Mexican Hot Chocolate Cookies

It’s starting to look a bit more like winter every day. My back window, filled with color just a few weeks ago, now shows nothing but empty branches against a gray sky. The air is colder, the days shorter, and the first few snowflakes have made their appearance recently. Very briefly on an early morning drive to work, but there they were, fluttering down serenely while I shook my fist at the sky, screaming, “NO!! Not yet!!”

 I’ve even had to break out my winter coat—something I dread donning because it means I can no longer get by with just a hoodie or a cardigan. They’ve even put the big Christmas tree up in the square across from work already, so I’m reminded of just how close we are to the holidays every time I walk by the windows. Don’t get me wrong. I like cooler weather. I love the holidays. For awhile I even like snow, as long as I don’t have to drive in it. Even though it’s November already and Thanksgiving is literally just around the corner, I’m still not ready to shift into winter mode yet. But like it or not, it’s here, and it won’t be going anywhere for a few months, so I guess I better just suck it up and find something to warm to get me through.

I love anything with a bit of spice. Just enough to feel a bit of heat, but not so much that you’re breathing flames. These Mexican Hot Chocolate Cookies fall right into that category. The ground chipotle gives a nice smoky heat which you barely feel until after you’re done. The cookies themselves have a slightly crunchy outside and a soft chewy inside, exactly how I like them. It’s a really good thing I’m taking these to work tonight, because I could eat the entire batch on my own. Looking to kick the spice up a notch? Add some cayenne to the mix. Looking to tone it down? Omit the chipotle all together. You’ll still have a delicious chocolate/cinnamon combination to devour with your mug of hot chocolate while you’re wrapped up in a blanket on the couch on the long cold winter evenings. Now where are my fuzzy socks?

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Mexican Hot Chocolate Cookies
Adapted from Martha Stewart's Holiday Cookies 2010 Special Issue
Makes about 3 dozen cookies



2 ¼ cups all purpose flour
½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon coarse salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, divided
½ teaspoon ground chipotle chile
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 ¾ cups sugar, divided
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 400F. Line two standard baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, cream of tartar, baking soda, salt, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, and ¼ teaspoon ground chipotle chile.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter and 1 ½ cups sugar on medium speed until pale and fluff, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add vanilla and beat to combine. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture, beat to combine.
3. In a small bowl, combine remaining ¼ cup sugar, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, and ¼ teaspoon ground chipotle. Form heaping tablespoons of dough into balls and roll in cinnamon sugar mixture. Place on prepared baking sheets, spacing 3 inches apart. Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until cookies are set in center and begin to crack, about 10 minutes. Let cookies cool on sheets for 5 minutes before transferring cookies to wire racks to cool completely.