These chocolaty, almost brownie-like cookies are flavored with brown butter, ancho chili powder and topped with a pinch of salt, making them complex, with a kick of spice. They are best eaten the day they are made. The dough can be made 3 days ahead, covered and chilled in the refrigerator. Let the dough come to room temperature before baking. Make the fluff the same day that you serve the cookies.

Spicy Brownie Sandwich Cookies with Raspberry Fluff

Category

Category name

Serves

Makes 10 to 12 cookies

For the Cookies 

Ingredients

  • 4 ounces unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
  • 1 tablespoon ancho chili powder
  • 1 ½ tablespoons Ancho Reyes Liqueur, or coffee or chocolate liqueur
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla paste or vanilla extract
  • 7 ounces bittersweet chocolate, 70% cocoa solids
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 3 tablespoons cocoa powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 2 large eggs
  • ¾ cup granulated sugar
  • ½ cup grated piloncillo or dark brown sugar
  • ¾ teaspoon sea salt
  • Flaky sea salt, for sprinkling

Method

  1. In a medium saucepan, melt and cook the butter over medium heat, stirring often until it foams and then browns, 5 to 8 minutes. Scrape the melted butter into a medium bowl, add ancho powder and stir to combine. Let sit 10 minutes to steep. Add the liqueur and vanilla and stir to combine again.
  2. Set the bowl with the melted butter mixture over a medium saucepan filled with about 2 cups of simmering water. Do not let the base of the bowl touch the water. Add the chocolate, stirring occasionally until melted. Remove the bowl from the heat and set aside to cool slightly.
  3. Place a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
  4. In a medium bowl, add the flour and then sift the cocoa powder and baking powder through a fine-mesh sieve into the bowl. Whisk until combined.
  5. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or using an electric hand mixer, beat the eggs and granulated sugar, piloncillo and salt on high speed until pale, light and fluffy, about 5 to 6 minutes. Reduce the speed to low and slowly pour in the melted chocolate mixture. Increase the speed to medium and beat until combined, about 30 seconds. Reduce the speed to low again and fold in the dry ingredients, making sure to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl, until fully incorporated.
  6. Using a 1-ounce ice-cream scoop, arrange balls of dough about 3 inches apart on one of the parchment-lined baking sheets. Do not flatten; the cookies will spread as they bake. Sprinkle with sea salt. Repeat with remaining dough on the other parchment-lined baking sheet to make 10 to 12 more cookies.
  7. Bake the cookies until the surface is crinkled and puffed but the centers are still soft, 9 to 12 minutes. Allow to cool on the baking sheet for 30 minutes; then transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely.

For the Fluff

Ingredients

  • ¾ cup granulated sugar
  • ⅓ cup water
  • ¾ cup honey
  • 3 large egg whites, room temperature
  • ½ teaspoon cream of tartar
  • ¼ teaspoon sea salt
  • 1 tablespoon pulverized, freeze-dried raspberries
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla paste or extract

Method

  1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, combine the egg whites, cream of tartar and salt. Let sit until the sugar syrup has reached temperature (225°F).
  2. To make the syrup: In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar, 1/3 cup water  and honey and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Using an instant-read thermometer, check the temperature of the syrup every 60 seconds. When the sugar syrup reaches 225°F, begin to whip the egg whites on high speed to soft peaks, about 3 to 4 minutes. When the syrup reaches 240°F, remove the pot from the heat, reduce the mixer speed to medium and slowly and carefully, drizzle the syrup into the whites in a thin, steady stream. Increase the speed to high and continue to whip until the whites are thick, glossy and fluffy, 7 to 8 minutes. The whites will deflate a little after adding the syrup but will thicken again as they continue to whip. Reduce the speed to low and add the crushed raspberries and the vanilla. Increase the speed to high and whip until incorporated, another 30 seconds.
  3. Using a rubber spatula, scrape the meringue into a piping bag or gallon-sized, zip lock freezer bag fitted with a plain round tip. If not using a tip, cut ½ inch from the tip of the bag or the corner of the freezer bag. Pipe a mound of fluff onto the center of half of the cookies. Top with a second cookie, pressing gently together until the fluff comes to the edges. Serve immediately.