Best Mexican chocolate chip cookie recipe! These soft and chewy chocolate chip cookies have extra oomph from cinnamon and cayenne pepper.
I love the combination of flavors in Mexican hot chocolate!
The chocolate, cinnamon, and cayenne pepper just go so well together.
That combination of flavors was the inspiration for these Mexican chocolate chip cookies.
I used one of my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipes as the base for these cookies, and then added chocolate chunks, cinnamon, and cayenne.
The cookies are soft and chewy and full of flavor!
How to make Mexican chocolate chip cookies
Melt butter in a heavy saucepan. You want the butter to just melt – not hot and sizzling, not browned.
Whisk brown sugar together with butter. Let it sit for 5 minutes.
Whisk in egg and egg yolk. Add vanilla and whisk in.
Add flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, and cayenne pepper until combined. Stir in chopped chocolate. Cover and chill for 30 minutes.
Scoop 1.5 tablespoon scoops of dough (medium cookie scoop), and place scoops of dough 2 inches apart on prepared cookie sheet.
Bake until the edges are light golden brown. The centers will still look soft and slightly underdone. This is the key to getting a soft and chewy cookie.
How long will the cookies keep?
The cookies will keep for 3-4 days at room temperature.
Tips to make perfect cookies
Tips to make perfect cookies- First, the butter should just barely be melted. You won’t want to cook the butter or brown the butter. Overcooking the butter or browning the butter will result in a dry dough.
- Be sure to properly measure the flour. Either weigh the flour or sift the flour, lightly spoon into the measuring cup, and then level. Packing in the flour will result into a dry dough or cookies that don’t spread.
- A pinch or two of cayenne pepper (1/8 teaspoon) will give you just a hint of heat. If you want more heat in the cookies, add more cayenne pepper to taste.
More chocolate chip cookie recipes!
More chocolate chip cookie recipes!- Easiest Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe
- Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
- Bakery-Style Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe
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Mexican Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter
- 1 1/2 cups brown sugar packed
- 1 large egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 3 cups all-purpose flour¹
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt²
- 1/8-1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 4 ounces semisweet baking chocolate chopped
Instructions
- Melt butter in a heavy saucepan. The butter should be just barely melted - not hot and sizzling, not browned.
- Add brown sugar to a large bowl.
- Pour melted butter over sugar.
- Stir to combine butter and sugar. Let stand 5 minutes.
- Add egg and egg yolk; stir to combine.
- Stir in vanilla extract.
- Add flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, and cayenne pepper. Stir until just combined. Please see the comments about flour in the recipe notes.
- Stir in chopped chocolate.
- Cover, and chill dough for 30 minutes.
- Toward the end of the chilling time, preheat oven to 375 F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mat.
- Using a medium cookie scoop (1.5 tablespoon), drop scoops of dough 2 inches apart on prepared cookie sheet.
- Bake for about 7-10 minutes, or until the edges of the cookies are golden brown. The centers should look soft and slightly underdone.
- Let cool on cookie sheet for 5 minutes. Remove to wire rack to finish cooling.
Video
Notes
- Correctly measuring the ingredients is key. I suggest either weighing the ingredients or aerating the flour (sifting or fluffing) and then scooping and leveling. Packing in too much flour will cause the cookies not to spread or cause the dough to be dry and crumbly.
- Or scant 1/2 tsp. table salt
- I suggest stirring this recipe together by hand rather than using a hand or stand mixer.
- Nutrition values are estimates.
Nutrition
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Reader Interactions
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Comments & Reviews
Tom says
Hi Kate,
If I form the cookies and then freeze them before baking, at a later date, will results be similar to baking immediately. ? Thank you.
Tom
Kate says
Hi! Yes, I’ve frozen scoops of this cookie dough. The cookies bake well. The only difference was that I needed to bake the cookies a little longer, and the cookies are slightly thicker after freezing.
Chris says
My son found this recipe last year for a fiesta in his Spanish class, and they were a huge hit! This is now our go-to recipe for Chocolate Chip Cookies!
Kate says
Thank you! I’m so glad to hear that!
Lucy says
Love the flavors especially the cayenne.
Kate says
Thank you!
Trisha says
I meant to add this to my previous comment. The one cup of butter – is that 1 cup of butter melted or melting 2 sticks of butter (not sure what it measures to when melted. Maybe this is where I went wrong w the recipe. The cookies are extremely oily. Thanks for helping!
Trisha says
Hi! I tried this recipe and was really looking forward to giving them a try with all the amazing reviews. I weighed out my ingredients and chilled the dough as noted. I baked the first tray and halfway through I checked on them and noticed they did not spread. They were still shaped like mounds. So I let it bake to 10 min. Once cooled I broke one in half and the dough was still raw on the inside, not just the center. Any thoughts on what could have caused this? It is possible the butter could have been too warm when I added it to the brown sugar. I had let it cool for about 5 min. I’ll try again because they sound absolutely delicious.
Kate says
Hi! I’m going to answer both comments at once. =)
There are a few things that can cause the dough not to spread: 1) too much flour in the dough 2) baking soda that has lost its potency 3) oven that bakes hot.
From what you described, it sounds like your oven may bake hotter. When that happens, the outside of the dough sets before the cookies have a chance to spread, and you can end up with raw insides.
It’s 1 cup of butter, melted. So, 2 sticks of butter that you will then melt. If you’re worried that the butter could have been too warm, and hot butter can cause oily cookies, you can melt it in the microwave until it’s about 90% melted and then stir it until it’s completely melted, and that will help.
If you have any other questions, please feel free to ask! I’m happy to help troubleshoot.
Jacquelyn says
This happened to me too. But I think it happened because I chilled the dough for too long. Planned to only chill for the 30 minutes but by child got sick. So about an hour later I came back.
For me, I think the dough wasn’t quite warm enough when I scooped and baked.
Just a thought.
Lgz says
My new favorite cookies!😩 I’ve made 2 batches back to back, and the second one was doubled! Love love love!
Kate says
Thank you so much! I’m glad you like the cookies!
Luisa says
Can we use chocolate chips instead of baking chocolate?
Kate says
Yes, you can use chocolate chips. I’ve found that baking chocolate causes the cookies to spread a little more, but chocolate chips should work fine otherwise.
Jerrie says
I made these for a restaurant crew and the LOVED them! I got several requests for the recipe. Question – can you make the dough a day ahead and chill over night? or is is best to make same day?
Kate says
Thank you! You can make it a day ahead and chill it. The dough will set up quite a bit in the fridge and will need to come up in temperature before scooping and baking. Hope that helps!
Karen says
Tried this recipe today, and we love these cookies! Thank you!
Kate says
Thank you so much!
Amanda says
These are fabulous turned out perfect and whole family raved. Garnished with a little powdered sugar and cinnamon hot out of the oven.
Kate says
Thank you so much!
Lucy Marshall says
I’m not a big chocolate chip cookie fan, but I loved these! the cinnamon and cayenne pepper are perfect! Thanks for the recipe! I also had a about a half cup of cinnamon chips so I added those too.
Kate says
Thank you so much! I bet the cinnamon chips were great in these cookies! Thanks for sharing that!
Jennifer VN says
Hi there!
Thank you for sharing your recipes. What does chilling the dough do? This is the first time I’ve read this in a cookie recipe.
Kate says
Hi! Chilling the dough allows the ingredients to meld, the flour to fully hydrate, and the dough to firm up. Hope that helps! =)
Silveria says
The recipe was so easy and quick to whip up! I used Ybarra Mexican chocolate and only did 1/8 tsp of cayenne and it came out so delicious.
Kate says
Thank you!
Carmen Adams says
All I can say is Yum! The recipe yielded 3dozen for me! The cookies were gone within 48 hours! I used 1 stick of unsalted butter and 1 stick of salted butter since it didn’t specify. Followed the recipe and we all loved the cookies! Thank you, this recipe is a keeper!?
Kate says
Thank you! I’m so glad that they were a hit. =)
Regina says
I followed the recipe to the T came out fantastic love the taste I actually like the cayenne pepper very good will make again actually I’m taking my first batch to my Silver Sneaker class to share.
Kate says
Thank you! I’m glad that you liked the cookies, and I hope that they’re a hit with your class. =)
Dominique says
Can I use oil instead of butter?
Kate says
Hi! I haven’t tried using oil in this recipe to say for certain.
Carly says
Where did you get the wooden box the cookies are in? Your pictures are so beautiful!!
Kate says
Thank you! I got that at H&M Home (online). =)
Allison says
Hi, I was just wondering if you used salted or unsalted butter in these and if you think it makes a difference? Thanks!
Kate says
Hi! I usually use salted butter because that’s what I have in my fridge. I don’t think it makes much of a difference. I think in a recipe where you’re making 2+ dozen cookies that a 1/4 teaspoon or so of salt isn’t really noticable. Hope that helps! =)
Lizabeth says
Love the cayenne in these cookies, muy deliciosa!
Kate says
Thank you so much! I’m so glad that you liked the cookies. =) Thanks for commenting!
Kelsey says
I’ve been looking for the perfect cookie recipe. Think I found it! These cookies ROCK!!!
Kate says
Thanks! I’m so glad you liked the cookies. =) Thanks for commenting!
Cheryl says
Fantastic cookie recipe! I weighed the ingredients, and everything was spot on. I did add a bit more cayenne because we like the heat.
Kate says
Thanks! I’m so glad you liked them! Thanks for commenting.