Mexican Cookies

I love baked goods, but it's rare I am ever inspired enough to actually do the baking myself. I was inspired, however, buy a cookie my officemate and I discovered at a cafe on the Microsoft campus called a Mexican Chocolate Chip cookie. Actually, she discovered it and was inspired enough to call me and insist I try it. And, needless to say, the next day we went together to tempt fate and introuduce ourselves to yet another sweet-treat-vice. Chocolate chip cookies are good (not my favorite), but every once in a while you meet a cookie you couldn't have lived without: enter the Mexican Chocolate Chip Cookie.

It's a giant cakey cookie, with wonderful hints of cinnamon, cayenne, and coarse ground black pepper. Because of the spices and their suprise heat, you don't feel like you're overindulging your sweet tooth, thus, you can eat as many as you like without feeling sick! After falling in love with these cookies, I was determined to recreate them at home, and I did!

I prefer the big, cakey, fat cookies to the flat, chewey, gooey kind, and because of this, I used less sugar. I believe that these Mexican cookies work better as fluffier ones (as opposed to the gooey kind), but feel free to use your own chocolate chip cookie recipe!

Mexican Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 1/2 C. Flour
1 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Fresh Ground Black Pepper
1 1/2 tsp Cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp Cayenne Pepper
1 pinch Paprika
(with the spices, use your descretion, I'd say these amounts equal to a medium spiced cookie)
1 C.(2 sticks) Butter, room temp
2/3 C. Brown Sugar
2/3 C. Granulated White Sugar
1 tsp Vanilla
2 Eggs, room temp
2 C. Semi-sweet Chocolate Chips

Preheat oven to 375. Sift together the first seven dry ingredients in a bowl and set aside. Cream butter and sugars together in a bowl, add vanilla and eggs, and beat until incorporated. Slowly add dry ingredients until mixed well, then stir in chocolate chips.
Mold dough into largerish patties, about 3 inches in diameter and pretty thick (I know, they seem big, but they bake fine). Bake cookies for 12-14 minutes, let cool.
Works well with wonderfully whole milk!!
(sorry!! no pictures, we ate them all too fast!)