60 in 60: Day 44- Chip Cookies

These cookies were originally a recipe out of a Better Homes and Garden's Cookie Book. They were modified by Heather for her friend, Chip. I modified them just a little bit more (the original recipe calls for cayenne and cardamom, not nutmeg). When Heather sent me the recipe she included how these cookies should be stored. Unfortunately, for the fridge, these cookies didn't make it to the "storing" stage. They did, however, make it all the way to the "Save the recipe because these are freaking delicious" stage.

Heather's description of the recipe follows: "Okay, this is adapted from a Better Homes & Gardens recipe. I changed a bunch of stuff around, added things to taste, and made corrections as I saw fit and there's actually very little of the original recipe left in there, but gotta give credit where it's due. We just call them Chip Cookies because my friend Chip asks for them, is responsible for most of the flavors being requested, & cites this finished recipe as his favorite. If I had to classify them, I guess they'd be chocolate-gingerbread-wafer-cutout... things. He has to be rationed, or he'll eat all of them in one sitting and make himself ill. They're a bit time-consuming, but totally worth it!"

Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

1/2 cup unsalted butter (not margarine)

1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar

1/2 tsp ginger

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1/8 tsp nutmeg (which I used because I was missing the 1/8 tsp cayenne 1/2 tsp cardamom)

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp allspice

(Heather says "If you don't have all that stuff, the cayenne & a couple teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice should do the trick.")

2 tsp cocoa powder

1/8 tsp salt

1 egg yolk

1 tbsp vanilla

1 & 1/2 cups flour, (Heather says "Spooned lightly into the cups, not packed & leveled off, or the cookies will be really dry.")

beat the butter for 30 seconds

Add in the brown sugar, spices, cocoa, & salt. Beat all that until it's incorporated, then add the egg & vanilla.

Mix in the flour just until it's all mixed in. Don't over mix it or the cookies will be tough.

Divide it in half & chill it if it's too mushy to roll out. (Mine went in the fridge for about 20 minutes or so, just so I could roll it.)

Roll out cookie dough to about 1/8 inch thick on a floured surface. Cut out cookies using fun shapes. (Heather says: "If you want authentic Chip Cookies, use leaf-shapes and dog-bone shapes, 'cause those are his favorite.")

Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes on a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet. (Some of my cookies ended up looking like wonky bats.)

While the cookies are cooling, melt the chocolate chips.

Drizzle chocolate over the cookies.

Heather says: "Chip favors as much chocolate as humanly possible coated on the cookies, but I think about 50% coverage is good for letting the spices & flavors all come out.") I just let whatever came off of the rubber spatula coat the cookies. I liked the ones with less chocolate, while my boyfriend enjoyed the ones with more.

Let the chocolate cool off before devouring the deliciousness that are "Chip Cookies."

Just in case you don't devour all the cookies in one sitting, here are Heather's rules for storing, "When all the chocolate is set (this can take a while, and cats hamper the process), store in an airtight container (if you used parchment paper earlier, tear it up & put it between layers of cookies in the container, otherwise, throw 'em in a ziploc bag). They freeze really well, and if it's really hot & muggy, you want to at least put them in the fridge to keep the chocolate from melting."

Yield: There.. was more than one cookie? I don't believe you.