Chocolate Pepper Cookies -- Martha's Recipe 

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder

1/4 teaspoon coarse salt

1/4 teaspoon finely ground pepper, plus more for sprinkling

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon good-quality instant espresso powder

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

1 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg

1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Coarse sanding sugar, for rolling

Directions

1. Sift together flour, cocoa powder, salt, pepper, espresso powder, and cinnamon into a large bowl; set aside.

2. Put butter and granulated sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Mix in egg and vanilla. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture; mix until just combined.

3. Turn out dough onto a piece of parchment paper, and roll into a 2-inch-diameter log. Roll log in the parchment. Refrigerate at least 1 hour or overnight.

4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove log from parchment paper. Let soften slightly at room temperature, about 5 minutes. Roll log in sanding sugar, gently pressing down to adhere sugar to dough. Transfer log to a cutting board, and slice into 1/4-inch-thick rounds. Place rounds on baking sheets lined with parchment paper, spacing 1 inch apart. Sprinkle each round with freshly ground pepper.

5. Bake cookies until there is slight resistance when you lightly touch centers, about 10 minutes. Transfer cookies to wire racks to cool completely. Cookies can be stored in airtight containers at room temperature up to 2 days.

Adaptations:

In Colorado, a local baker made tiny Mexican Wedding Cookies that were the shape of small bon bons and very addictive. These cookies inspired the following recipe changes.

Swap out 1/4 cup of the flour for a fine ground organic cornmeal. Add extra spice -- cayenne and cinnamon - a 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne and pinch more cinnamon. 

How much of a pinch more of depends on what is on hand. Mexican or Saigon Cinnamon is good here. With the later, be more stingy with the pinch because of pungent nature of this cinnamon. Try Organic Coastal Goods Saigon Cinnamon if you have the opportunity. 

Personal preference says nix the coarse or casting sugar. These will appeal to a wider audience without it and the pure sugar won't throw off the wine and beer quaffing.

Wine and Beer Pairing

Trying to decide what what beer or wine goes with a particular cookie is an indicator that you are having a fantastic day. 

With this in mind, matching chocolate with either beer or wine is little more than guided trial and error and your palate should make the final decision.

Since these cookies are flavorful but not overly sweet, you really can go either way on the dry to sweet spectrum. Think about deep reds because they have cocoa and fruit tones happening. Fruit and chocolate are paired in desserts with varying sweet, bitter and tart combination so there is plenty of latitude here. Find a wine you like with the berry or other fruit tones you like and things should come together.

A Cabernet is a good place to start.

In beer, think Belgium fruit ales and again pick your favorite fruit. Or go strong and enjoy a stout or Imperial Stout with your Father's Day cookies. This conjures up the flavor combination of the cowboy cookie make with oatmeal and chocolate chunks.

If the meal was particularly spicy or you are having trouble deciding, a sparkling wine and these cookies are a great finish.

Personally, any excuse these days to open a bottle of good Aglianico, I take.

Happy Fathers Day.