These Mexican hot chocolate cookies are soft and chewy with crisp, crackly tops and a subtle kick of heat – no mixer needed! If you've never tried spicy chocolate cookies before, this recipe is a must. Try one of these other chocolate or cookie recipes next.

Stack of Chewy Mexican Hot Chocolate Cookies

Abbie said: “These cookies are so exquisite, five stars don’t do them justice. Since stumbling on the recipe a couple of weeks ago, I’ve made multiple batches at the request/impassioned plea of various recipients. I love the recipe as is; my boyfriend likes the addition of chocolate chips. Either way, a standout treat. Thank you! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐“

I have a question for you: Are you Team Soft Cookies or Team Crispy Cookies?

I've never been a big fan of crispy cookies. Don't get me wrong, they have their place in the universe – it's just not really my thing.

When I bite into a cookie, I want it to be a soft, chewy, pillowy bite of heaven and I don't want to have to worry about it crumbling all over me.

Chewy Mexican Hot Chocolate Cookie being lifted off a wire rack

And when I say soft and chewy, we're talking about opening a container of cookies a week after you baked them, and they're still so soft.

Not that these Mexican hot chocolate cookies will last that long, though.

I don't want to sound arrogant, but I can't overstate how good these are. My husband brought a bunch of these into work and a couple of the responses were:

A Slack message with this Cookie Monster meme and the caption, “Oh my goodness that's a good cookie”.
An email with the subject line, “THESE COOKIES ARE SO GOOD”

Chewy Mexican Hot Chocolate Cookie on a wire rack

These cookies bring people together, my friends. Some coworkers who normally don't interact bonded over their shared love of these cookies.

And while I never post recipes I'm not proud of, but I have to admit – this might be one of my all time favorites.

I don't know why, but I've always had an obsession with crinkly cookies. Somehow, they taste better when they have crinkles, don't you think?

Yeah… yeah, they definitely do.

Plus, the crinkles create a more visually interesting cookie, and that's a nice added bonus. Pretty cookie are more fun to show off anyway.

Stack of Chewy Mexican Hot Chocolate Cookies with a glass of milk

Tips for making these chewy Mexican hot chocolate cookies

Use a 1 1/2 tablespoon cookie scoop (aff link) to portion out the dough. It makes the perfect size cookie that's not too big, but big enough that it'll take more than two bites to eat it.

Scoop all the balls of dough at once (then gently roll between your hands and roll in sugar), and store them on a plate in the fridge. Each time you're ready to bake a batch, just grab them off the plate, plop them on your prepared baking sheet, and you're done!

This way, your dough won't get too warm as you're working with it and your batches will all be consistent.

Chewy Mexican Hot Chocolate Cookie dough balls on a plate

Don't bake more than six at a time in each batch. This gives them plenty of room to spread as they bake, and I find that it's the perfect number to have them all bake evenly every time.

Tweak the amount of cayenne and chili powder to your liking. The amount I list in the recipe below gives them a subtle heat that slowly creeps in after you swallow each bite. You don't notice it at first, but after a few bites you have a moment of, “Oh, there it is!”

These are by no means spicy to a point that you're going to be running for a glass of milk, it's just a mild heat that adds a little somethin' somethin' to the chocolate and cinnamon flavors.

And if you don't like spice or heat at all, you can just leave it out. You'll just have delicious chewy chocolate crinkle cookies instead of Mexican hot chocolate cookies!

More chewy cookies!

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Chewy Mexican Hot Chocolate Cookies

4.87 from 22 votes

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Prep Time: 15

Cook Time: 10

Total Time: 45

Servings: to 20 cookies

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Description

Equipment

Ingredients

1 ½ cups all purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
Pinch of chili powder
¾ cup unsalted butter, melted
½ cup cocoa powder
¼ cup Karo® Corn Syrup
¾ cup light brown sugar
1 egg, room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
¼ to ⅓ cup granulated sugar, for rolling

Instructions

In a medium bowl, whisk to combine flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, cayenne pepper and chili powder. Set aside.
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Pinch of chili powder
In a large bowl combine melted butter, cocoa powder, and corn syrup and stir to combine.
3/4 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/4 cup Karo® Corn Syrup
Add brown sugar, egg and vanilla and stir until well combined.
3/4 cup light brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Add dry ingredients into bowl of wet ingredients and stir until just combined and no pockets of flour mixture remain.
Cover and chill dough in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350°F and line two baking sheets with nonstick silicone mats or parchment paper. Set aside.
Pour granulated sugar into a small bowl. Set aside.
1/4 to 1/3 cup granulated sugar
Use a 1 1/2 tablespoon cookie scoop to portion out cookie dough, and roll lightly between hands to form a ball. Roll in your bowl of granulated sugar to coat, then place 6 cookie dough balls on first prepared baking sheet with a couple inches of space between each.
Bake for 10 minutes – cookies should be puffy and starting to crack on top. Remove and let cool on pan for 5 minutes before moving to a wire rack to cool completely. Enjoy!

Video

Notes

Tip: Prep all your cookie dough balls at once, then place them on a plate and stick it in the fridge as each batch bakes. This will keep the dough firm and prevent it from spreading too much, and you don't have to deal with taking the bowl of dough in and out of the fridge as you make each batch. Now you can just pluck six balls off the plate to put on the prepared baking sheet right before they go in the oven!

Nutrition Facts

Nutrition Disclaimer

The provided nutrition information is generated by an automatic API and does not take variations across specific brands into account. This information is provided as a general guideline and should not be treated as official calculations. Learn more here.

Comments

Mark

As is, they were excellent and friends love them. My next attempt is swapping the Karo with molasses and the cayenne with 1 tablespoon of finely ground dark roasted coffee. About to taste test now!

Ashley

Delicious cookies! First time making them and they were a hit at my Memorial Day Party! Thank you for the great recipe! Only thing I would adjust slightly is add a touch more spice, couldn’t really taste it but I’m sure that’s a personal preference ;)

- Leslie Kiszka
  
  Glad you liked them!
  
JC

Unfortunately, my first batch totally flopped – the cookies were a puddle on the baking sheet. I ended up putting the second batch in the freezer, rather than fridge. Hoping they turn out a little firmer. They tasted good, just too flat. Any suggestions for what I might be able to do to remedy the problem?!

- Leslie Kiszka
  
  Having not been in the kitchen with you, it’s hard for me to help troubleshoot – but potentially the flour was under-measured, the butter too hot, the corn syrup overmeasured, the temperature in your kitchen overly warm, the temperature in your oven too hot (oven calibration is a big deal!), maybe the egg was extra large? I wish I could provide more answers, but it’s tough to do from here! I’d suggest taking a stroll through my Baking Basics posts about measuring ingredients and oven calibration – maybe something will jump out to you! https://stressbaking.com/category/baking-basics/
  
Emily

The recipe was excellent on my first try! I had to use dark corn syrup instead so curious if the difference would be that noticeable with the light one. For me, the spice level is perfect as it was just a hint. I would make no changes!

Tammy

Hoping to make them for Cinco De Mayo this year. Can the dough be made ahead and frozen? Can the be baked and frozen too?- thx!

- Leslie Kiszka
  
  I think the second part of your comment is missing some context because I’m not sure what you’re asking :) But yes, you can freeze this dough! Check out my post about freezing cookie dough for some tips as well: https://stressbaking.com/how-to-freeze-cookie-dough/
  
Emily emily

very easy and delicious

- Leslie Kiszka
  
  So glad you liked them!
  
Abbie

These cookies are so exquisite, five stars don’t do them justice. Since stumbling on the recipe a couple of weeks ago, I’ve made multiple batches at the request/impassioned plea of various recipients. I love the recipe as is; my boyfriend likes the addition of chocolate chips. Either way, a standout treat. Thank you!

- Leslie Kiszka
  
  Ahhhhh thank you for the kind words, Abbie!
  
Avon

These were amazing – my family loved them and the spice was subtle and not overpowering. It will be a new Christmas staple in our house.

- Leslie Kiszka
  
  I’m so glad you like them – happy holidays!
  
Jeff Grabowski

Highly recommend this recipe. Just the right balance of chocolatey goodness, warm cinnamon, and a spicy kick. Plenty of room to adjust the heat to your taste without interfering with the other flavors. Straightforward directions. The cookies were pretty and satisfying to handle.

- Leslie Kiszka
  
  Thank you so much for sharing your experience, Jeff!
  
Erika

They sound delicious but I have I question. Can I substitute corn syrup?

- Leslie Kiszka
  
  I haven’t tried it myself so results may vary, but in theory you should be able to swap the corn syrup for honey, agave nectar, or golden syrup.
  
Bill K

I brought some of these into work and gave some to my boss. He gave me a promotion.

- Leslie Kiszka
  
  Sounds about right! ;)