and beat after each one. Beat in vanilla.

Combine the flour, hot chocolate mix, & baking powder. Gradually add to oil mixture & mix well. Stir in chips. Drop by rounded tablespoons 2 inches apart onto a parchment-lined baking sheet.

Bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes or until edges barely begin to brown. Cool for 1 minute before removing cookies from pans to wire racks.