We keep hearing all this talk about the dark side having cookies, so Caleb and I decided to don our matching Vader sweaters and switch sides for a day to see what all the fuss is about. And big surprise–no cookies! Lucky for them, I had a feeling this might happen so I came prepared with my own recipe for not only these chocolatey Mustafar-inspired “dark side” cookies, but blue vanilla bantha milk to wash them down! You’re welcome, Anakin.

Dark Side Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• half a bag (about 8 oz) of semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, softened
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup dark brown sugar (packed)
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp black food color
• red sprinkles

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 350°F
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, and baking powder. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugars using an electric mixer until smooth. Next mix in the food color, followed by the eggs (one at a time). When it is well blended, gently stir the dry ingredients in to the wet a little at a time until it is well-incorporated (but careful not to mix too much, or your cookies will be hard). Fold in chocolate chips with a rubber spatula. Cover dough and refrigerated about 30 minutes.
4. Place mounds of dough (about 2 tsps each) on a nonstick cookie sheet, approximately 2 inches apart and sprinkle the tops with red sprinkles. This recipe will yield 30-35 cookies so you will need either multiple cookie sheets or multiple batches. Bake for 11-13 minutes, until edges are firm but not darkened (Tip: when you can smell the cookies in the oven, that’s usually when it’s time to take them out!) Let the cookies cool for 1-2 minutes, before transferring them to a drying rack.
5. Dunk in bantha milk (recipe below) and enjoy!

Vanilla Bantha Milk

Ingredients:

• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup water
• 1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
• blue food color (I used about 1/2 tsp, but this is flexible…its really up to you)
• 2 quarts of milk

Directions:

1. In a small saucepan, combine sugar and water and bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce to simmer and let the solution continue to cook until slightly thickened (about 2-3 minutes). Remove from heat, stir in vanilla and food coloring, and let cool.
2. In a large pitcher (or cute milk bottle if you happen to have one, like I did), combine milk and blue sugar solution and mix well. If you’d rather make individual servings, the ratio is about 2 tsps of syrup to 1 cup of milk and the syrup solution can be stored in a bottle and placed in the refrigerator until you’re ready to use it so you can have a cup of bantha milk any time! Happy Star Wars Day! And May the 4th (and the force) be with you!