Announcing the Results of the Takeout’s First Annual Holiday Cookie Contest

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line two cookie sheets with parchment and spray with Pam.

In a large bowl, mix together peanut butter and sugar until well combined. Mix in coconut milk and red curry paste.

In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. Add dry ingredients to the peanut butter mixture and stir. The dough will become stiff, but don’t worry.

Portion into 1.5-oz./40g/whatever cookie scoop you have and roll into balls. Place them on the prepared sheets and make the standard criss-cross pattern with a fork. To prevent sticking, dip the fork in a bowl of sugar between marks.

Bake for about 12 minutes, turning once.

Once the cookies are cool, temper your chili chocolate: Melt 120g of chocolate slowly over a double boiler and mix in the red pepper. Stir in the remaining 40g of chocolate until it melts and cools to about 82F. Slowly reheat and hold in the 88F-92F range. Dip the bottoms of the cookies in your spicy chocolate and return to the cooling rack chocolate side up. Tempered properly, your chocolate will be dark, shiny, and have a snap to it.

Honestly, just melting and not tempering the chocolate is fine, the chocolate police aren’t going to kick down your door or anything. If you don’t want to bother, the cookies are delicious without chocolate! 86 the chocolate and throw the chili in the dough! Or not! It’s 2020, you’ve been through enough without me telling you what to do.