1/2 cup unsalted butter
2/3 cup sugar

2 eggs
1/4 cup milk or cream
(2 teaspoons vanilla extract if not using vanilla bean)

400 grams soft white wheat milled with
    4 inches of vanilla bean, minced
    2 dried habanero peppers, stemmed, seeded and chopped
OR
 2 2/3 cup unbleached flour or whole wheat pastry flour
     plus 4 inches vanilla bean and
     2 dried habaneros whirled in a spice grinder OR a bunch of cayenne pepper, quantity depending on your heat tolerance and strength of the cayenne


1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup toasted pine nuts

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Cream butter and sugar together, beat in eggs, cream or milk, and vanilla if using, until smooth.  Whisk the soda, salt, flour and spices together and stir into the batter with the pine nuts.  

Drop batter by tablespoon onto greased or silicone-lined baking sheets, flatten the tops of cookies slightly, and, if you like, decorate with a sprinkle or coarse sugar. 

Bake 12 minutes until golden at the edges.

*If you forget and touch the peppers without gloves, all is not lost.  A brief soak in dilute bleach (1 part bleach to 10 or 20 parts water, maybe?) can eliminate the capsaicin and prevent your fingers from burning, especially if you manage to keep your fingers dry until they hit the bleachy water.


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