Black Pepper and Dark Chocolate Cookies
Chewy cookies spiced with black pepper and pools of gooey dark chocolate.
Ingredients
200g unsalted butter, melted, cooled slightly
275g (1⅓ cups) dark brown sugar
75g (⅓ cup) caster sugar
1 egg
1 tbs vanilla extract
350g (2⅓ cups) plain flour
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp fine sea salt
½ tsp ground cinnamon
1½ tsp ground ginger
1½ tsp freshly ground black pepper (mix with finer chunks)
200g dark chocolate (55%), cut into ½cm chunks
Using an electric mixer, beat butter, brown sugar and caster sugar in a large bowl until smooth. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until smooth and glossy.
Sift the flour, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder, salt and spices into a separate bowl. Add the flour mixture to the sugar mixture and beat until just combined (stop just as you see the last few flecks of flour). Add the chocolate and beat until just combined. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes to firm slightly.
Preheat the oven to 180C. Line an oven tray with baking paper. Using a small cookie scoop or a heaped tablespoon, scoop the dough into balls. Place half of the balls on the lined tray, leaving a 4cm gap between each ball. Bake for 8 minutes, then tap the tray on the oven rack to deflate the puffed cookies. Bake for a further 3 minutes or until crisp around the edges and just set in the middle. Remove from the oven and tap on a work surface to deflate the cookies again.
Cool for 5 minutes on the tray, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Meanwhile, repeat with the remaining cookie dough balls.