Cinnamon Red-Hots! My grandmother loved these! I remember her putting these out on her coffee table, in a beautiful white Fenton bowl. And while they were too hot for me as a child (so I had wimpy taste buds!), I like eating them now (plus they turn my tongue red)!
I picked up a box of Red-Hots the other day, knowing I would make something with them. I came up with a few ideas, but as I only picked up one box, I chose one idea (and wrote the rest down so I can play create another time!).
Cookies! If you have been following for a while, me making cookies should be no surprise!
I also have this weird desire to use other ingredients in place of sugar (like here and here). This recipe is no different. While I didn’t remove all the sugar, I did use less. Instead, I used my food processor to grind the red-hots to a fine consistency (wow, was that noisy!), and I used that in place of some of the sugar. This allows the Red-Hot goodness to be throughout the cookie, without being over-powering (and without large pieces of Red-Hots to bite into).
Oh, and these would make a great treat for Valentine’s Day!
Chocolate Red-Hot Cookies
Makes: 3 dozen cookies
Prep time: 15 minutes Bake time: 9 minutes
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup Red-Hots, divided (I used a 6oz. box)
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup cocoa powder
2 1/2 cups flour
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
In a food processor, place 1/2 cup of the Red-Hots. Note: I suggest ear-plugs…this is going to get LOUD! Turn on your food processor and let run until the Red-Hots are smaller than mini chocolate chips (you will have some Red-Hot dust, but you don’t want it all to be dust).
In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter, sugar, and 1/2 cup Red-Hots (from your food processor). Add in the eggs and combine well. Stir in the salt, baking soda, and cocoa powder. Add in the flour and mix until just combined.
Using a medium-sized ice cream scoop, scoop dough onto a parchment paper lined cookie sheet, leaving at least an inch between cookies. Top each cookie with one Red-Hot (from the remaining 1/4 cup). Bake for 9 minutes or until cookies are set. Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, move cookies onto a cooling rack and let cool completely. Enjoy!
Made with love, not calories!
