The theme of this month’s We Should Cocoa is cookies, and it is hosted by BakeNQuilt, whose Black and White Cookies make me want to weep because they’re so pretty (and no doubt delicious too!). My Chocolate Devil Cookies  don’t look like much – and in fact, the pearl sugar makes them look deceptively harmless, too. Do not be fooled however, for these deeply dark chocolate cookies pack a punch: the ingredient list includes ginger, cinnamon and cayenne pepper. The sugar and salt combo on top brings the flavour combination to perfection. I’m quite obsessed with these now.

 

Chocolate Devil Cookies (20 cookies)

 

7/8 cup all-purpose flour (1 cup minus 2 tbls, or 200 ml)

1/2 cup cocoa powder

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper

¼ teaspoon ground ginger

75 g chopped dark chocolate

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

1/4 cup rapeseed oil

1 egg

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

 

For dipping:

1 ½ tablespoons pearl sugar

1 tablespoon Maldon salt

 

Preheat oven to 175 C. Prepare cookie sheets.

In a large bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cayenne pepper and ground ginger. Stir in chopped chocolate.

In another bowl, mix together brown and white sugars, oil, egg and vanilla extract. Add to the dry ingredients and stir to combine. (As always, you may find you need to adjust the flour/wet ingredient ratio slightly to get the texture you want.)

Combine pearl sugar and Maldon salt on a plate. Form cookie dough into 2,5 cm balls and dip each ball in the sugar&salt mixture. Flatten the balls slightly and place on cookie sheets.

Bake in the preheated oven for 7-9 minutes, or until just done around the edges but still moist inside.