Chocolate Spice Cookies
by Claire Criscuolo, RN

Makes about 6 dozen cookies

4 Cups unbleached all-purpose flour 2 Cups sugar 1 Cup unsweetened cocoa powder 2 Teaspoons baking powder 1 ½ Teaspoons cinnamon 1 ½ Teaspoons ground cloves 1 Egg or equivalent egg substitute 1 Large orange, squeezed, about 1 cup juice ½ Cup canola or soybean oil 1 1/4 Cups dairy milk or soymilk

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Measure the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, cinnamon, and cloves into a bowl. Stir to mix. Sift the dry ingredients into another bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg, orange juice, oil, and milk until well blended. Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry, all at once, using a rubber spatula to scrape the bowl clean. Stir well to mix thoroughly. The batter will be quite thick. Spray 2 cookie sheets with nonstick cooking spray or line with parchment paper. Drop the batter by heaping teaspoonfuls in rows (3 rows by 4 rows), leaving about one inch between the cookies. Bake for about 13 minutes, until a cake tester inserted into the center of a cookie comes out clean. Remove from the oven. Set aside until cooled to room temperature. Drizzle with Chocolate Glaze.

Chocolate Glaze:

Makes about 1 1/4 cups Prepare the glaze just before using or it will harden. If it does, beat in about 1 teaspoon of milk to thin to desired consistency.

2 Cups sifted confectioners' sugar 1 Cup sifted unsweetened cocoa powder ½ Cup dairy milk or soymilk

Stir the sugar and the cocoa together in a bowl. Stir in the soymilk, mixing until smooth. Use immediately to drizzle over the cooled cookies.