It’s here! It’s here! It’s finally here! The event I’ve been waiting for all year! No, it’s not that holiday this weekend where we celebrate by buying stuff. It’s the time of year where everyone posts screen-shots of their weather app on social media to remind the rest of us that it’s cold outside. It happens every year the second the temperature drops below 30º and this year was no exception. I’m truly touched by everyone’s commitment!
No, seriously, it’s really cold outside. I’ve taken my jacket, which people keep mistaking as a bed comforter, out of retirement and started looking for apartments in places where it doesn’t snow. Now I’m looking for ways to warm me up both physically and mentally. The one thing that instantly warms me up just by smelling it, is something every Latino household has on hand: Chocolaté de Abuelita, or “Grandma’s Chocolate.” A solid block of dark chocolate, sugar, and cinnamon that’s used to make Mexican hot chocolate. You drop a block of this magical concoction into a pot of simmering milk and enjoy.
After shivering for a consecutive hour, I decided to forget about my lactose intolerant plague and make some hot chocolate. Two steps into my kitchen, and I decided that wouldn't be such a great idea for my insides. So on this particular day, I decided to combine the idea of cookies and hot chocolate and make Mexican hot chocolate snap cookies.
I used a snap cookie recipe from my favorite UK baker, Cupcake Jemma, and decided to doctor it up a bit. (Yes, it’s all in grams. I’m sorry America but a kitchen scale is necessary.)
Here Jemma’s snap cookie recipe:
- 85g unsalted butter
- 110g caster sugar
- 1 LG egg
- 1tsp vanilla extract
- 165g AP flour
- ¼ tsp baking powder
- Pinch of sea salt
And here’s how I doctored the recipe for my Mexican hot chocolate snap cookies:
- 85g unsalted butter
- 55g caster sugar
- 55g grated Abuelita chocolate
- 1 LG egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 165g AP flour
- ¼ tsp baking powder
- Pinch of sea salt
The directions are simple: You cream the egg, butter, caster sugar, and grated Abuelita chocolate in a bowl either by hand or with a mixer. Then you sift your dry ingredients into a separate bowl. After that, you slowly fold your dry ingredients in with your wet ingredients, and combine the mixture until it forms a dough. Let the dough chill in the fridge for 45 minutes, and bake at 338ºF for 15-20 minutes. I melted some dark chocolate with a pinch of cinnamon and coated half the cookie with it after they were cooled.
These cookies are definitely a new holiday tradition for me. The Chopping Block put together our favorite cookie recipes for our new 12 Days of Holiday Cookies. There's still plenty of time to make them all in 2016!
