Hatch Green Chile Chocolate Chip Cookies

Adding Hatch Green Chiles to a dessert might sound unusual, but I know for a fact it works!  Several years ago Mr. Devilish Dish and I taught a cooking class and the theme was "Do You Know the Way to Santa Fe?" Because you KNOW I do!  Whenever he taught classes, he always tasked me with the part of coming up with a dessert and presenting that during the class.  He once taught a Tailgating themed class called "Gridiron Gourmet" and I came up with my Browned Butter Pumpkin Pie Spiced Rice Krispie Treats as the dessert.  In keeping with the Santa Fe theme I made Hatch Green Chile Peach Cobbler and it was the hit of the entire class.  You may have noticed I've been absent from the Devilish Dish for the last several weeks.  I wish I could say it's because we were out having fun in our new boat, but alas I was sick the entire month of August.  I'm still recovering from pneumonia, and just getting back into the kitchen the last few days.  I've missed cooking and baking so much.  We've even had a few days of below average temperatures, which really make me feel like baking, so I was finally inspired to get back in the kitchen.  Plus it's time for the famous chile harvest in Hatch New Mexico.  We used to visit every Fall to load up on chiles.  Then we found out there was a chain of grocery stores in Texas that would import the chiles and roast them every August so we would head down to Dallas.  Recently a local grocery store chain here in Oklahoma celebrates the harvest by roasting the peppers on site, so we stocked up our freezer locally, at the end of last month so we can make Greg's Famous Green Chile Stew all winter long.  Since Hatch Chiles mean Fall to me, I'm excited to incorporate them into my recipes.  It's still a little hot for a batch of stew, but I was reminiscing with Mr. Devilish Dish about that Hatch Chile Peach Cobbler and decided to try another savory sweet combination.  The cookies were a total success!  The chiles are not a dominant flavor.  They just add a subtle hint of warmth and make you wonder what exactly is in the cookie besides chocolate chips.  I added a little cinnamon too, because the warmth from that is a great compliment to the warmth and savoriness of the chiles.  I also used vanilla bean paste (a little more than you would in a regular chocolate chip cookie) because I wanted an extra boost of sweetness to balance out the savory flavor of the chiles.  Finally I used Ghirardelli Chocolate Chips because I have to.  Our dog is named Ghirardelli "Elli" lol.  Don't be afraid to mad science a little in the kitchen.  Those delicious Hatch peppers aren't just for stew.  Ring in the Fall season and enjoy the flavors of the chile harvest in cookie form! 

Don't be afraid to try the unusual!
Hatch Green Chiles aren't just for stew...

Be sure to use
quality ingredients in this.
Real roasted Hatch Chiles and
Ghiradelli Chocolate Chips

Bake up a batch today.
You won't be disappointed.

The warmth from the chiles and cinnamon
is a great compliment to the sweetness
of the vanilla bean paste and chocolate chips.
I LOVE the Nielsen MasseyVanilla Bean Paste!

These won't last long I promise!
You'll enjoy watching everyone try to figure
out what makes this cookie so different.

HATCH GREEN CHILE CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar (I used light brown)
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste
1 large egg
1.5 cups all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon (I love the Vietnamese cinnamon!)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 package Ghirardelli Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
2-3 roasted Hatch Green Chiles* See Note (peeled, seeded and finely diced) approximately 1/2 cup

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Line baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.  In the bowl of your stand mixer, cream together butter and sugars.  (Don't over cream the butter or let it soften too much or your cookies will spread.) Add the vanilla bean paste and egg.  In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt.  Add to the butter mixture until just combined, being careful not to over mix.  Stir the chocolate chips and Hatch green chiles in by hand.  Use a  teaspoon-sized cookie scoop or spoon to drop dough onto baking sheet.  Be sure to leave enough space in between each cookie as they will spread quite a bit.  Bake approximately 10-12 minutes or until light brown.  Remove from oven and allow cookies to remain on cookie sheet (they will continue to cook and brown up a little) for about 5 minutes.  Remove to cooking rack.  Eat and Enjoy.

*NOTE:  I used MILD chiles but they were definitely a spicier batch of mild chiles.  If you like HOT chiles, then use less (about 1/4 cup) The idea is to get the hint of Hatch flavor and spice into these, not overpower the traditional chocolate chip cookie flavor.