I think that these might be one of my more favorite cookies that I have developed lately. And I say “more favorite” because I actually have a lot of favorites. These are really dark chocolate with a bit of cinnamon and chili powder kick, not too sweet and then lovely dulce de leche sandwiched between the two cookies. As a last minute thing, I sprinkled these with powdered sugar (not written in the recipe), which added another layer of lovely. I call them “Mexican” but only because of the chocolate with cinnamon and chili, not because I actually think that these come from Mexico. 🙂
Ingredients
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground chili powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup dulce de leche
You will also need linzer cookie cutters or two different sized cookie cutters to cut holes in half of them.
Directions
In a large bowl whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, cinnamon, chili powder, salt, and baking powder. In the work bowl of your stand mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy (about 3 to 4 minutes). Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the vanilla extract and beat until combined. Add the flour mixture and beat until you have a smooth dough. Divide the dough in half and wrap each half in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for about one hour or until firm enough to roll.
Preheat oven to 350F. Prepare cookie sheets with parchment paper or silpat.
Roll out half of the dough on a well-floured surface to 1/4 inch thickness (be careful to get the surface even, otherwise you will have oddly-browned cookies. Also, do not roll the dough to thin, otherwise you will have hard cookies when they come out of the oven). Cut out an equal number of flower cookies and flower cookies with a hole in the middle. Repeat this with other half of the dough. Bake 8-10 minutes or until golden brown at the edges. Cool on wire rack.
Frost bottom cookie (the one without a hole) with the dulce de leche and then sandwich top cookie on top.
