Mexican chocolate cookies
Adapted by Judy Anderson (yduJ) from a recipe in the Boston Globe

1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil (I use canola)
4 eggs
4 tsp. vanilla extract

2 cups flour (I use half whole wheat pastry flour)
4 tsp. chili powder
2 tsp. baking powder
4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper

Stir sugar and cocoa powder together.  Add oil, vanilla, and eggs; mix
together.  It works best if you put the eggs in one or two at a time,
not all at once.

Stir together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, chili powder, and black
pepper; mix into chocolate mixture.  Put in refrigerator for a few
hours or overnight.

Preheat oven to 350.  Roll cookies into balls, "about walnut sized",
roll balls in cinnamon sugar.  Bake for about 15 minutes.












Note: if no chili powder on hand, make it thusly:

1 tbs cayenne pepper
5 tbs cumin powder
1 tbs oregano
2 tbs basil
1 tbs salt
1 tbs garlic powder

(Obviously this will make more than 4 teaspoons!  Make some chili afterwards!)
(Normally I use commercial chili powder; I have not actually tried this recipe.)

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1/2 recipe, using melted chocolate chips & butter (which the original
called for, though with baking chocolate)

1/2 C chocolate chips, melted
3/4 C sugar
1/4 C (1/2 stick) butter
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla

1 c flour
2 tsp chili powder
1/8 tsp black pepper
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder