I guess I love them because they appear so insubstantial; it doesn’t seem like you’re eating much, a guilt-free mini-indulgence. The only problem I run into is that if they’re good, it’s sort of hard to eat just one, isn’t it? Take these chocolate cookies for example. They seem so innocuous. Thin, light. But with a deep chocolate flavor from natural cocoa, and lightly spiced with cinnamon, vanilla, molasses, and just a sprinkling of tongue-tingling cayenne, these cookies are hard to resist after the first bite. They’re sort of seductive that way. Perfect for a Valentine sweetheart. Enjoy. If using salted butter, skip the added salt in the recipe. When you measure out flour, if you don’t have a kitchen scale, gently scoop the flour using a spoon into the measuring cup, leveling the top off with a knife. Do not pack down the flour. Then wrap it in plastic wrap, and chill it in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. The cookies should bounce back when you press on their centers, and some of them should be a little dark around the edges. When cool, they should be crispy, but not burnt.
