Who knew it could be so difficult to just say ‘thank you’? After sending me not one, but two sourdough starters, a serious display of gratitude was definitely required, and yet it took me weeks to get off my ass and make it happen. Even then, after lovingly baking up a batch of cookies and sending them off on their journey to Bazu‘s home, the weeks continued to fly by without word of their arrival. The days crept on, and I couldn’t help but worry- Had they simply gotten lost in the mail? Should I spoil the surprise and ask if they had come?

Somehow I managed to keep my mouth shut, waiting and wondering in silence. It was when I finally stepped away from the computer a bit in Portland that a message finally popped up in my inbox, releasing me from my agony. Thank goodness, the cookies had made it after all! Silly me, I just hadn’t anticipated that she might have been traveling at that time. I’m just glad that they weren’t swallowed up by the heartless postal system, and I hope they weren’t too stale by the time they could be eaten…!

So, about these cookies. Trying to avoid chocolate chunks that might melt in transit, I opted instead for a chocolate-flavored cookie, since you can hardly go wrong with the gift of chocolate-anything. Riffing off the basic concept of a snickerdoodle, I rolled the large balls of dough in a mixture of cinnamon sugar, creating what I like to call a choco-doodle. With a pleasingly crunchy texture from the sugar outside and soft and chewy on the inside, these are a perfect ‘thank you’ gift. …Just make sure the recipient is home to get them while they’re still fresh!

I used this excellent recipe for snickerdoodles, and simply used 1/2 cup cocoa powder in place of 1/2 cup of the flour. Easy as can be!