Mexican Hot Chocolate Snickerdoodles–Steady Habits-Style!

With Cinco de Mayo just around the corner, the idea of a Mexican hot chocolate snickerdoodle caught my attention. Of course, the recipe I saw was vegan and I’m not, so it’s back to the ol’ Steady Habits-style with butter and eggs à  la the same trusted recipe I modified for the chai spice version. This time the snickerdoodle gets a Mexi-twist with chocolate, almond extract, ground chipotle and ancho chili powders. ¡Vámonos!

I spied the vegan version of these cookies on Foodbuzz and loved the concept. Thanks kindly to Two Bites in Suburbia for the inspiration! http://twobites.wordpress.com/2010/04/23/mexican-chocolate-snickerdoodles

The aroma of Mexican hot chocolate as you remove these little treats from the oven is something I wish I could bottle and send your way. Since I can’t, you’ll have to bake a batch for yourself and see.

MEXICAN HOT CHOCOLATE SNICKERDOODLES
(STEADY HABITS-STYLE, NON-VEGAN!)
A riff on Mrs. Nelson’s recipe, circa 1975, The Hartford Courant, tested by the Connecticut Light & Power Test Kitchen–with twists, of course, from Katty’s Kitchen!

2 sticks butter, softened
1 ½ cups sugar
2 eggs
½ teaspoon salt
2 ¼ cup flour
½ cup Dutch-process cocoa (I used Valrhona)
1 tablespoon baking powder (I used Paneangeli lievito vaniglinato per dolci)*
½ teaspoon vanilla
½ teaspoon almond extract
2 teaspoons cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground chipotle
¼ teaspoon ground ancho chile

*Thanks to my friend Joanna for explaining  this is a double-acting baking powder, incorporating both baking soda and cream of tartar.

SUGAR ‘N SPICE FOR ROLLING 

1½ tablespoons sugar
1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon

Cream sugar, shortening, extracts and eggs. Add dry ingredients. Combine and chill in the fridge for approximately 1.5 hours. 

Use rounded teaspoonful of dough to form small balls. Roll in sugar ‘n spice mixture. Place on ungreased cookie sheet about 2 inches apart. Bake at 375 degrees F about 9 to 10 minutes.

 

Irish Car Bomb Cake: Sláinte!

Breakfast is served!

With St. Pat’s just around the corner and Guinness in the house, my thoughts turn to Irish Car Bomb Cake. Rather than follow other recipes I’ve seen, I took Hershey’s Deep, Dark and made a car bomb out of it. It’s fantastic. Dare I say: It’s da bomb. Ready for these easy modifications?

http://www.hersheys.com/recipes/recipes/detail.asp?id=4608

IRISH CAR BOMB CAKE (MODIFIED HERSHEY’S DEEP, DARK)

1. Substitute the cup of boiling water for Guinness.
2. Replace 2 cups of white sugar with 1 cup white sugar, 1 cup light brown sugar
3. 1 tablespoon vanilla instead of two teaspoons

 The changes in steps two and three are negligible, so you can easily follow the original recipe with just the Guinness substitution to keep it simple. It makes a truly “deep, dark,” moist, delicious cake. Once I even forgot to put the eggs in–and though the cake was flatter than usual, it still tasted good. How’s that for foolproof?

What really makes an Irish Car Bomb out of this cake is the frosting, so let’s do it!

IRISH CAR BOMB FROSTING

1 stick butter, room-temperature
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
1 tablespoon sour cream
1 tablespoon Bailey’s Irish Cream
2 teaspoons Jameson’s Irish Whiskey
dash salt

Beat butter at medium speed for a few minutes. Turn mixer to low to add sour cream, Bailey’s and Jameson’s. Gradually add confectioners’ sugar and salt and increase mixer speed to get the frosting nice and fluffy.

I’d like to thank Bill Cosby for telling me it’s OK to eat chocolate cake for breakfast: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4K5YBNQq-Qo

It may not be breakfast of champions, but it certainly is a tasty treat…and leaves my (partially) Irish eyes a-smilin’!

The great American chocolate cake, Irish-style, with milk!