Black Cocoa Cookies

Oreos are a very loved cookie. With fans spanning all ages, those cream-filled little dreams are an addictive treat. And I should know, as the first few weeks of quarantine resulted in my destroying a pack. I bought one more package [for baking use, of course], started snacking on those, and finally banned them from my house for the time being. It's too easy!

The key to Oreos is the black cocoa. I've played with this a few times, with Homemade Oreos and Oreo Cupcakes. That cocoa is what gives the distinct flavor to an Oreo.

In deciding to make some cookies recently, I wanted to go for a chocolate cookie, but I wanted something different. And that's when I noticed the huge container of black cocoa in my pantry.

For my first black cocoa run, I picked up a small bag, but went through it pretty quickly. It was just so perfect! I made Oreos at home! It's downright addictive.

So for this cookie recipe, it was just your basic cocoa cookies with white chocolate chips combo, but with black cocoa utilized instead of unsweetened cocoa powder.

The perfect baking time for these was 10 minutes, and I  wound up with cookies that stayed delightfully soft.

So here's what I loved about these lil' cookies: Soft. Rich chocolate taste. The addition of the spices gave a subtle, unique flavor. It was like a soft Oreo. I enjoyed them so much, I made another batch a few days after the initial run. I think I'm going to use black cocoa in everything chocolate at this point, because wow. It's easy to find on Amazon, so it doesn't require a wild goose chase in local shops.

Adding a little bit of cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger to desserts has become common for me, as I like the faint flavor that they add. I really recommend trying it - it reminds me of holiday recipes, but gets me that little addition year round.

So now my Oreo addiction has morphed into an Oreo-themed addiction. Wish me luck...

Black Cocoa Cookies Recipe

Ingredients:

1 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup brown sugar

1-2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 eggs

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

2/3 cup black cocoa

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg (optional)

1/4 teaspoon ginger (optional)

2 tablespoons milk or cream (I used coconut)

1 package white chocolate chips

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Beat butter and sugars together in a large mixing bowl for about 2 minutes until fluffy. Add vanilla extract and stir. Add eggs one at at time, mixing between each. Gradually add the flour, black cocoa, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger and stir until combined. Mix in chocolate chips. Spoon onto a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes.