Today I am sharing a White Chocolate Spice Cookie.   The cookie is deliciously spicy from black pepper in the dough, and deliciously decadent from the white chocolate decoration. It’s a  cookie for grown ups.

My friend Kayte introduced this cookie to me in December of 1996.  I still have the original recipe, which was clipped from a Sunset Magazine from that same month and year.  I changed the method of making this cookie. Sunset’s directions said to mix the cookie in the food processor.  I didn’t like that at all.  The dough didn’t feel right, and the cookie was a tough so I have changed the recipe to reflect the more traditional method of mixing cookie dough.

I used to make these cookies as a cut out cookie, not any more though.  Now I roll the dough into a cylinder, refrigerate until firm, then slice and bake. When cool, I dip the half the cookie in melted white chocolate, and then drizzle with the remaining chocolate on the other side. DELICIOUS. 

White Chocolate Spice Cookies

2 cups flour
2/3 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground ginger
¾ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper (make sure you have fresh pepper, the stuff from last year won’t produce the result you want)
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, cubed, at room temperature
1 tablespoon water
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
6 oz. high quality white chocolate, chopped (the cookies pictured above were decorated with melted Ghiradelli White Chocolate Chips)

1. Combine flour, brown sugar, ginger, pepper, baking soda, cocoa, cinnamon, salt and allspice in a medium mixing bowl and set aside.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer beat softened butter for a minute or so.  Add in brown sugar and beat for an additional 3 minutes.
3. In a small bowl, combine water, lemon peel, and vanilla.  Then add to the butter-sugar mixture and beat until combined.
4. Slowly add flour-spice mixture to butter-sugar-lemon mixture. Beat with electric mixer until all the flour has been incorporated.
5. Divine dough into 2 or 3 portions and roll into cylinders. Wrap with plastic and refrigerate for an hour or so or until dough is firm enough to work with. (Overnight it better)
6. Preheat oven to 325ºF and line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
7. Unroll dough and slice into cookies approx 1/4 inch thick.  Place on parchment lined cookie sheeets
8. Bake at 325ºF for 15 minutes or until cookies are pale brown. Do not overbake.  Remove cookies to rack to cool.
9. Melt chopped white chocolate on 50% power in MW for 2 or 3 minutes.
10. Dip each cookie into chocolate, covering 1/3 to 1/2 of the cookie.  When all cookies have been dipped.  Use a fork to flick remaining white chocolate over undipped portion of cookie.
11. Chill to harden the white chocolate.
12. Store cookies in an airtight container.  Can be frozen for longer storage.  Makes 5-7 dozen cookies, depending on the size of the cookie.

Thanks for stopping by my kitchen today! I hope you enjoy this cookie, it’s been one of my favorites for decades years now, so I heartily recommend it!