Feliz Navidad!

I can't pretend to take credit for this magical combination of flavors, but I am very excited to have found a combination of textures that showcases them in an unbelievably delicious fashion! While I'm still not up to the level of liking "spicy" chocolate, I've grown very fond of Mexican chocolate spiced with cinnamon and various types of pepper. I wanted to try to incorporate Mexican chocolate into this homemade "oreo" recipe I found, and while the cookies are not spicy by any means, the cinnamon and pepper adds a nice subtlety of spice to the cocoa powder. As for the filling, I wanted to experiment with dulce de leche, a wonderful product I hadn't learned about and fallen in love with until the last few years. Its sweet caramel taste and smooth, gooey texture are the perfect complement to the crisp, buttery cookies that sandwich it in this recipe. Be warned - you may not be able to stop at one... or four...


Mexican Chocolate Oreos
1. Bake chocolate cookies, let cool completely.
2. Make dulce de leche using microwave method (below) or another if you prefer.
3. Pipe dulce de leche onto half of the chocolate cookies and sandwich with the other half.










Mexican Chocolate Cookies
Adapted from Thomas Keller's Oreos


3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour plus 3 tablespoons 
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa plus 1 tablespoon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla extract
generous pinch of black pepper
generous pinch of cayenne pepper (if you want extra spice)
15 tablespoons (7 1/2 oz) unsalted butter, cut into 3/4-inch cubes, at room temperature


cinnamon and raw sugar for dusting (optional)


Directions: Preheat oven to 350 F and line baking sheets with parchment. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, cinnamon, black pepper and salt on low speed until combined.  With the mixer still on low speed, add the butter a few pieces at a time until it is all in the bowl.  The dough will look sandy for a long time, but just let it keep mixing for a few minutes.  When the dough does start to come together, stop the mixer.

Transfer the dough to a work surface and divide into two pieces. Working with one half at a time, roll the dough on a lightly floured work surface or parchment until it is 1/8-inch thick.  Cut rounds from the dough and place them 1/2 to 1 inch apart on the prepared baking sheets. Sprinkle with cinnamon and raw sugar if desired. Continue re-rolling and cutting until all the dough has been used.

Bake for 12-15 minutes, rotating the baking sheets halfway through. Let cookies cool on the baking sheet for 4-5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. 

Dulce de Leche Filling

Dulce de leche (known as confiture du lait in France) is a lovely caramel-like sauce or flavoring that is used in many Latin American dessert products. Depending on the texture, you can drizzle it on ice cream, use it to fill tarts or make sandwich cookies! Delish. It is traditionally made by simmering a can of sweetened condensed milk in a pot of water for several hours, but I came across a microwave method that seemed a little more practical. I had to microwave the dulce de leche for a minute after the recommended 

Microwave method from The Perfect Pantry

1 14-oz can of sweetened condensed milk (like La Lechera)

Directions: Empty sweetened condensed milk into a large glass bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Leave a small part uncovered to allow steam to escape. Microwave at medium heat (level 5 if you have 10 power levels) for 2 intervals of 2 minutes each. In between each heating, uncover and stir with a wire whisk. Then heat for 10 minutes in 2 1/2 minute intervals, whisking in between. With each heating, the milk will get thicker and become more caramel colored. After the 10 minutes, you may need to microwave for a longer time to get the desired thickness. Heat for 2-3 more minutes in 1 minute intervals until it's very thick (I heated it for 1 more minute). Let cool completely before using.

SAFETY NOTE! The bowl and milk will get very hot by the time you're about 6 minutes in, so please please use oven mitts or a towel to grab the bowl out of the microwave and use caution when uncovering and whisking. Also, the reason you need to use a large bowl is that if the milk touches the plastic wrap, it will melt it - and no one wants chunks of plastic in their dulce de leche. End of story, be careful - I don't want anyone to be burned in the pursuit of dessert!