¡Yo Quiero Galleta de Chocolate!

I would first like to thank Google translator for helping me with the post title. I had the ¡Yo Quiero part and then was stumped, probably because all my Spanish comes from Taco Bell commercials. Oh wait, I know how to order two beers in Spanish as well, but who doesn’t? Everyone I know can probably order two beers, but ask them to order just one and they will probably stare at you dumbfounded. Go figure!

So why the Spanish flavor to today’s lesson? Because today I decided to take another crack at some baking. With my recent attempt to eat less things that come prepackaged in boxes and bags, I figured I would make my own cookies. The inspiration for today was a recipe I found on Tastespotting for Mexican Chocolate Chip Cookies – which I now call Chocolate Chiphuahua Cookies. I was taken aback for a second when I saw the ingredients but, being the adventurous cook that I am (with ingredients, not effort), I figured I would give them a shot. Glad I did! They are delicious – soft, chewy, chocolaty and finish with a kick. Definitely one of the best cookies I have tasted, and so easy to make. While you can detect the spice after using a heaping 1/4 teaspoon of crushed red peppers flakes, I think I would double that to a 1/2 teaspoon to give them just a tad more of a bite. I guess it depends if you like spicy or not.

Here is the version of the recipe I followed from here, which made 30 cookies for me:

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon crushed red peppers
1 12-ounce package semisweet chocolate chunks

4. Bake cookies until golden brown but still soft to touch, about 10 minutes (for crisper cookies, bake 12 minutes). Let stand on sheets 3 minutes. Transfer cookies to racks and cool.

After completing the cookies I cleaned up quickly as I had a curry to make as well. Again, I found a recipe that looked interesting and got cracking. It really wasn’t too difficult despite the number of ingredients needed, but in the end I was disappointed with the results. I think it turned out ok for a curry, but I think I was expecting something else. I was expecting more of a tikka masala or rogan josh type curry – something with a kick – and this seemed rather bland to me. Oh, and I put a tad too much cilantro. Others liked it, but I guess I set my expectations too high. Probably my second dish not to turn out in my eyes, so not too bad of a track record still. I won’t bother posting a link to the recipe since I personally can’t recommend it, but here are some shots of the curry… it definitely looked and smelled good.

Tags: baking, chocolate chip, cookies, curry, Spanish