Mexican Hot Chocolate Snickerdoodles.

My boy decided he wanted to make his favorite cookie over the weekend. He made a list of each teacher on "my big hallway at school," and we made the cookies. We bagged a single one for each of the teachers on his list, and he asked me to type out the recipe, which I happily did. This afternoon, we'll staple the recipe, along with a note of cheer to each baggie.

Oh, I love my boy's heart.



 Mexican Hot Chocolate Snickerdoodles

Makes 2 dozen Cookies 

A beautiful crackle topped chocolate cookie with a spicy cayenne kick and a sugary cinnamon coating.

For the topping: 
1/3 cup sugar 
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 

For the cookies: 
1/2 cup canola oil 
1 cup sugar 
1/4 cup pure maple syrup 
3 tablespoons almond milk (Or your preferred non-dairy milk) 
1 teaspoon vanilla extract 
1 teaspoon chocolate extract (or more vanilla extract if you have no chocolate) 
1 2/3 cups flour 
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 

1 teaspoon baking soda 
1/4 teaspoon salt 
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 
1/2 teaspoon cayenne 

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper. 

Mix the topping ingredients together on a flat plate. Set aside. 

In a medium mixing bowl, use a fork to vigorously mix together oil, sugar, syrup, and milk. Mix in extracts. 

Sift in remaining ingredients, stirring as you add them. Once all ingredients are added mix until you’ve got a pliable dough. 

Roll dough into walnut sized balls. Pat into the sugar topping to flatten into roughly 2 inch discs. Transfer to baking sheet, sugar side up, at least 2 inches apart (they do spread). This should be easy as the the bottom of the cookies should just stick to your fingers so you can just flip them over onto the baking sheet. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, they should be a bit spread and crackly on top. Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. 

from Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar  By Isa Chandra Mowskowitz