Hot Chocolate Cookies

With a combination of cinnamon, cayenne pepper and bittersweet chocolate, these hot chocolate cookies are both spicy and sweet with a good kick.

I was a bit late to the spicy food party. 

Talk about time wasted!

The exact day or meal escapes me. And I can’t remember why I decided to be brave when it came to heat, but I’ve never looked back.

I love that buzzy feeling on my tongue and at the back of my throat when I bite into something spiked with a chile pepper.

It doesn’t matter if it’s savory like in soup or roasted veggies. Or if it’s sweet in a dessert.

Chocolate works so well with spicy ingredients.

When I first spotted the recipe for these hot chocolate cookies, I knew I had to try them. 

And I have been baking them pretty much on a regular basis ever since.

With their combination of cinnamon, cayenne pepper and bittersweet chocolate, they have a lot more going on than your standard double chocolate cookie. 

How To Make Hot Chocolate Cookies

To start, I stir together the flour, baking soda, cocoa powder, cinnamon, salt and cayenne pepper.

In another bowl, I use an electric mixer to cream together the room temperature butter with brown sugar. You can use either light or dark brown sugar depending what you have in your pantry.

When the butter and sugar are light and fluffy, I beat in an egg along with vanilla extract.

As I mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, I fold in a cup of chopped bittersweet chocolate chips.

I know it might seem silly to take knife to chocolate chips, but they incorporate better into the dough when they are different sizes.

Next I shape the dough into balls and roll them in a bowl of turbinado sugar, which gives the cookies crunch on the outside.

When the hot chocolate cookies bake, they split and crack across the top. No two cookies are the same.

They turn out very chocolatey, a bit crumbly, and of course they have a kick. 

They are great for a potluck to share with friends and are the perfect Cinco de Mayo treat.

Hot Chocolate Cookies

• Author: Paige Adams
• Prep Time: 20 minutes
• Cook Time: 11-14 minutes
• Total Time: 31-34 minutes
• Yield: 24 cookies 1x

Print Recipe

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Description

With a combination of cinnamon, cayenne pepper and bittersweet chocolate, these hot chocolate cookies are both spicy and sweet with a good kick.

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 1–1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter at room temperature
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 large egg at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips, roughly chopped
• 1/2 cup turbinado sugar

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Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
2. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder, cinnamon, salt, cayenne and baking soda.
3. In a large bowl, use an electric mixer on medium-high speed to cream the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in the egg and vanilla extract. Mix in the dry ingredients on low speed until the dough is just combined. Fold in the chocolate chips.
4. Roll the dough by the heaping tablespoon to create 1-inch diameter balls. Roll the balls in turbinado sugar before placing on the sheet pan 2 inches apart. Bake the cookies for 11-14 minutes until the tops are cracked. Cool for 5 minutes on the sheet pan before transferring to a wire rack.
5. Once cooled completely, store in an airtight container.

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Notes

Adapted from Martha Stewart