Chocolate Chile Cookies

By mangia_g2

This is a Weight Watcher recipe. Two PointsPlus value for 1 cookie.

Ingredients

• 2 oz unsweetened baking chocolate squares, chopped (I used Lindt intense orange dark chocolate, 47%)
• 1 cup flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper or more to taste
• 1/2 cup sliced almonds
• 1 cup dk brown sugar, packed
• 1/3 cup sugar, granulated
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat oven to 350. Coat two large cookie sheets with cooking spray or line with parchment.

Place chocolate in a small bowl and microwave on high for 15 seconds. Stir well, then continue microwaving in 15-second increments, stirring after each, until half the chocolate has melted. Remove from microwave and continue stirring until the chocolate has fully melted. Set aside to cool for 5 minutes while you begin making the cookie dough.

Whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt and cayenne in a medium bowl; set aside.

Place almonds in a skillet set over medium-low heat; cook, stirring often, until lightly browned and aromatic, about 4 minutes. Set aside.

Beat both sugars and the eggs in a large bowl with the electric mixer at medium speed until thick and pale brown, about 5 minutes. Beat in the melted chocolate and vanilla until smooth.

Stir in the flour mixture with a wooden spoon, just until all the flour has been moistened. Stir in toasted almonds.

Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto prepared cookie sheets, spacing the mounds about 2 inches apart.

Bake in the top and bottom thirds of the oven for 5 minutes. Reverse the cookie sheets top to bottom and front to back, and continue baking until firm and slightly puffed, about 10 minutes. Cool on sheets for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack. If you need to cook these in several batches, allow cookie sheets to cool for 5 minutes between batches.