Yesterday morning, I had an entirely different post planned for you today. It wasn’t about cookies, it wasn’t about Nashville, it wasn’t about the person who likes these cookies most.
But plans change.
You might remember over a month ago, when I brought you these thin chocolate cookies and ice cream sandwiches, how I mentioned being on the hunt for a crisp chocolate cookie, the kind that was like a cocoa gingersnap, spiced and crisp, sharp and crunchy. What I didn’t tell you then was that it was really Tim who wanted this cookie, Tim who had mentioned it and sent my mind to work.
And so it was, last week in Chicago, that I first tried this new recipe, an adaptation of Mexican chocolate cookies I’d found online, while Tim sat in my parents’ dining room working on his computer and I worked in a light-filled kitchen, hoping for crisp, spiced bites of chocolate. That first experiment was such a hit, I made the recipe again Monday, so I could bring them over to Tim’s house before we went to our respective Monday night Bible studies and he made me a chicken sandwich while we talked in his kitchen. They’re just what we (well, he) were after: chocolate cookies with the snap of ginger and hints of cayenne that surprise you.
I made them to try and do something nice for him, but, as is so often the case, I’ll remember them for how they surrounded his doing something nice for me. When I made them in Chicago, so it happens, it was just hours after Tim had sat down for coffee with my dad. When I made them in Nashville, so it seems, it was just one day before Tim sat with me in a park and got down on his knees.
And so it was, yesterday afternoon, that the love of my life—the same man who revolutionized my eating habits, lured me from Chicago to Nashville, became in the course of 15 months the best friend I’ve ever had—asked me, on a blanket beneath trees and alongside a creek, next to a cooler holding a handful of these very cookies, homemade lemonade, rosemary sourdough, avocados, apple slices, cheese, chocolate, bowls of blueberries and oranges, cream and a very important box, to become his wife.
And when he slipped that ring on my finger, as you can imagine, I said yes.
HOT Chocolate Cookies
Recipe adapted from Alice Medrich
Makes about 40 cookies
Ingredients:
1 cup whole-grain spelt flour
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon Sucanat (or brown sugar)
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoons palm sugar (or granulated sugar)
4 tablespoons sweet butter, slightly softened
2 tablespoons coconut oil
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Generous pinch of ground black pepper
Generous pinch of cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
Directions:
Sift the flour, cocoa, soda and salt together in a medium bowl.
Combine the sugars in a small bowl and mix well with fingers pressing out any lumps. (Process in a food processor if lumps are stubborn).
In a medium mixing bowl, beat butter and coconut oil until creamy. Add sugar mixture, cinnamon, peppers, and vanilla. Beat on high speed for about one minute. Beat in egg. Stop the mixer. Add the flour mixture. Beat on low speed just until incorporated. Gather the dough together with your hands and form it into a neat 9 to 10-inch log*. Wrap in waxed paper. Fold or twist ends of paper without pinching or flatting the log. Chill at least 45 minutes, or until needed.
Place oven racks in the upper and lower third of the oven preheat to 350 degrees. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil.
Use a sharp knife to slice rounds of chilled dough a scant 1/4-inch thick. Place 1-inch apart on prepared baking sheets. Bake 12 to 14 minutes. Cookies will puff and crackle on top, and then begin to settle down slightly when done. Use a metal spatula to transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool. Allow cookies to cool completely before storing or stacking. Store in an airtight container up to two weeks, or freeze up to 2 months.
*If you make the log longer and skinnier, you can get smaller cookies, which we like.
About Shanna MallonShanna Mallon started Food Loves Writing back in 2008, as a way to remember her grandma and write about her life through food. Since then it's become a place leading her to a lifestyle of eating whole foods, a new home in Nashville and the love of her life, Tim. Follow Shanna on Twitter @foodloves, keep up with Food Loves Writing on Facebook and stay inspired with the monthly newsletter.
Not going to lie, this post made me choke up a bit. Special memories like this connected with food are what really makes me happy. Congratulations!
This is such wonderful news! Enjoy every moment!
I’m so very happy for you! It sounds as if the Lord has led you to just the right man. I expect some great things…I mean recipes, are going to keep coming out of this relationship
God bless you both!
Congrats Shanna! That’s awesome!
eeeek!!! I’m so excited for you! Congratulations!!
Well I certainly thinks this calls for a HUGE congratulations! May your new journey bring you all the happiness in the world.
Oh, and those cookies look totally delish. I’m gonna try them out!
congratulations! may God bless every moment of this exciting time in your lives.
Tears to my eyes, Shanna. Congrats, again and again. I’m excited for you and what comes next — it’s crazy, and you’ll love it.
Congratulations!!! That is wonderful news, a wonderful looking picnic and a beautiful ring! I’d wish you all the best but it seems like you already found him
Congratulations, Shanna! Tim too! God bless you both. <3
I had to come out of lurking and say CONGRATULATIONS! What a wonderful story of memories…and connected with the things that you love. I choked up a bit when I realized what you were saying. I’m so happy for you and wish you all the best.
Congratulations! Such wonderful news, I’m very happy for you both.
I wondered if that ‘BIG ANNOUNCEMENT’ title was a proposal. So happy for the both of you, and for those cookies. They look perfect.
I’m so excited for you both! May God richly bless your engagement and marriage. He is so good to us! YAY!!!! Congratulations to both you and Tim!
I think we truly both know that a way to a man’s heart is straight through his stomach!!!! I loved reading this post!! Congrats
so very happy for you! congrats to you both.
Sounds like such a perfect proposal! Congratulations!
So, so happy for you, Shanna!
Oh, congratulations! What a lovely way to remember how he proposed.
My eyes are filled with tears of joy and my heart with thanksgiving to our wonderful Lord. We feel so blessed and so happy for you and Tim. You two can cook and bake for us anytime! YUM! This is a Passover I will not soon
forget! My favorite time of the year!!! 1 Corinthians 5:7
I seriously EEE’d when I saw your note on twitter, and this just makes me even happier for you. You deserve every happiness in the world. (And Tim? Major kudos on the ring – J & I agreed that it’s gorgeous!)
Sigh. I love your writing. I love your stories. I love the shape that your life is most recently taking. So, so happy for you and Tim, sweet Shanna girl!
Hurray!! So thrilled for you. What a beautiful story for your beautiful heart. Feeling joyful on your behalf!
OK, I knew what the big announcement was and still got teary-eyed reading about it. I am SO happy for you. The ring was stunning far away and is even nicer in the closer shots. I wish you both every joy and happiness.
Congratulations!! Your ring is beautiful and so is your story!!
Congrats to you!! I am so happy for you!
Congratulations!!! What a lovely lovely story – and you write about it so beautifully. Plus, those cookies and the ring look amazing….a perfect day!
Congratulations!!!!! That is a cute story, and you’ll always remember the cookies. =)
So… it takes a lot to make me cry. You did. After Easter arrives and I can bake again, I WILL be making these cookies and thinking of how happy I am for you.
yay!!!! congrats
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Congratulations! I’m so happy for you!
Congrats! I just love it when plans change like that!
I love your words and your pics. Your blog is a joy to read. So happy for you!
1 questions….what could I substitue for the coconut oil?
Congratulations! I’ve been lurking here for a long, long while now, but had to come out of hiding to send you well wishes.
Oh my! So many congratulations to you! I am just thrilled for you!
Congratulations to you! What a wonderful memory you will have about this day and those cookies!
CONGRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Congratulations!!!!!!!!!!!!! I love a good love story
congrats, you two!!!
Shame on you for making me cry into my ice cream tonight! Love your story. And it’s just the beginning!!!
YAY!!! Oh, I’m so happy for you. I knew this was coming soon (; I’m praying for both of you, that you would grow closer to the Lord together and receive a deeper understanding of the relationship between Christ and the Church through this new season in life. Congratulations, Shanna and Tim!
Eek—congratulations, Shanna! I’m doing a little dance here.
You deserve all the happiness in the world, and it sounds like that’s exactly what Tim’s given you. May the happiness continue for the rest of your lives!
How incredibly romantic! Congrats, Shannalee! So happy for you. I have so enjoyed reading your story
Chills. Congratulations, my friend! I’m so, so happy for you. Such great news!
Having met Tim, (I still need his help, btw), I can only say, you are one blessed woman. Now I must meet you because I know he is one blessed man. So totally happy for you and him. I’ll email you. You must meet me at zumba downtown sometime and we can go to Turnip Truck for lunch.
Congratulations!!!
wow! janna & tim – congratulations! i am so happy for you – and smiling, yes, because it’s a happy food time, too. best wishes!
Congratulations Shanna! It is awesome to see how God works. I am so excited for you and Tim. I will spread the good news at Bible Study on Monday night. God Bless. Tanya
Congratulations to both of you – may you have a long and happy life together – what a wonderful way to propose!
Well, I know it’s uncharacteristic of me to do a general response, but wow, you’ve overwhelmed me with your comments here. Thank you all so much!
Lisa – To answer your question about substitutions, you could use butter.