The Unlikely Spice You Need To Add To Your Cookie Dough

Baking sweet treats like chocolate crackles, spice cookies, and brownies sometimes involves mixing in spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg, or ginger. These can add depth and nuance to your baked good and give it a warm, cozy taste. However, these aren't the only spices you can stir into cookie dough in order to ramp up the flavor. You can also turn to savory spices — namely, black pepper, to really enhance your treats.

Black pepper is an instrumental cooking spice, but in baking, adding it can be a great way to balance out some of the sugary flavors of your treats and prevent them from becoming sickly sweet. Pepper adds just a hint of spiciness while introducing notes of pine and citrus to your desserts. At the same time, it can pair well with other spices and flavors you may already have added to your cookie dough, making it a versatile addition to your treats.

Although it might sound like a strange addition to cookie dough, there are actually lots of recipes that call for a dash of black pepper to elevate your dish, particularly in European biscuits. For instance, there are pfeffernüsse cookies that call for a bit of black pepper to give them a warm, slight bite. Or, there are Icelandic piparkökur that also rely on this ingredient to give them their wintery flavors and piney notes.

One of the benefits of using black pepper in your cookie recipes is that it pairs well with a variety of different flavors. For instance, the citrusy notes in the spice can work well in a lemon or lime cookie dough, adding just a dash of heat to the dessert as well. Or, you could use it in cookie dough featuring chocolate to give it a snappy element. Another way to incorporate it is to use black pepper to amp up the heat of warming spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger. The result is a yummy cookie with unique woody notes to it.

When you use black pepper in your dough, just remember to start with a little and slowly add in more until you're satisfied with the taste. It also pays to play around with different types of black pepper, with each varietal adding its own unique tasting notes to your cookie dough. And, remember that a finely ground pepper is best so that it gets evenly distributed throughout your sweet.

Black pepper is just one type of pepper that can enhance your cookies. Another option could be to use some cayenne pepper to spice up chocolate chip cookies or other chocolate treats. This addition has a much stronger heat and a less nuanced flavor, although it can sometimes have subtle fruity notes to it. That makes it a great pick if you want to add some fire to your baking, such as for a Mexican hot chocolate-style dessert. Other spicy options include Aleppo and Espelette peppers, which can be particularly great for caramel or butterscotch-flavored treats.

There are truly endless ways for you to experiment with pepper in your various cookie dough flavors. For instance, the fruity, sweet notes of pink peppercorns could be a good choice for pairing with berry-infused dough. On the other hand, white pepper's floral taste can go well with spices such as allspice and cloves, or enhance the flavor of a nutty dough. So, whether it's black pepper or a different variety, next time you go to bake some cookies, try stirring in a dash of pepper to your dough and you may just find it takes the treats to a whole new level.