Variation on a Theme: Chili Double Chocolate Cookies

For my first strange and unusual recipe for October, I offer you chili double chocolate cookies!

As I mentioned in my candied chili recipe, this idea was born out of a conversation I had with my brother's girlfriend, Stefi, who is originally from Ecuador. She was eating a gingernut biscuit, and wondered whether a hot and spicy chocolate variety could be achieved.

She said the main characteristic that she liked in gingernuts was how well the different flavours coalesced in a smooth and harmonious way. She wondered if such a harmony of tastes could be achieved in chilli chocolate cookies, where the cocoa and chilli would come together well, and that the spiciness would be consistent throughout the eating experience, instead of hitting you suddenly at the beginning, or growing on you as you chew.

I found the best way to balance instant heat and gradual heat is to use two different kinds of spiciness: cayenne pepper, for the gradual, burning heat; and white pepper for the insta-burn. I also decorated the tops with little tiny pieces of candied chilli pepper, picked from Stefi's own chilli plant (which were exceedingly hot).

DIFFICULTY

Easy!

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INGREDIMENTS

7½ ounces (210 grammes) plain flour: spelt, wheat, or gluten-free

½ ounce (15 grammes) cocoa powder

½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

¾ teaspoon ground cayenne pepper

½ teaspoon ground white pepper

Pinch of salt

4 ounces (115 grammes) caster sugar

4 ounces (115 grammes) light brown sugar

4 ounces (115 grammes) butter, very soft

1 medium egg

8 ounces (225 grammes) chocolate chunks or chips: I use a mixture of equal parts dark and milk chocolate chunks

Optional: 1 tablespoon finely chopped candied chilies

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METHOD

• Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F, Gas Mk.4) and line one or two flat baking trays with non-stick baking paper.
• In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugars until creamy with a wooden spoon. Add in egg and beat vigorously until light and fluffy.
• Add in chocolate chunks and mix thoroughly. You can add any combination of milk, dark, or even white chocolate chunks or chips. I buy bars of chocolate and cut them up, but if you want the chocolate to keep its shape use shop-bought chocolate chips.
• Sieve in the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt, and spices and mix, continuing with the wooden spoon, until you have a stiff but tacky dough.
• Take roughly 1 ounce (30 gramme) portions of the dough and roll into balls. You can weigh the dough balls, or eyeball it. This mixture will make 30 one-ounce (thirty gramme) dough balls.
• Place dough balls on the tray(s), 2 inches apart from each other and the edge of the tray, and bake for 8 to 9 minutes, turning the trays back to front half-way through baking.
• Remove from the oven and allow to cool for a minute or so before transferring to a wire rack to cool. These cookies are delicious still warm from the oven, or cooled completely.

Crystalised (Candied) Chili Peppers

I said that this October I was going to try some unusual recipes in search of more grown-up, sophisticated Halloween treats. This was one of my first experiments: crystalised (candied) chili peppers!

This idea came out of a conversation that I was having with my brother's girlfriend. She is originally from Ecuador, and has a much, much higher spice threshold than I do. She was eating some ginger nut biscuits and wondered if a chili and chocolate version could exist.

I wondered if you could hide little heat bombs inside the biscuits with some pieces of pepper. However, putting fresh chili into the biscuits would compromise their shelf-life. It was then I thought about candying them.

Candying fruit is a very simple process: essentially, you poach the fruit in simple syrup until fully cooked and tender. The sugar in the syrup permeates the fruit and preserves it from the inside out. It's important to cook the fruit until it's translucent and well soaked in the syrup.

When the fruit is candied, it can be dried and tossed in sugar, as shown here. Or, it can be stored in the delicious leftover spicy syrup. The syrup itself is fantastic in cocktails and--oddly enough--as an extra warmth factor in mulled wine. Don't knock it 'til you've tried it!

This recipe also includes bonus lemon slices, but if you want to properly candy lemon slices you have to blanch them first in boiling water for 1 minute to remove the bitterness.

INGREDIMENTS

Roughly 4 ounces (115 grammes) medium or mild chilli peppers

12 fluid ounces (340 millilitres) water

8 ounces (225 grammes) caster sugar

One 2 inch (5 centimetre) piece of cinnamon stick

3 peppercorns

3 slices of lemon, roughly a ¼ inch (5 millimetres) thick

METHOD

• Cut the chilli peppers in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds. Cut each half into four pieces.
• Put the chilli pieces in a small saucepan and add in the water, sugar, cinnamon stick, peppercorns, and lemon slices.
• Bring to the boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Once boiling, reduce the temperature to a very gentle simmer and cook for about an hour to 90 minutes, until the pieces of chilli are tender and translucent. Make sure the simmer is gentle, otherwise the syrup will thicken too quickly and the peppers won't cook through fully.
• Remove the chilli peppers and lemon slices from the syrup, but don't throw the syrup away. It can be kept in a glass jar and used for cocktails and chilli sauces.
• Lie the pieces on a wire rack and allow to dry for a day if you want to toss in sugar, or you can store the chilli peppers refrigerated in the strained syrup in a glass container.