Mexican Hot Chocolate Snickerdoodles from Post Punk Kitchen

V is for Variety and A is for Aztec

Welcome to the Vegan Month of Food (VeganMoFo)  I intend to post 20 times during the month of September – all about vegan food. Check out the gals who organize the project here, and search out other fantastic vegan bloggers. I decided on the theme of “V is for Variety” because, honestly, once I quit the chicken breast – my food choices exploded! Join me!

Ok, so I want everyone to think way, way back to their 6^th grade geography teacher blathering on and on and on about Hernando Cortez and the conquest of the Aztec Indians way, way back in 1519. Remember any of it? (Probably that the Aztecs performed human sacrifice and ate the beating hearts of those whom they conquered, but I digress.)

Actually, historians (of which I am one) would call the meeting between the native Aztecs and the conquering Spanish one of the most dramatic and caustic clashes of culture ever experienced, anywhere, at any time, in all of world history. I believe I once read that Cortez remained atop a horse in the presence of Montezuma to instill fear and awe. Can you imagine how Montezuma, who was actually awaiting the arrival of a great god, felt when he saw those Spanish ships drawing near his shore? No wonder he gave Cortez so much gold! And speaking of gold, did you know that many Spaniards actually drowned while trying to escape Teotihuacan, which was up in flames? The reason? Their pockets were stuffed with gold and it weighed them down.

Of course we know how it all played out: Aztecs – zero …. Spaniards – one.  

I never tire of learning more about the Aztec culture. I have been to Mexico City to see the ruins and museums and the floating gardens of Chapultepec Park. I look forward every year to teaching a long Aztec unit to my own 6^th graders and seeing how they learn to love this ancient culture, from its language, its art, its architecture and not least to its food!

I bet some of your favorite food is Aztec in origin: tortilla, avocado, tomatoes, corn, beans, CHILIS and CHOCOLATE!

Aztec dudes eating spicy Snickerdoodles. 

You can find this excellent recipe here at the Post Punk Kitchen. I followed it to the letter. 

Caution: these little Mexican Snickerdoodles pack quite a punch; they are not for your toddler’s lunch box. There is a serious cayenne kick in these, but the Aztecs often mixed chili with chocolate, so let’s just call these authentic. Take them to work and watch the faces of your co-workers! I love them and I hope you do also.