Spiced Chocolate Truffle Cookies with Sea Salt

This isn’t just a chocolate cookie. Oh no. Ladies and gentleman, this could very well be the chocolate cookie. This could be the one to curb all indulgent cravings. This could be it. Why? Because it isn’t just a chocolate cookie. It has spices. It has sea salt. It’s intriguing.

My dear friend Ali, who moved to New York at the beginning of the year, informed me she was fed up with reading my blog posts without getting to taste the goods (I was tempted to say “too bad for moving across the country”, but I like to share delicious things so good will won out). When I asked her what she wanted, this was her reply:

What I want: gimme something magical, yet substantial. Sweet like forbidden romance with a foundation of true care. Bake some love in it.

Immediately I thought of chocolate. Then I thought of adding some allure with chili, some comfort with cinnamon. I knew this had the potential to be everything she wanted, everything I wanted, in the unassuming form of a cookie. The sea salt was a last minute addition, sprinkled on top just before going in the oven. It sealed the deal with these cookies. They would have been good anyways, but the salt made them incredible. Ali, this is coming your way:

The scones in the background? Don’t worry– they’ll have they’re time in the spotlight soon enough.

Spiced Chocolate Truffle Cookies with Sea Salt

adapted from Gourmet

Yield: 3 dozen cookies

Ingredients:

• 4 oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped
• 2 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cubed
• 4 eggs
• 1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp instant espresso powder
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp chipotle chili powder
• 1/4 tsp ground cardamom
• 1/2 tsp salt
• Coarse sea salt, for garnish

Directions:

1. Melt the unsweetened chocolate, 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips and butter in a medium bowl set over a pot of simmering water (double boiler). Stir until melted. Remove from the heat and set aside.
2. In your mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the eggs and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add the vanilla and espresso powder and beat to combine.
3. Fold half the chocolate mixture into the egg mixture, then fold in the remaining chocolate.
4. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, chili powder, cardamom, baking powder and salt. Fold into the wet mixture. Fold in the remaining 1 cup chocolate chips. Let the batter sit for 10 minutes to cool and thicken.
5. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Drop the batter in rounded tablespoon-fuls into parchment-lined sheet pans, leaving at least 1 inch between the cookies as they will spread quite a bit (I fit 8 per pan). Sprinkle each cookie with a few grains of coarse sea salt.
6. Bake about 8 minutes until shiny and crackled on top, rotating the pan halfway through cooking. Let cool on the pan at least 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely. Enjoy!