Mexican Hot Chocolate Cookies

Somedays all you want to do is hide under a pile of blankets and watch your favorite movies. For me that day is today. The cold weather and snow is settling back into central Illinois and it gives me no motivation to do much. I really should go for a run, but I am not feeling it right now. Andrew and I are signed up to run in the first annual Heights Half Marathon here in Peoria. So far this winter we have been lucky to have warmer temperature to do our runs in, but not today or this weekend for that matter. But that is not going to stop me…I have ran many times in the snow and ice. But for right now all I want to do is sip some hot chocolate, relax and devour some freshly baked mexican hot chocolate cookies. I have had these cookies on my list of things to bake for a while. When I first spotted them over on The Busty Baker‘s blog I knew I had to make them. If you have never checked out Danae’s blog you need to head on over and say hi…tell her Christina sent ya! 😉 I stumbled upon her blog last November while following a link to some of her beautiful cookies that were featured on Foodgawker. Whenever I come to a blog that I have never visited before I always check out the about me section. I about fell out of my chair when I realized that I actually knew The Busty Baker in real life! Danae and I grew up in the same town and met all the way back in elementary school. We were really good friends and she used to come over to my house all the time and we would play together. Well fast forward a few years, college, and a move to Indianapolis and I couldn’t believe that I was looking at one of my childhood friends! Such a small world! She has tons of delicious baked goods on her site, including these amazing Mexican Hot Chocolate Cookies. What better treat for Valentines Day than these spicy little cookies? They have the perfect amount of heat to keep your sweetie guessing what that secret little ingredient it. The ground chipotle gives these cookies a nice smoky heat which you hardly notice until after you’re done. These soft and chewy cookies are rolled in a spicy sugar mixture before baking to produce a scrumptious crinkly sugar crust. Want to turn up the heat even more? Just add some extra chipotle chile to the mix. 😀

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Mexican Hot Chocolate Cookies

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Ingredients:

• 2 ¼ cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon ground chipotle chile, divided
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 ¾ cups sugar, divided
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 4-ounce semi-sweet baking bar, chopped

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, cream of tartar, baking soda, salt, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, and ¼ teaspoon chipotle chile.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and 1 ½ cups sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add vanilla and beat until combined. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture, beat to combine. Fold in chopped chocolate.
4. In a small shallow bowl, combine remaining ¼ cup sugar, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, and ¼ teaspoon ground chipotle. Roll a heaping tablespoon of dough into a 1½-inch ball, roll the ball in the sugar mixture and place it on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough, spacing the balls about 3 inches apart.
5. 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.

Yields: about 3 dozen
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Bake Time: 10 minutes

Source: adapted from The Busty Baker, originally adapted from Martha Stewart

Want to spice up your Valentines Day even more? Bake a batch of these Mexican Hot Chocolate Brownies! 😀