Mar 30

Mar 30 Chocolate Snickerdoodles

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The other evening I was making some honey garlic chili crisp noodles (very good, just use 1 tsp of salt instead of the1 TBS that it mentions) and I started imagining my mom’s chocolate cinnamon sheet cake as it would pair so nicely with the heat. I love cinnamon. I put it on everything from yogurt, to bananas, to toast and tea, though I especially love it with chocolate. My winters are filled with mugs of Mexican hot chocolates, which got me thinking. I know we are entering spring, but I’d really like to enjoy a Mexican hot chocolate NOW. I suppose I could indulge regardless, but I don’t really need a hot beverage with sunshine out. From there, an idea was born for a Mexican hot chocolate you could enjoy anytime, in cookie form.

Keep reading for a delicious chocolate snickerdoodle recipe - one with a little spice and that you can enjoy year-round.

I call these Mexican hot chocolate cookies, but really they are just chocolate snickerdoodles with cayenne pepper. They really aren’t overly spicy, but leave out the pepper if it scares you and they will still be amazing! You can also amp up the pepper and/or include some in your cinnamon sugar mixture. You could bump the cayenne up to 1/2 tsp and/or add 1/4 - 1/2 tsp of cayenne to the cinnamon sugar if you’d like. If I were you I’d test it how I wrote the recipe, then make some changes to your liking. Another fun way to switch the recipe up is to add some orange zest in your cinnamon sugar topping. It would taste like Christmas morning thanks to the orange sugar!!

COOKIE INGREDIENTS

2 2/3 cup all-purpose flour (spoon & leveled)
1/3 heaping cup of cocoa powder (I used Hershey’s Special Dark)
2 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp baking soda
1 and 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
optional: 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 and 1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 egg and 1 egg yolk, room temperature
2 tsp vanilla extract

CINNAMON SUGAR INGREDIENTS

1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat your oven to 375°F.

Combine the cinnamon sugar ingredients in a small bow and stir until mixed well. Set aside.

Place the dry ingredients in. small bowl and whisk until combined. Set aside.

Beat the butter and sugar together until creamy. Add in the remainder of the wet ingredients, beating until combined. Slowly add in the dry ingredients. I like to mix a bit by hand after it is most of the way combined. I feel like this helps the dough stay together better as it is very thick.

Roll the dough into about 1 TBS sized balls, then roll in the cinnamon sugar. I like to pour the cinnamon sugar picture onto a plate and add more as I go, so I can keep the rest of the mixture / not contaminate the whole batch. You won’t use it all.

Bake the cookies for 9 minutes. The tops will crackle a bit. I like to place them in 3 rows (4 cookies, 3 cookies, 4 cookies staggered) on the baking sheet. Let cool for 5 minutes before placing on the cooling rack. Makes about 26 cookies.

I’m not going to go out on a limb here and say that these cookies are healthy, BUT cinnamon actually has a lot of health benefits. It has anti-inflammatory, anti-fungal, anti-bacterial, anti-viral properties and can help lower blood sugar, just to name a few. These cookies are no-chill and therefore no-fuss… perfect for a celebration or just because.

P.S. Make these cookies a bit more spring-like by topping with pastel sprinkles. Would be so cute and they would pop on your Easter spread. Happy baking - enjoy!