Gunpowder Cookies ('splodin' with goodness)

[MaggieSweet]

 

These cookies are the bomb! Just the right amount of heat and cooled with the sweetness of craisins all wrapped up with a chocolate blanket. The cayenne is a similar taste to a heavy dose of ginger, just a really fun vegan "bite." Thanks for the recipe!

[dgibbons]

I think Maggie is referring to the Craisins idea I put on the Post-punk Kitchen. Yeah, these cookies are really good with Craisins, blueberries, cherries, regular cranberries (a little tart for me), or orange-flavored cranberries.

But I still like 'em plain. If you can call a 'splodin' chocolate cookie with cayenne "plain." 

[Libbyb]

KAPOW! These are awesome!!!

I added about 1/2 c extra flour because I wanted a cakier cookie (and I'm high altitude - my tests without the extra flour ran all over). I also added some milled flax and lots more cayenne.

They are so delicious - the first bite is comforting, sweet, the almond flavor and gooey chips a bit decadent - and then POW - the heat hits!

5 stars isn't enough!!

[mosaicblue]

All I can say is WOOOO HOOOOO!!!! 
These are AWESOME! I made the cakier version and added some walnuts and craisins YUM! Hubby says this is his most favorite cookie ever.
This is a keeper recipe for sure... Thanks!

[VegVal]

Ridiculously delicious.  Officially my new favorite cookie.   

Must try it with craisins next time .... mmm.....

[sugarkitty]

5 stars & AWESOME... this cookies is great - i've been looking for a recipe like this - it reminds me of redhots!

thanks so much for this truly awesome recipe 

[humboldt_honey]

I'm going to a cookie exchange, so I made a test batch of the thicker, softer cookie version to see how I like them.  I used a cookie scoop and made exactly 2 dozen cookies, just like the recipe stated.

Modifications:
*I don't like almond extract, so I used coconut flavor. 
*I couldn't find my cayenne pepper, so I used chipotle powder. 
*I had extra large chocolate chips, so I used 1 cup.  If I had the mini chips I would have gone with 1/2 cup. 
*I also added 1/2 cup of finely chopped walnuts.

I'm going to give some of the test cookies to younger kids, so I made a dozen without the pepper.  Then I put the full 1/4 teaspoon of chipotle powder in the remaining half of dough, but there was barely a hint of heat.  I really think the recipe needs the sharp heat of cayenne pepper.

I anticipate, once I try it with cayenne pepper, this will be a great recipe.  The plus side with the thicker, softer cookie version is, if you're making a lot, they only bake for 6 to 7 minutes, so you can make many dozen in a short amount of time.  I have to take four dozen cookies to the cookie exchange and I anticipate the total time, including doing the dishes, will be a half hour. 

Be careful not to overbake them.  On a dark colored tray, I baked the first dozen for 7 minutes and let them sit on the cookie tray for about 30 seconds and the cookie bottoms were just going into the transition stage between done and burnt.  I baked the second dozen for 6 minutes, transferred them to a cooling rack promptly, and the bottoms were just right.

I'll post a picture when I make the next batch and can take a picture of them in natural light.

[Sea_of_Green]

I would definitely say I did some heavy altering as i do most recipes, and these were a really good *cakey* cookie nonetheless. I used:
- 3/4 c. whole wheat, 1/4 c. AP flour
- No salt
- 1/2 cup prune puree for the oil, just as an experiment
- 1 tsp vanilla extract, 1 tsp almond extract
- probably a lot more than 1 tsp cinnamon, cos I tend to add a lot of it to everything..

Very good, i love all things spicy and cinnamony!  they dont spread much the way that I made them, but that's okay with me. I just flatten them out with my hands before I bake them.

[Allychristine]

Yum! These are very good. I went with the thicker/softer cookies b/c I don't like crispy cookies, and they came out great! For changes, I used 1 1/4 c whole wheat pastry flour, 1/2 tsp baking soda, 1/4 c safflower oil, 1/4 c applesauce, 1/2 c Florida crystals, no almond extract, 1/2 tsp cayenne, 2 BIG cocoa powder tbs, and lots of choc. chips. I also added pecans to the second batch (I forgot them at first). They tasted great warm, but I haven't had one cooled (I'm sure they'll be great). I think next time I might add a little more cayenne, less cinnamon..and I think that will be perfect. I baked them at 375, and they needed about 10-12 minutes. My cookie scoop is broken, so I only came out with 15 cookies, but that's ok! 

[Jesabelle]

NOT the best recipe for me. I used kamut and spelt flour, olive oil, 1/8 cup agave and not even 1/4 a cup brown sugar. They came out really sweet and salty, it only made 14 cookies for me, so for so little cookies too much sugar. They were really oily and not crispy, even though i baked for 25 minutes.

[bumrushed15]

i made these to sell at a benefit and they were the first baked goods to sell out- very good!

[permanentgrin]

MMMmmm!!!  I love chili+chocolate so these were perfect!  I did the cakey version with the 1/2 cup extra flour as someone suggested.  Also used 1/2 cup regular sugar instead of the agave/maple (I'll increase it to 2/3 cup next time, I'd like them a tiny bit sweeter), didn't have almond extract, used cranberries as suggested instead of chocolate chips, added a flax egg and maybe 1/4 cup extra water since I was using dry sugar.  Oh yeah, and used a full tsp of cayenne.  My oven sucks so I baked them about 15 mins and they're sooo good.  I'll have to get some almond extract and chocolate chips for next time.  I might make some more to take to the in-laws this weekend.

[Ewmporsk]

Super different-- i made them being curious, fed them to my non-vegan friends and got the response of "these are ginger right?" but they were still yummy. i added 1/2 tsp. cayenne, but i couldn't taste it so next time i will do a full teaspoon. i baked them for about 18 min but found the batter EXTREMELY thin. so i added 1/2 cup shredded coconut.that was like an extra surprise these cookies are SUPER

[srnordgren]

I made these last night and the bottoms of the cookies burned after only 15 minutes in the oven (my oven temp is usually quite accurate too)! This made me quite sad, so I tried them again this afternoon. I didn't have any chocolate chips, so I chopped up some almonds and threw them in there, and I baked them for only 13 minutes. they turned out very tasty--flat and crispy--and I can taste a very nice, subtle maple flavor with the cinnamon (I only used a pinch of cayenne. I can tell that if I left them in the oven any longer they would have burned again, so if you're about to make these for the first time I would watch them closely after the 10 minute mark.

Overall a very yummy cookie. They taste like Mayan Chocolate cupcakes I used to make.