{gently spiced} double chocolate cookies
The interwebs should mean no more door-to-door anything anymore. Get off my lawn, bozo, I have the interwebs. I’ll look you up if I’m interested.
I really resent wearing pants in my own home just because I might have to open my door to pedlars. Also, don’t salespeople watch Dateline Real Life Mysteries? I do. People are being put into chained boxes and kept as sex slaves all the time. I’d think twice before knocking on a stranger’s door.
The other day, I opened my home to some salesmen because I was working in the kitchen (which is right by the front door), and the two dudes ringing the door chime could see me. I figured they’d notice if I dropped to the floor and chinned my way to the basement.
The younger of the two salesmen immediately apologized for disturbing me, and without missing a beat, launched into a well rehearsed we-could-save-you-from-yourself speech. I listened, as I always do, because that’s polite. Way more polite, by the way, than showing up at someone’s home uninvited. After his speech, I said that I don’t believe in buying religion at the door, because I do most of my shopping online. I guess they hadn’t heard of the interwebs because neither of them laughed.
So, because they seemed uncomfortable, I changed the subject. I pointed up the street:
movita: Did you know that there was a DRUG DEN a few doors up that way? I’m not sure which house though. The cops arrested everyone.
(The salesmen look up the street nervously.)
movita: And a couple of months ago, the police had two girls laying face down on that street over there, while they searched their car for guns.
(I’ve seen this on The First 48.)
movita: And that street over there? (pointing) Well, a house over there HAD guns, and the cops seized the guns, but don’t you think they probably just got NEW guns as soon as the cops left?
(The salesmen look very surprised. I wonder if they’ve already been to the homes on that street.)
movita: Honestly, I can’t believe anyone gets sent out door-to-door anymore. Do you get nervous? I would. It just seems really dangerous for everyone involved. The person answering the door, the people AT the door… I mean, don’t knock on my door if you don’t want to be a sex slave, right?
(The younger salesman steps back.)
movita: I’m kidding! Seriously – I’m just yankin’ yer chains. It’s a great neighbourhood. My neighbours are awesome. It’s very safe here.
(The salesmen laugh nervously and hand me a pamphlet. I admire their persistence in the face of adversity.)
movita: Anyway, thanks for the info. And thanks for stopping by…
I watched as the salesmen walked up my driveway, exchanged a few words, and then walked straight to the bus stop. They didn’t visit any other houses on my street. Which is nice, because I bet a lot of my neighbours don’t wear pants in the privacy of their own homes.
Now, should you have some invited guests in your home, you might want to share some of these cookies with them. They are chocolatey and soft, and more chewy than crisp. They are gently spiced with cinnamon, cayenne, black pepper and cloves. The spices scent the cookies and add a warmth to the mix. You’ll barely notice their presence, but they add a little depth to the cookie. When I asked 2.0 to describe their flavour for you he said they taste like chocolate and fall. I think I’ll quote that in a pamphlet for my neighbours.
. . .
{Gently Spiced} Double Chocolate Cookies
Yields just under 3 dozen cookies.
- 6 tablespoons cocoa
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- pinch ground cloves
- 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter
- 3/4 cup white granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup light brown sugar (packed)
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Mise en place – begin by getting organized. Measure out all of your ingredients. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper, preheat oven.
Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, whisk together the cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, cayenne pepper, black pepper and ground cloves. Set aside.
In a medium sized saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. As soon as the butter has completely melted, remove from heat. Stir in the granulated and brown sugars, mixing well to combine. Stir in the vanilla extract. Stir in the eggs, one at a time, until well blended. Pour the butter/sugar mixture into the cocoa mixture, and mix until well combined. Stir in the flour until just combined (and no pockets of flour remain). The dough will be thick. Finally, stir in the chocolate chips.
Use a small ice cream scoop (about 1.5 tablespoons) or a heaping tablespoon to drop the dough into rounded mounds on prepared baking sheets – leaving 2 inches between each cookie for spreading.
Bake for about 10-12 minutes – until slightly crusted on top, yet still slightly soft in the centre. Because of carry-over baking, take care not to over-bake – if the cookies feel slightly underdone, they’ll firm up as they cool. Let cool for five minutes on the cookie sheet before removing to cool completely on racks.
Ha! Loved the salesmen story!
How do you think the cookies would turn out if I used salted butter?
Thank you.
Salted butter will simply increase the salt content of the cookie. I often use it instead of unsalted. You can decrease the salt in the recipe if you are worried.
Great story….might have to adopt it…you don’t care, right? So funny!
Go forth and scare your salesmen, Ingrid!
In some neighbourhoods your story unhappily might be true. It is very sad. However, I would have loved to see the looks on the faces of your young callers, and heard the conversation before heading off to catch the bus.
Actually, Bonnie, the stories were all true. (Eeeeps!) Oh, except for the part about me wanting sex slaves. I just felt bad scaring the crap out of the boys…
Oh, movita. I love the way you handle door-to-door salesmen of any kind. As it happens, a friend and I were talking on Friday and pretty much agreed that after work on Friday = Pants-Free Friday, at which point anyone ringing the doorbell would be especially unwelcome. So, you know, I feel you on that. And cookies. Which I can’t wait to try.
When I’m not teaching in the evenings, I like to get my pyjamas on at about 5 pm. PANTS SHOULD NOT BE WORN DURING THE DINNER HOUR. They impede consumption.
Ha! Indeed. Well played. After 6 years of working from home, my, um, standards, shall we say, have slid on what = daytime wear vs. Halloween costume. Story short: The husband gets a lot of packages these days. I think the FedEx and UPS dudes are a little afraid each time they ring the bell wondering what they’re gonna get.
I think you should seriously consider a Wonder Woman outfit.
I love this post!! And your salesman-handling finesse. I just recently made cayenne chocolate fudge cookies, but I think cayenne, black pepper and cinnamon together would take it to a whole different level. Genius. I’ll have to try it next time. And love the gorgeous photos, especially the slightly faded effect. Thanks for posting! 🙂
Those are seriously beautiful. I think I must bake some cookies soon, except they’re my least effective part of my cooking arsenal! Fantastic 🙂
The last two times I answered the door to a strange sales person, I was talked into buying a new cable package and two boxes of thin mints. I should really be less polite. Although, I do love thin mints. These cookies look wonderful. I’d eat them by the handful. If you ever came to my door to try to sell me some of these cookies, I’d chain you to my KitchenAid and keep you as my cookie slave.
Man, being a cookie slave would be SA-WEET.
Gorgeous cookies. Just today, someone was trying to convince me to fire my gardener of 20 years based on the fact that he (the new “would be gardener” knocked on my door. Um. Yeah. Love your great strategy. You must check out Tom Mabe’s Revenge of the Telemarketers if you get a chance. It’s on the Interwebs.
um…sooooo, i don’t really know how to say this, but actually…hmm. actually, i DO drop to the floor and chin my way out of their line of vision? is that wrong? Is it more wrong that i’ve taught my child to do this? Mr. Table thinks it’s weird, but it’s why he married me. I think it’s safety first, in action.
and any endorsement like “chocolate and fall,” especially coming from 2.0, means automatic addition to the short list of baking. THESE COOKIES WILL BE MINE.
I NORMALLY dip, duck and dive, but alas, I had no chance on this particular occasion. I’m very good at hiding behind partitions, dressers, curtains…
You could have just told them they would be mocked on the Interwebs. So much scarier…
Yah, but then they would have requested that I help “spread the Word” with social media. And I can only spread butter and sugar via social media. It would have been super awkward.
My house came with a tinted film on all the windows, and it is the best, thing, ever. Nobody can see inside during the day, even with the shades open, which means that I can pretend to not be home whenever I want… which is pretty much always.
Oh, and these cookies look completely delicious!
That’s it. I’m tinting our windows. All of ’em.
{sound of clothes falling to the floor}
If you’re going to be a sex slave, it’d be good to know that you’d be fed delicious biscuits in between other eating chores. Great pics and top post:)
I DROP TO THE FLOOR TOOOOOOOO. I haven’t in a while, but that’s only cause we’ve moved and no one will be knocking on my apartment door anytime soon. It’s always so difficult to hide in the summer when there’s only the screen door, and all the windows are open…
I, too, am a dropper. Sadly, I was unable to do so in this case – I’d been made. It’s a real shame, as normally I slither around my house undetected for weeks at a time…
you are just too awesome for my words! movita movita!! you make my day. and then you make another! : ) xo
I just made these. They are so yummy and my kitchen smells wonderful!! I just had a problem with the dough being too thick, maybe. The cookies are not flattening hardly at all when they bake. Should I add a little milk maybe?
Hi, Tracie! So glad you liked the cookies! I have a couple of thoughts – first, I wouldn’t add milk to the batter, as even the tiniest of adjustments to ingredients and/or method can have adverse results.
Second – if you like the cookies, I wouldn’t worry about flattening! Enjoy those floofy babies! (But that’s just my laziness talking…)
And finally, if you would prefer them to be flatter, you could always press them down ever so slightly with your fingers before baking – that would give them a head start on flattening. The batter is meant to be quite thick, so it could be a difference in our ovens, the size of our cookie mounds when scooping, or the pans we’re using that is giving us different results.
Happy baking!
I hate door-to-door salesman! I’m the person who is too nice to politely decline and slam the door in their face…somehow I feel compelled to hear them out even after I nicely try to explain that i’m not interested and they rudely continue. It happens on the phone with solicitors too, although it’s easier to hang up on someone you can’t see.
Haha, I love that you said that to them…I’m sure your neighbors thank you 🙂
I LOVE the combination of chocolate and spice. I made some iced chocolate spice cookies last Christmas and they had bits of dried fruit in them and I couldn’t stop eating them. I know my husband only requests chocolate chip cookies, but I’m totally making these for him (i.e. me) this week!
> People are being put into chained boxes and kept as sex slaves all the time.
Really? Where can I apply?
Mostly, you have to sign up at people’s houses. Just show up at someone’s door, knock, and then offer up your services!
You deserve a medal for saving your neighbors from peddlers!! I’m so happy that my door is NOT see through (except for the peep hole, so I can see who is on it!) . We basically never open the door. When the doorbell rings here is what happens
/ring
Aaron “You expecting anyone?”
Me “No, are you?”
Aaron “No”
/turns down TV volume
/pretend like nothing happened.
Which I think is silly because if they are at the door and can hear your TV then they can OBVIOUSLY hear you turn the volume down, where if you just leave the volume constant maybe you just forgot to turn off the TV before you left!
Although that logic doesn’t really work for people when they see me pull into the garage and close the door… still not answering!
Only 2 things stuck with me from my childhood:
1. the slogan “STRANGER DANGER”
2. my love of cookies
I applaud your bravery in answering the doors, and even making words at those strangers! WHAT IF THEY WERE MURDERERS!!??
Also, thank you for some delicious-looking cookies.
Your cookies look amazing! And I’m in sweaty yoga clothes with crazy hair or pjs most of the time…hiding is my strategy for unwanted visitors. But I like yours, too!
You kill me. And you make good cookies, Mrs. Beaucoup.
I agree and I also think you shouldn’t get dressed for the day until the morning chores are done. My husband walks from the toilet to the shower in the morning. “How can you stand it?” he’ll say.
I’d rather do the chores, clean up and then stay clean for the rest of the day. Or make these wonderful gently spiced cookies and get dirty. 🙂
You and my Dad- the last two people on the plantet who actually engage with strangers that knock on the door! Similarly they don’t know when to laugh or cry.
I’m blogging in bed at 5.30am and could eat one of those cookies right now. x
Oh, the joys of living in an apartment building… no door-to-door anything. That combines well with the biggest joy of working from home – wearing my yoga pants or pajamas all day if I want. By the way, yummy cookies!
OMG love love love how you handled that all. And some people you wonder if they have a pulse or a brain cell. Like no smiles or laughing at any of this – hello, jokes? Wow. Glad they found that bus stop though. Bye!
These cookies. Cayenne, black pepper, cocoa powder and the tear-apart nature at the ‘fault lines’ where the cookies naturally have pits and valleys and can be broken apart so easily and then the melty chocolate runs out, yes they’re perfect. Pinned!
Ugh, I hate when people go door to door. Apparently it’s a big problem in Illinois. Everyone has signs on their doors and mailboxes that say “NO SOLICITING” and cite some part of the legal code or something. So instead of knocking on doors, people leave pamphlets IN the door cracks. Just the other day, I found a pamphlet that said “HOUSE CLEANING BY SVETLANA” on it, with a picture of a woman (presumably Svetlana) balancing on a chair in a short skirt with her boobies practically bursting out of her top while she reaches for the curtain rod with a duster.
I’m pretty sure this is relevant to your main point about door-to-door salesmen.
[…] I’m not generally gentle with my spice, these cookies spoke to […]
Definitely the bonus of living in a doorman apartment building is that you always get notice before someone is on your doorstep. Usually enough time to put on pants. And hide the cookies because there is NO WAY I’m sharing these.
You definitely know how to hold your own against those salesman haha 😀
And these cookies were your reward obviously, much deserved beauties bursting with deliciousness!
Cheers
CCU
[…] Double chocolate cookies, Movita Beaucoup […]
[…] I can’t for it all to start. I should make a list of baked goods, is that too list-y? These cookies have been on my mind a lot lately, I wanna make them. I made an apple-cranberry snacking cake […]
You are the best. I wish I was as ballsy and hilarious as you, lady. You totally did your neighbours a solid by chasing those pesky salesmen away. We used to get a lot of Jehovah Witnesses at our door (my older sister invited them in and we did bible study with them for 2 years before we figured out we’d rather be doing anything else other than bible study). I would’ve totally done the drop ‘n chin, t’hell if they can see me actively avoiding them! As for these cookies, want.need.have to have. They’re gorgeous!
[…] gently-spiced double chocolate cookies from movita beaucoup […]
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