Italian Cocoa Honey Spice Cookies

Italian Cocoa Honey Spice Cookies
Mostaccioli al Cioccolato
(From Perfect Light Desserts)

Ingredients

3/4 cup Dutch-process cocoa, sifted after measuring
1 1/2 cups AP flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 cup (about 4 ounces) whole almonds, finely ground in the food processor
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup honey
1/3 cup water or red wine (I used water)

2 cookie sheets lined with parchment or foil

Set racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Combine all the ingredients except the honey and water in a large mixing bowl and stir well to mix. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the honey and water. Use a large rubber spatula to stir them together and then to gradually draw in the dry ingredients, making a soft dough. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and divide into six parts. Roll each with lightly floured hands to a cylinder about 12 inches long. Press the cylinder with your palm to flatten it slightly, then cut across it diagonally to make six 2-inch diamonds. Place the cookies on the prepared pan, 2 inches apart in all directions, as they are cut. Repeat until all the dough has been used. Save all nondiamonds from the ends of the dough and reroll them into a cylinder to cure more cookies.

Bake the cookies for about 15 minutes, or until they are well risen and feel firm but springy when pressed with a fingertip.



These are pretty good...for healthier cookies. Apparently the only fat in this recipe comes from the almonds. They taste kind of like soft chocolate gingerbread cookies. I don't think I need to make them again unless I want to eat a healthier cookie...but sometimes the point of a cookie is to be unhealthy, so we'll see. They're not bad at all though. They are soft, and slightly chewy, and if you know they are healthier than a normal cookie, it's all good.