CNYEats A Taste of Utica Italian Chocolate Cookies

Saturday I ran my longest long run before Air Force Marathon on September 15th.  It was 22 miles in perfect weather without any major aches or pains.  Shane and I ran a slow 6 miles to start the morning then I continued on, incorporating some hefty inclines in my run.  The steepest part of the hills turned into a run/walk effort. 22.02 miles with a moving pace of 9:58.  Slow but within my training pace range. 

I had to stop on Sessions Road. It was such a wonderful down hill with a great view and that wonderful fresh, “cow natural” country air, there was no way I was going any further without a photo to remember how great I felt during this portion of my run.  Approx. mile 12.

As for Sunday, we’re off again enjoying Ted’s final triathlon of the season. 

Preparing for a warm up in the slightly chilly water.

The swim felt good but was slower than planned

The bike course was nice, riding through Old Forge, Inlet, but hilly with a lot of athletes suffering flat tires and chains falling off. Luckily, my athlete had an uneventful but challenging ride.

The run was the best part of the day. A 4 mile, mostly shady and flat run, out and back.

A successful triathlon season complete.  Enjoyable. Uninjured. Fun.

Now it’s time for cookies!

A cookie popular to the Italian-American community of Utica.  Posted by Robb and found on page 181 of our book A Taste of Utica.

*Cut the recipe in half if you don’t want 8 dozen cookies.

• 8 cups flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 2 1/2 cups sugar
• 1/3 lb. butter
• 3/4 cup cocoa
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. ground cloves
• 1 tsp. ground black pepper
• 1 cup blended or other whiskey
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1 cup chopped walnuts
• 2 small packages chocolate chips
• confectioners flour, additional cocoa, and water for frosting

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

In a large bowl, mix the flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda.  Stir in the sugar, cocoa, and spices.  Add the butter and work in with your hands.  Add the milk and whiskey and mix well.  Add the nuts and chips, again, mixing well. 

Form balls or drop by teaspoons onto a greased baking sheet and bake for 12 minutes at 350 degrees.  Remove from oven and roll into the icing while the cookies are still warm.

*I rolled in confectioners sugar then topped with the icing.

ICING:  2 lbs. confectioners sugar, boiling water and cocoa if you want a chocolate icing.  Mix to a loose consistency.

I just love this cookie. It’s a perfect middle road from crisp to chewy. 

So chocolaty and not overly sweet. Just right.