Shava's Kitchen: Aztec Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

Fish and I are really fond of the Aztec cocoa at the Porter Square Books coffeeshop.  It's a not-too-sweet cocoa with cinnamon and a zing of spice.  Tonight, I just had an urge to create a cookie version of the same taste, and this is what the mad science produced!  Enjoy!

Aztec Chocolate Chip Cookies

1/2 cup butter Crisco (hey, it makes better cookies and they say it's transfat free now)

1 cup sugar

1 egg

1 T vanilla extract

1/2 cup milk

1 1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup Droestes (or any good dutched) cocoa

2 T chili powder (to taste -- 2 T makes a pretty mild cookie to Fish's taste; I love it!)

1 T cinnamon

1/2 T baking powder

preheat oven to 375 degrees F

cream shortning and sugar, smush in egg, mix in vanilla and milk

in another bowl, sift (or stir to remove lumps) remaining ingredients

add dry in three parts to wet, blending each time

fold in chips

drop in generous glops, about 3" round and mounded, on a greased cookie sheet (they will keep their shapes)

bake 17 minutes, or until poking a cookie gives a little dry resistance

remove to cooling rack

good with black coffee or cold milk

I'm hoping to take a few of these down to Porter Square tomorrow to see if the bookstore coffeeshop folks like them!