Mexican Hot Chocolate Cookies are full of deep, spicy chocolate flavors that beg to be eaten! Be sure to make a double batch, these cookies disappear quickly!
I found this Mexican hot chocolate shortbread recipe a couple of years ago in one of those Christmas cookie magazines and had to make them. I love cookies.
Hell, one of my desert island foods is chocolate chip cookies, but sometimes a break from the super sweet variety is awesome.
That’s what these fun holiday cookies are – a slightly spicy chocolate bite that’s rich, satisfying, and made for hot chocolate lovers!
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While the flavor of these cookies is great, it’s the texture that really calls to me. They’re soft. Softer than I was expecting.
Normally I think of shortbread as being crumbly with a firm cookie texture. These hot chocolate cookies are just firm enough on the outside to hold together the soft inside.
I like to keep the spiciness level of these cookies fairly tame, just enough to taste by not heat your mouth too much. That being said, if you want a little more punch, you can increase the amount of cayenne pepper to 1/4 teaspoon.
And be sure you have a big glass of milk on hand to cool your mouth down. The deep chocolate flavor pair with the spicy pepper is worth the heat and is guaranteed to make this one of your favorite cookies any time of year!
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Mexican Hot Chocolate Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup almond flour
- ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 cup unsalted butter equivalent to 2 sticks, at room temperature
- 1 cup light brown sugar packed
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon coffee extract
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar for rolling
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, almond flour, cocoa powder, salt, cinnamon, and cayenne.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat together butter, brown sugar, vanilla, and coffee extract until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in 2 additions, mixing until just combined after each addition. Scrape the sides of the bowl as needed. (The cookie dough will look like large crumbs.)
- Portion dough using a small cookie scoop onto the prepared baking sheet. Use your hands to smoosh the dough together and then roll it into a ball. Repeat with remaining dough.
- Dip each dough ball into the sugar and roll around until coated. Place the cookie dough back on the baking sheet. Use the bottom of a drinking glass to flatten the dough to about 1/4-inch thickness.
- Bake cookies for 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool on baking sheet for 2 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
All nutritional information is based on third party calculations and is only an estimate. Each recipe and nutritional value will vary depending on the brands you use, measuring methods and portion sizes per household.
Edwina says
What is the almond flour for a day can I omit the coffee
Julie says
The coffee enhances the chocolate flavor, but if you’d like to leave it out you can. As far as the almond flour goes, you can substitute all=purpose flour, but the cookies won’t have the same texture and baking time may vary slightly. You can also purchase almond flour online if it’s not readily available at your local store. 🙂 http://amzn.to/1RVRlrK
Leigh Burns says
Are there not not supposed to be eggs?? Mine did not come out…
Julie says
Correct. There are no eggs in this recipe.
dina says
can i use all almond flour
Julie says
I’ve not made them with all almond flour, but you can try it. 🙂
DD Chase says
Can these be frozen?
Julie says
I haven’t tried to freeze them. If you give it a whirl, I’d love to know how things turn out! 🙂
Sue says
These are delish! Melt in your mouth goodness with just the right amount of outside bite. And the flavor. Oh the flavor! These may have become my new favorites! Thank you!!!
Marty S says
Hi can Mexican hot chocolate be substituted anywhere in this recipe?
Julie says
Hi Marty! I haven’t worked on a version of this recipe that uses Mexican chocolate in place of the cocoa powder, but it’s on my agenda since a couple requests have come in for that now. In the meantime, you could chop up a couple triangles of chocolate and mix that into the cookie dough before rolling it into balls. 🙂
Devon Brugh says
These sound wonderful. My husband found the recipe and sent me the link. My question is have you tried using the mexican hot choc cakes to make this and if so how many triangles did you use?
Julie says
Hi Devon. I’ve not used melted chocolate in this recipe. The chocolate is added as a dry ingredient – cocoa powder. Next time I make them I’ll try using melted Mexican chocolate to see what I can come up with for you. 🙂
OH OH OH! You could chop up a couple triangles and mix that into the cookie dough before you roll the dough into balls.
devon says
That is what I was asking..have you tried short cutting the cocoa ext and using the straight triangle dried hot choc triangle things and if so how many did you use…:) its all good trying these as written tonight, they sound heavenly..
Sue DJ says
These are wonderfully delish! The chocolate flavor is super rich and just enough spice for melt in your mouth goodness. This has become one of my go-to recipes. Fabulous with coffee or on their own.
Julie Espy says
I’m so happy to hear that Sue! I feel the same way!!
tess says
Awesomely tasty and very pretty cookie! They also look great lined up in a row in a square Christmas cookie tin. Ground my favorite coffee beans and added a generous amount to recipe @ our preferred strength. Same with the cayenne. Not one cookie survived the first day amongst our family on Christmas eve. Will make again next year! 🙂