Mayan Chocolate Sparklers

December 21, 2012: End of the Mayan Long-Count Calendar (Doomsday)

If you are reading this blog post, then the world did not end, as predicted by the Mayan calendar. So celebrate your survival with Mayan Chocolate Sparklers! These cookies have cracks resembling earthquake fault lines and include a sprinkling of peppers for a flavor burst symbolic of a volcanic eruption. Made with traditional Mesoamerican ingredients, such as chocolate and cinnamon, Mayan Chocolate Sparklers are the perfect doomsday dessert. For an apocalpytic appetite, eat these cataclysmic cookies and “party like there’s no to-Maya!”

Recipe

(Adapted from Robin Hood Foods) 

For the cookies

• ¾ cup vegetable shortening
• ½ cup (1 stick) butter, softened
• ¾ cup sugar, granulated white
• ¾ cup brown sugar, packed
• 2 eggs
• 1 ¾ cup flour
• 1 cup cocoa powder
• ½ – 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
• pinch (or to taste) cayenne pepper
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

For the topping 

• ½ cup sugar, granulated white
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions

In a large mixing bowl, cream the shortening and butter with the sugars. Beat in the eggs.

In a separate bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder, cinnamon, baking soda, black and cayenne peppers. Gradually blend this into the butter mixture until a dough forms. Fold in the chocolate chips.

Roll into a ball and transfer to a glass bowl. Cover and refrigerate to firm up for around half an hour. Meanwhile, make the topping by combining the sugar and cinnamon together in a small bowl. Remove the cooled cookie dough from the refrigerator. Roll into one-inch balls and coat in the topping mixture.

Place the balls two inches apart on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees F for 10-15 minutes. The center of the cookies will be slightly soft but the edges will firm up when cool. Remove from the oven. Let cool on the pan for five minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Yield: Approximately 5 dozen cookies.

Notes

• December 21 is the earliest date of the Winter Solstice—the shortest day of the year—in the Northern Hemisphere.
• We added a teaspoon of Mexican vainilla (vanilla extract) after beating in the eggs to add a sweetness to the cookie dough. We doubled the amount of chocolate chips for a chunkier chew.
• The last photo in the set of directions features a wood carving of an Aztec calendar, which has some similarities to the Mayan calendar.
• Many have tried to predict when the world will end. But no one knows the day or the hour (Matthew 24:36).