bakin n aprin

Swaying to the Beta Band in a thrift store apron, waitin for the brownies to rise. After hours of blue skies in the snowy mountains, I found the baking sweet spot.  A long day of hiking with skis latched to my feet, music rolling out from the speakers at my side. I am just tired enough to know that I f-ing deserve dessert, a big dessert. This evening it's a batch of blackberry truffle brownies, last night it was mexican hot chocolate snickerdoodles: spicy cayenne pinched into a gooey chocolate cookie.  No photos of these spicy little chocolate especiales, but I tell you this, they surpass those busty homemade oreos posted here in winters past. So, loveys, I miss you all. Along with this effing delicious recipe, I submit a short poem, the product of a brief yet sensuous romance between two cats (one of whom is named mehitable, according to the cockroach typing the story. The cockroach can't hold the shift button and depress a letter on the typewriter at the same time, hence the following excerpt is wanting for capital letters):

"persian pussy from over the sea
demure and lazy and smug and fat
none of your ribbons and bells for me
ours is the zest of the alley cat
over the roofs from flat to flat
we prance with capers corybantic
what though a boot should break a slat
mehitable us for the life romantic"
   - Don Marquis, 1927

Mexican Chocolate Snickerdoodles, recipe from the post punk kitchen:

For the topping (I skip 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

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper
2. Mix the topping ingredients together on a flat plate. Set aside.
3. In a medium mixing bowl, use a fork to vigorously mix together oil,  sugar, syrup, and milk. Mix in extracts.
4. Sift in remaining ingredients, stirring as you add them. Once all ingredients are added mix until you’ve got a pliable dough.
5. 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 8 to 10 minutes, they should be a bit spread and crackly on top but still fairly gooey. Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.

God speed, my dear friends.