State of My Kitchen (Spiced Rosemary Chocolate Chip Cookies)

The state of our union might be getting stronger, but my kitchen is looking pretty rough!  Totally worth it though.  We had our good pals Holly and Jason over to try my favorite chickpea burgers and watch the State of the Union address.  Holly made delicious crispy kale chips, proving that anything tastes good with olive oil and sea salt, and we enjoyed it all with Trader Joe’s vintage ale.

We also enjoyed these spicy rosemary cookies. “A cookie, with cayenne and paprika?!” you ask?  Yes. In fact they just might be my new favorite cookie.  The spices and the brown sugar complement each other well and all of the flavors come through without any being overwhelming.  They’re also eggless, so you can easily use a non-dairy margarine and make them vegan, as the original recipe calls for.

Spiced Rosemary Chocolate Chip Cookies

from Bitter Sweet

Ingredients:

1/2 Cup Unsalted Butter, Melted
1/2 Cup Dark Brown Sugar, Firmly Packed
1/3 Cup Granulated Sugar
2 Tablespoons Maple Syrup
1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1 1/2 Cups All Purpose Flour
3/4 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
1/4 Teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
1/4 Teaspoon Smoked Paprika
1 Heaping Teaspoon Dried Rosemary
1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda
1/4 Teaspoon Salt
1 Cup Sliced Almonds, toasted (recipe called for Chopped Pecans, but this is what I had on hand)
1/2 Cup (3 Ounces) Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips or Chunks

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees. 

1. Using a mixer, blend together the melted butter, both sugars, maple syrup, and vanilla until smooth and fully combined.
2. Sift the flour into a separate bowl; add in all of the spices, rosemary, baking soda, and salt. Lightly toss both the nuts and chocolate chips in to coat with the flour.
3. Mix the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients, being careful not to overwork the dough but mix it just enough to bring everything together, without any pockets of flour lurking at the bottom. Be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl between additions so that everything gets incorporated.
4. Scoop the dough onto a greased baking sheet in 3 – 4 tablespoon portions, leaving at least an inch between cookies.  Flatten the raw cookie dough out lightly with the palm of your hand, so that they’re nice and round and about 1/2 inch in thickness.
5. Bake for 12 – 16 minutes, watching closely to make sure that they are just barely golden brown around the edges when you pull the from the oven. They should still look fairly under-baked in the center, to ensure a soft and chewy texture.

Makes About 12 Cookies

Johanna