Galletas de Chocolate (Mexican Chocolate Cookies)

This recipe for Galletas de Chocolate came from the site Mexican Desserts.  I mainly followed the recipe as is and found some flaws, and modified.  I also tripled the recipe, as the original recipe makes 12 cookies.

I wanted to have at least 36.  I honestly could not taste the ancho chili powder, so if you want to have that taste, you will need to add more chili powder.  The original recipe does not have chocolate chips in them, but the baker said she might add them the next time.  These cookies have an incredibly rich chocolaty flavor.

The next time I make this, I'd like to see how a rice flour works and use xylitol for the sugar.  The cookies, then, however, will be a lot more expensive doing this way, especially with the xylitol, which is a sugar alcohol, but they will be healthier.  These cookies when spread out tastes less sweet than when they look like hockey pucks.

Cookies:  5 dozen

Ingredients:

• 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 3/4 tspn sea salt
• 3 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tspn ancho chili powder (if you can't find ancho chili powder, then you can get dried ancho chilis and grind them up into powder in a coffee grinder)
• 3/4 cup butter, softened
• 2 1/4 cup white sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 12 oz bag semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 3 Tbspns white sugar
• 2 Tbspns cinnamon

Directions:

 Since I forgot to set the butter out at room temperature to soften, I used the microwave.  I cut up the butter and put in a glass dish and heated for 35 sec. on high.

 You want the butter softened, not liquid.

 

If you cannot find Ancho Chili Powder, then you can get a dried Ancho Chili and grind that using a coffee grinder.  You can find dried Ancho chilis at many places, but I got mine at a Latin supermarket.  I think maybe even the Dollar Tree in their spices section carry this.

 

 The recipe did not call for a lot of the ancho chili, so I broke one chili in half and only used that.  Thinking about it, I could have probably used the whole chili as I don't even take the ancho at all.

This is what the ancho chili looks like ground up into powder.  I took a couple minutes pulsing it to get it to a powdery form.

• Sift cocoa, chili powder, sea salt and flour together.

• Beat the softened butter for 1 minute with an electric mixer on medium speed.  A KitchenAid works well here.  This is at a setting of Level 4 on the KitchenAid.  It should have a stiff, whipped look. 

Butter is whipped.

• Gradually add the sugar and beat for another 3 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl.  Beat this also on Level 4 if you have a KitchenAid.  This should have an even stiffer whipped look.  I forgot to get a picture of this.

• Add the eggs and beat for another minute on medium speed.  This is Level 4 speed on the KitchenAid.
• Gradually add in the flour mixture and mix on the KitchenAid at a low speed, Level 1-2.  Scrape down sides of bowl to make sure all the flour mixture is in.

• Fold the chocolate chips to mixture and gently stir the flour mixture, but do not overstir.

• Cover bowl with plastic wrap and chill down for 45-60 min. in the refrigerator.
• Preheat oven to 350 F.
• Grease cookie sheets (I sprayed them with a coconut oil spray).
• Drop rounded tablespoonfuls of cookie dough on cookie sheet.

I made 2 trays of cookies twice.  The first time I did it, the instructions did not say to flatten the rounded tablespoons of dough out, so I did not.  These cookies really do not spread much, so mine looked more like mini hockey pucks rather than cookies.

• Then, you can take your hand or the bottom of a glass and flatten the cookies.  These cookies do not really spread, so whatever you flatten them to, that is the size they will be.

Before Baking, Flattened By Hand

After Baking

• Bake for 12 min.  The original directions say to bake for 6 min., then flip cookie over.  I don't see this as being necessary and that it can cause your cookies to break.  Just bake for 12 min.
• Remove from oven and cool for 10 min.
• Mix 3 Tbspns of sugar and 2 Tbspns of Cinnamon together.

• Sprinkle cookies with sugar & cinnamon mixture.