Cocoa Chocolate Chip Cayenne Pepper Cookies

I've been really slow updating my cookie blog this year, for this I have to apologize.
My turn for Cookie night came around tonight, so here's my latest being effort: Cocoa Chocolate Chip Cayenne Pepper Cookies.
The recipe follows my regular Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe, however to make them Cocoa-Cayenne I add two tbsp of cocoa powder, 1 tsp of Cayenne pepper, and one extra tbsp of milk. The baking process is the same. In the photos you can see the dark cocoa-cayenne cookies next to their vanilla cousins.

The cayenne doesn't really alter the flavour of the cookies, however they do leave a lasting heat. You'll definitely want to have a glass of milk on hand after having a few cookies ;)

Apple, Raspberry, and Banana Rugelach

I've been spending a lot of time on the road as of late, so I haven't had the same opportunities to experiment in the kitchen. So when my cookie night turn came around I fell back on my Rugelach recipe. This time around I didn't booze up the fruit fillings, instead I kept things naturally healthy using just fruit puree.

Egg free Chocolate Chip Cookies

I'm back after a brief hiatus. Tonight was my turn to host my cookie club's cookie night. I decided to try my hand at an egg free interpretation of my regular chocolate chip cookie recipe.
To replace the original recipe's egg content I used one banana, a half cup of apple sauce, and 1/8 of a tsp of baking soda. Removing the eggs meant that the baking time had to be adjusted to twenty minutes instead of the usual twelve. These cookies are a little more chewy, and less cake like, however they retain much of their usual look and scent. If you need to make an egg free chocolate chip cookie I can recommend using the approach I took above.

The hand made chocolates in the middle of the platter are my take on peanut butter cups -- all of them start with a dark chocolate base, followed by either peanut butter or cognac cranberry filling, then covered in milk chocolate. They melt in your hand so you have to eat them quickly :)

I hope to get back to regular posts soon, after all my holiday baking I needed a break. Hoping everyone is doing well in this new year - and enjoy the above recipe!