*that’s “biscuit” (or bikkie) for my Australian brethren.

I recently came across a flourless cookie recipe for a peanuty buttery chile crispy cookie. I love the idea of a chile cookie and one of my staples is an ancho chile, dried cherry and dark chocolate Italian style biscotti. This cookie however was quite different and I was intrigued. Well, where exactly does salsa macha (1) enter the picture.

1. salsa macha (with macha being the feminine form/expression of macho ) is said to come from the State of Vera Cruz. It is a cross between an infused oil and a salsa made from various dried chiles (I have seen anchos, guajillos, arbols and chipotles used in various recipes) garlic cloves, and/or various nuts/seeds (peanut, sesame, cashew, almond, sunflower).

The original recipe called for an excellent Chinese ingredient called “chilli crisp oil”. The most well known (probably) of chilli crisp oil is the Loa Gan Ma (Old Godmother) variety which is said to have originated from a food stall run by Tao Huabi in the Nanming District of Guiyang (the Capital of the Guizhou province in South-west China). Old Godmother Tao served her noodles with a spicy, nutty chilli sauce which soon drew the attention of foodies who started requesting jars of the stuff. Considering the fact that this sauce was only created commercially since the late 1990’s its rise to fame has been meteoric.

I want to keep a Mexican twist to my recipes so instead of Lao Gan Ma as my chilli crisp I would like to use salsa macha.

I first came across this product at a local taqueria in my hometown of Perth (Western Australia).

These guys and gals provide a taste of exactly what you’d expect to find en la calles of Mexico. The key bit here though is the Malenas Kitchen in the corner.

This is Malenas salsa macha (to be fair… I have not eaten it… but I plan to and will do a Post on it when I do).

So I searched for a recipe (I have an extensive library – here’s a small selection of my Mexico section)

and came up with this one….

• 2 large ancho peppers
• 2 large guajillo peppers
• 5-6 chile de arbol peppers
• 1/4 cup peanuts
• 4 garlic cloves chopped
• 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
• 2 cups olive oil or use vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
• Salt to taste I use 1/2 teaspoon
• 1/2 teaspoon Mexican oregano

I altered it a little (made it smaller basically)

• 1 large(ish) ancho chile
• 2 medium guajillo chiles
• 3 chiles de arbol
• 1 cup grapeseed oil
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 30g raw peanuts (1/2 of 1/4 cup = 1/8 of a cup …which is bugger all..but 1 cup =250ml (250g) so…1/8 cup = 30g…which was essentially a shot glass of peanuts)
• 2 ½ teaspoons sesame seeds
• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
• ½ teaspoon dried Mexican oregano
• ½ teaspoon salt (or to taste)

First we need to prep the chiles. Remove the seeds and veins and chop them into smallish pieces. No need to cut too finely as the mix will be blended later. You could leave the seeds and veins in if you want. This will make for a hotter salsa. At the very least cut the chiles open so you can ensure there are no bugs inside the chiles (it happens). Bugs aren’t that big of a deal either I guess (as the mix will be blended later heh heh)

In a pan place the oil, garlic, peanuts and sesame seeds.

Brown over a medium heat

This is where some care is needed. we want to brown the garlic without burning it. The closer you can bring your garlic to the dark side (without burning it) the deeper/stronger/funkier the flavour will be. Burnt garlic can be unpleasant though. We will also be putting the chiles into the hot oil where they will cook a little…. as the garlic continues to cook…so you want to take it off the heat a little earlier than you might normally as the garlic will be left in the hot oil for a while longer.

I took it to this point (and honestly I think I should have taken it a little further)

Next step is to drop the chiles straight into the hot oil and immediately remove the pan from the heat. Set aside for 10 – 15 minutes so that the oil cools enough to be blended safely.

Now. Add your oregano, ACV and salt to the blender. Pulse/blend to a salsa. Do not blend it smooth. You want some flaky, chunky character to the salsa.

After some blendy blendy we have this

The oil was a creamy chocolate colour for a while and quite frankly the taste was underwhelming on the first day I made the salsa. BUT…….much like a mole (or any slow cooked spicy (or not) dish……the flavour amalgamates, deepens and is better the next (or in this case after a few) day.

The oil has settled and cleared. The flavours are much richer and I have been eating it a lot (with chicken mostly…and it took my tuna sandwich to the next level). It does seem quite oily so next time I double my chiles in the recipe.

Now lets make some cookies.

This recipe (shown in its entirety below) is taken from Zoe Kanan (https://www.eater.com/22968991/peanut-butter-chile-crisp-cookies-recipe-zoe-kanan) and which seems to be a riff on the Fly by Jing recipe (https://flybyjing.com/blog/recipe-choco-chili-crisp-crinkle-cookies/). I have only altered it slightly by leaving out the miso (miso is anathema to my daughter – No, it has not been cursed by the Pope – she just really doesn’t like it) and I have given it a Mexican tang by adding salsa macha instead of the chile crisp (although they are pretty much the same thing)

Spicy Peanut Butter Chile Crisp Cookie Recipe

Makes 20 small cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 cup (260 grams) creamy peanut butter (Skippy or JIF Natural is best)
• 1 tablespoon (20 grams) yellow or white miso
• 1 large egg, at room temperature
• ½ cup (100 grams) granulated sugar, plus extra for finishing
• ½ cup (100 grams) light brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon (4 grams) kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon (6 grams) baking soda
• 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon (24 grams total) chile crisp (I recommend Fly by Jing)

For finishing:

• ½ cup (100 grams) granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon chile flakes

Instructions:

• Step 1: Line a quarter sheet pan or cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
• Step 2: In a large bowl, fold the creamy peanut butter, miso, and egg together until smooth and incorporated.
• Step 3: In a separate bowl, toss the granulated sugar, light brown sugar, kosher salt, and baking soda to combine.
• Step 4: Add the sugar mixture to the peanut butter base and fold together into a roughly incorporated dough. Add the chile crisp and fold until just combined. The mixture will appear slightly grainy at this stage.
• Step 5: Use a tablespoon or half-ounce ice cream scoop to portion the dough (each will weigh about 25 grams) onto the pan. This is just for storage so there’s no need to space them out. Wrap and chill at least 2 hours or ideally overnight.
• Step 6: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Pan-spray or line 2 half sheet pans or cookie sheets with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
• Step 7: Toss the chilled cookie dough balls in sugar to liberally coat them and arrange them on the prepared sheets approximately 2 inches apart.
• Step 8: Use a cross-hatched potato masher or fork to press down and flatten each cookie about halfway, imprinting a grid pattern on the top of the dough. Alternately, you can use your palm to flatten the cookies.
• Step 9: Top each cookie with a pinch of chile flake.
• Step 10: Bake for 7 minutes, rotating baking sheets around the 5 minute mark to check progress and adjust the baking time as needed. When finished, the cookies should be spread, puffed, and slightly cracked on top.
• Step 11: Remove from the oven and finish the cookies with an additional pinch of sugar. The cookies will be delicate so allow them to cool completely before removing from the pan.

Now I am not a cookie maker and I truthfully wasn’t expecting too much from this recipe as it contains no flour and I feared the cookies would simply not hold together.

Step 1. Mix your wet ingredients

ALWAYS crack your eggs into a bowl or other container BEFORE adding them to the recipe. If your egg is off and you crack it straight into the bowl with the other ingredients then you will have ruined them.

I was oddly surprised by the texture of the mix. This is just eggs and peanut paste. It thickened quite quickly into a grainy textured dough. I was struck by the similarity of warmed chocolate seizing when water is mixed into it.

Step 2. Mix your dry ingredients. Add the sugars, baking powder and salt and mix until well combined.

Step 3. Now we add the wet and dry mixes together.

Step 4. Add the salsa macha and combine well.

I made 16 Tablespoon sized balls of dough from this mix.

Step 5. Cover and refrigerate for at least a few hours. I left mine in the fridge overnight. This hardens up the dough and prevents it from spreading out too much when cooked (I assume)

Step 6. Lightly squoosh the balls of dough (I used the back of a meat mallet) to give them a little texture. I sprinkled sesame seeds on some and plain white sugar on some.

Step 7. Bake in a preheated oven at 180C (350F) for about 7-10 minutes. Turn the tray about 5 minutes in to ensure even cooking. When finished, the cookies should be spread, puffed, and slightly cracked on top.

Remove from the oven and finish the cookies with an additional pinch of sugar. The cookies will be delicate so allow them to cool completely before removing from the pan. This is key. Allow them to cool fully before even removing them from the tray as they will fall apart.

The cookies were soft and chewy(ish) and their texture reminded me somewhat of a Subway cookie. Next time (and there will be a next time) I might give them a few more minutes in the oven to allow them to darken and crisp up a little more.

They were a hit with the daughter by the way.