Back to cookies and back to chocolate. It’s been a few weeks. Where have you been all my life? 🙂
These cookies aren’t very sweet, so be forewarned, but they are spicy and delicious. And as the name might suggest, they actually go very well with a glass of red wine … or a cocktail (though I guess that depends on which one). They may not look like much — these teeny tiny cookies — but they are addictive!
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1/3 cup confectioners’ sugar
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 large egg yolk
coarse sea salt, for sprinkling
Directions
Sift the flour, cocoa powder, cayenne and sea salt into a bowl and whisk to combine. In your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter with both sugars at low speed until creamy. Add the egg yolk and beat until smooth, then add the dry ingredients and beat until incorporated.
Turn the dough out onto a work surface and knead gently until it comes together. Divide the dough in half and press each half into a disk. Roll out each disk between 2 sheets of wax paper to about 1/4 inch thick. Slide the wax paper-covered disks onto a baking sheet and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, until very firm.
Preheat the oven to 350F and line 2 large baking sheets with silpat or parchment paper.
Working with one piece of dough at a time, peel off the top sheet of wax paper. Using a 1 1/2-inch round cookie cutter, stamp out the cookies as close together as possible. Arrange the cookies about 1 inch apart on the prepared baking sheets and sprinkle with some coarse sea salt.
Bake the cookies for about 15 minutes, until they are just firm. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for 3 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
