Celebrating National Chocolate Month with choco-cookies

We simply can’t let National Chocolate Month go on much longer without a few more recipes celebrating America’s passion (and DINE’s) too without a few chocolate recipes from New England’s distinctive inns.  Step aside packaged cookies. We’ll go up against Girl Scout cookies any day. Each day members of Distinctive Inns of New England roll out the cocoa carpet to welcome guests with delicious hand made and fresh chocolate treats at tea time, cocktail time, even breakfast time.  We asked DINE members to share a few recipes with us.  Today we’re sharing 2 recipes for chocolate cookies that bring guests back asking for more. We add these to our choco-collection of recipes and suggest also checking out the Chocolate Orange Pyramid we posted back in February from the Rabbit Hill Inn.

Chocolate Digestives – Captain’s House Inn

Ingredients

1 Sleeve (16 oz.) Plain Digestives

3/4 Cups Butter

4 tsp. Light Brown Sugar

4 tsp. Cocoa Powder

2 Tbsp.  Golden Syrup or Honey

3 Bars  Cadbury’s Milk Chocolate

Method

Place the digestive biscuits in a sealed plastic bag and crush with rolling pin; set aside.  Melt the butter, sugar, cocoa and syrup in a saucepan.  When melted, remove from heat and add crushed digestives.  Fold until crumbs are fully coated. Place into a greased 9×13-inch baking tin and refrigerate until hard.

Melt chocolate in a double boiler until smooth and pour over biscuit mixture.  Refrigerate until set.  When set, cut into squares and store in refrigerator.

Makes 24 digestives.

Chocolate Nutella Cookies from Cliffside Inn

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup Dutch-process unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup dark brown sugar (I’ve used light and they turn out fine).

1  1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon hazelnut extract (or extra vanilla if you are out of hazelnut)

1/3 cup Nutella

1/3 cup milk

Instructions

Preheat oven to 325° In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, and baking powder. Set aside. In a large bowl, beat together the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth – approx. 2minutes. Add the extracts and beat for another 30 seconds or so. Add the Nutella and beat until smooth.

With the mixer running, add half of the flour mixture and mix until combined. Add the milk, mixing until combined completely, then add the remaining flour mixture and mix completely. Cover and refrigerate the dough for at least 15 minutes (and as long as 2-3 days).

When you are ready to bake the cookies, line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Roll tablespoons of dough into balls and place them on the lined cookie sheet, allowing about 2″ between the dough balls. Lightly press the dough balls with the bottom of a drinking glass (or fork) and then bake for 10-12 minutes or until the cookies are crackly on top and soft, but starting to set.

Remove from the oven and allow them to stand for about 5 minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack and allow to cool completely. Makes about 3 dozen cookies. Consider adding a few chocolate chips if you are a true chocoholic.