Thanks USPS! Spicy Chocolate Cookies

Here’s a last minute recipe for you all, to celebrate chocolate, the holidays, and thank the United States Postal Service! These spicy chocolate cookies have a crispy, sugar exterior. Inside they are soft and fudgy, almost like a brownie or chocolate truffle. They almost melt in your mouth as you eat them, carrying with them not just the rich dark chocolate flavor but also the bite of chili and ginger, and the warmth of cinnamon. These are truly fantastic cookies. Whether you make a batch for your postal worker, or for yourself, let’s all take a moment this year to appreciate those who have gone above and beyond to help try and keep us safe in 2020.

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Thank You, USPS!

There are a lot of heroes of 2020, from nurses, doctors, and medical staff to grocery store workers, to farmers and producers of food and more. And while all of those people deserve our thanks, I’d like to single out a particular group of individuals that really were put through the ringer this year- the United States Postal Service, and all their dedicated employees. As we all hunkered down in the beginning of March, the demands on our postal service grew. With our system flooded, postal workers continued to work long hours in dangerous and unsure conditions to keep goods traveling across the country. With increased needs for overtime and employees out sick, the need for assistance was clear, and Trump threatened to veto any aid to this essential governmental program. From letters to loved ones, to medications, we rely on the postal service to get all sorts of stuff we need. As of September, at least 83 postal employees have died of COVID, and more than 50,000 have had to take time off related to the pandemic.  And, as November loomed closer and closer with no signs of the pandemic stopping, we relied on the USPS for another important job- making our votes count. Despite Trump doing his best to bring this important service to it’s knees, the USPS has stayed afloat, struggling through the long months. And they delivered and returned tens of millions of ballots, allowing all of us, including our most vulnerable citizens, to stay home and safe. With that tremendous service comes the knowledge that in January, 2021, the world will have one less giant orange problem to deal with. Thank you USPS. Now, with a remote holiday season upon us, the USPS is once again being overwhelmed as we ship gifts across the country, but determined as ever the USPS delivers on.

Looking to help out USPS? Buy a few stamps from them here!

Thank You, with some Spicy Chocolate Cookies

It’s not a big thing, just a little gesture, but I really wanted to show my thanks to my mailman this year so I decided to make him a batch of cookies. I got it in my mind that I wanted to make some Mexican Hot Chocolate cookies (something I had enjoyed in pre-vegan days), but I never really found a recipe that I wanted to make. Well, I am a recipe developer with a general idea of what a cookie recipe should look like, so I decided just to give it a shot. Half an hour later, and I looking down at perhaps the best cookies I had ever made. I ate one (three) for quality control purposes, and had to spend the rest of the evening reminding myself that I couldn’t eat anymore. These were for my mailman. Fortunately, like a good recipe blogger I had jotted down what I had done, so these dark, melt in your mouth, crispy, fudgy cookies would be replicable. I then made a flowery paper box with some, added a ribbon and a little watercolor snowman note, and left my mailman what has to be one of the cutest packages anyone has left him. Although I had long since decided I was done with Christmas recipes for the season, this one was too good not to make it on the blog- plus, it gives me another chance to say thanks.

Looking to Say Thanks with Baked Goods? Try one of these recipes!

• Cardamom Hazelnut Vegan Snowball Cookies
• Vegan Cranberry Banana Bread
• Pineapple Guava Chia Muffins (Vegan Feijoa Recipe)
• Christmas Vegan Biscotti with Cardamom and Anise
• Classic Vegan Chocolate Ganache Truffles
• Nut-Free Sunflower Seed Butter Vegan Chocolate Cups
• Vegan Coconut Key Lime Fudge
• Vegan Lemon Scones with Lemon Turmeric Glaze

Note: USPS workers are allowed to accept gifts valued at under $20, and are technically not supposed to accept cash.

Making Spicy Chocolate Cookies

I worked to keep this recipe pretty simple- it’s all made in one bowl, doesn’t have a ton of ingredients, all of the ingredients are things you likely already have, and should take you less than half an hour to make a batch up. Before you get started, make sure you pull a stick of vegan butter out of the fridge and let it soften for 20-30 minutes, so it’s easy to work with. Then stick it in a large bowl, and use a fork to mash it up with the other wet ingredients. You will still have lumps of butter, but don’t worry about it- once you add the dry ingredients, the butter will mix in fine. The batter does take a little effort to mix the dry ingredients in. I used a stiff silicone spatula to accomplish that. Once it is all mixed, it should be thick and sticky, almost like a chocolate ganache. Roll the dough into small balls, and then press into discs and coat them with sugar (the sugar actually makes handling the dough easier, as it covers the stickiness). Make sure to give them a little space on the baking sheet as they will spread a bit, and bake for 12 minutes. When you take them out they will be pretty fragile so wait 2-3 minutes to move them. As they cool they will harden on the outside, although the inside will remain fudgy, melt in your mouth soft.

Thanks USPS! Spicy Chocolate Cookies

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