Happy Valentine's Day!  We're having a Family Valentine's Dinner this weekend and with some heated discussion and much debate over what we were going to be cooking up, my mom and I settled on a theme for our little soiree; 'Love is Hot'. We'll be making use of a lot of peppers and spices, which is why this theme is just so clever of us.

Of course, the dessert that I was originally planning on making was seeming to stick out like my poor sore thumb which I recently injured in the midst of painting my nifty new little office area. Crud! What's a girl to do?

I wanted to do something chocolate. Something decadent. Something rich. Something with a little bit of a BANG! Yowza! Sssssizzle.

A thought came to mind, Mexican Hot Chocolate, in a cookie! A little bit of spicy, a little bit of sweet, and a whole lotta' sassy!

I can feel my mom's shifty eye roll already. She's always a Negative Nancy about trying my new and different food experiments. Chocolate... and chili powder? Uhm, yes please! You will thank me on Saturday mom, I promise! Try to act surprised!

Skinny Chocolate Chili Cookies
TheSkinnyFork.com

The Skinny:
Servings: 48 • Size: 1 Cookie • Calories: 128 • Fat: 6 g • Carb: 20 g • Fiber: 2 g • Protein: 2 g • Sugar: 13 g • Sodium: 84 mg

Ingredients:
4 Oz. Baking Chocolate, Unsweetened
2 Tbsp. Butter
1/2 C. Sugar
1/2 C. Brown Sugar
1 Large Egg White
2 Tbsp. Applesauce, Unsweetened
2 Tsp. Vanilla
1 C. All-Purpose Flour
1/2 C. Cocoa Powder
1 Tbsp. Cinnamon
1 Tsp. Chili Powder
1/2 Tsp. Baking Soda
1/2 Tsp. Salt
1/4 Tsp. Cayenne Pepper
1/2 C. Semi-sweet Chocolate Chips
1/2 C. Milk Chocolate Chips

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. 

In a heat proof bowl (or double boiler) melt the butter and chocolate together over simmering water, stirring constantly until glossy and smooth. Careful not to burn the chocolate! Alternately, the butter and chocolate can be melted in the microwave (in a microwave-safe bowl) in 25-second increments, stirring between each interval. Cool the chocolate mixture to room temperature. 

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or a hand-held mixer), beat the sugar, brown sugar, egg white, applesauce, and vanilla on low speed until well combined. Pour in the cooled chocolate and continue to mix until the ingredients are evenly distributed. 

In a medium bowl sift together flour, cocoa powder, cinnamon, chili powder, baking soda, salt and cayenne pepper. Add the dry ingredients to the chocolate batter and mix on low speed until just combined and no visible flour remains. Fold in the chocolate chips.

Working in two batches, scoop 12 balls of dough (preferably using a small ice cream scoop with a spring handle, about 1 1/2 tablespoon size) onto a parchment-lined baking sheet, leaving at least 1 1/2 inches of space between each cookie. Lightly press each ball down using the palm of your hand or back of a spoon to flatten them out just a little bit

Bake the cookies, one pan at a time, for approximately 14 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through cooking time. The cookies should be puffy and still fairly soft when removed from the oven.

Immediately slide the cookies, still on the parchment paper, onto a wire cooling rack.

Cool just a bit before serving, 5 to 10 minutes.

Cookies can be stored in airtight container for up to three days.