Chocolate Chipotle Shortbread

Life has been a little ca-ra-zy around here lately. Two weekends ago we spontaneously got a new addition to our family. A rambunctious & loveable lab mix named Jolene!

She has brought us a ton of love & excitement – but MAN are puppies hardwork! I think this is very good practice for a baby I have never had a dog before so I am learning the ropes & trying to train her before she trains me! (haha!)

Then a week later, our house was broken into and many of our possessions were stolen!

candlelight vigil for our stolen tv.

I had just gone to meet some friends for lunch & when returned found our back door open & the house torn apart. It was very scary & an experience I hope we never have to deal with again. Sadly, my computer & both of our cameras were among the stolen items so any future posts will feature pictures from my lovely iphone Luckily, the things we care most about (each other, the pup, sentimental jewelry, etc) were ok. In another year or so Jolene should be big enough to scare off any future intruders!

Last night I got in the baking mood & scoured my Epicurious app (GREAT app!) for some cookies that don’t require eggs (we were all out) &came upon a recipe for Chocolate Chipotle Shortbread. These babies were so easy to whip up and feature my favorite combination of spicy & chocolate! The SC on the other hand doesn’t quite share my love of spicy chocolate & upon biting into his said, “you just had to add cayenne huh?” hehe…more for me! These were very delicious & are even better dipped in hot chocolate or coffee.

Chocolate Chipotle Cookies

Yield: 20 cookies

Adapted from Epicurious

Ingredients:

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon cayenne powder
1/2 teaspoon cocoa chili powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees with rack in middle.
2. Whisk together first six ingredients in a bowl.
3. Beat together butter, sugar & vanilla extract with an electric mixer at medium speed until pale and fluffy.
4. At low speed, mix in flour mixture until well blended.
5. Scoop into small balls and flatten to about 1/4 inch thick circles. Place on greased cookie sheet.
6. Bake for 10 minutes.