Description
These decadent, chewy chocolatey Mexican Hot Chocolate Cookies are pure cookie heaven with warming cinnamon spice and a little kick of cayenne pepper. These fudgy cookies really deliver with a slightly crispy exterior and a deliciously dense, chewy interior like a brownie in cookie form – what’s not to love? These easy to make cookies will quickly become your new favorite! Perfect for any holiday, bake sales, or any day of the week. Guaranteed to get rave reviews!
Whole Food Plant Based, vegan, plant based, oil free, refined sugar free, gluten free, no highly processed ingredients.
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients:
- 1 ½ cups almond flour, lightly packed
- ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- ¼ cup maple sugar *
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 Tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon *
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt *
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper * (optional)
Wet Ingredients:
- ½ cup unsalted almond butter, softened *
- 1/3 cup organic maple syrup *
- 1 Tablespoon molasses
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 Tablespoons unsweetened plain plant milk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F. Place oven rack in the center position, avoiding the lower oven rack placement.
- Line a baking sheet with a silicone mat (or parchment paper).
- Place all the Dry Ingredients into a bowl, whisk well to combine.
- Add the Wet Ingredients to the dry ingredients, stir well to combine (no electric mixer required).
- Take 2 tablespoons of cookie dough and roll it in your hands to form a ball (see recipe notes), then place the ball onto the silicone mat (or parchment paper) lined cookie sheet. Try to keep the cookie size uniform. Space them apart as they do spread. Continue until you have rolled all the dough into balls and placed on the baking sheet.
- Then flatten each ball into a round disk about 1/2 inch thick, then place the baking sheet into a preheated 350 F oven and bake for 11 minutes.
- After 11 minutes, remove from the oven, allow the cookies to sit on the baking sheet(s) undisturbed for 1 minute to firm up, then transfer to a wire cooling rack.
- Enjoy warm, soooo delicious!
Notes
*Maple Syrup and Maple Sugar: We get tons of questions about sweetener substitutions. We totally get it. Some folks want to use all Medjool dates, while others want to use all maple syrup. We’ve tried these cookies using all Medjool dates, they turned out gummy. We also tried using all maple syrup, they just didn’t hold up. Honestly, the best sweetener for this cookie recipe is the combination of maple syrup and maple sugar. Additionally, using date sugar is not recommended either as it just doesn’t have the same flavor and texture needed for this recipe. *** We also get lot questions about using coconut sugar, if your diet permits, you can substitute coconut sugar for the maple sugar. However, we have not tested with coconut sugar, many of our readers have let us know that coconut sugar works well as a substitute for maple sugar.
*Cayenne Pepper: You will get a little kick of heat on the back end of your palate from the cayenne pepper. The chocolate somewhat tempers the heat, but it really adds this beautiful dimension to the cookies. If you are concerned, you can totally leave out the cayenne pepper for a beautifully chocolatey brownie-tasting cookie.
*Cinnamon Spice: Some cinnamon spices are stronger than others. For example, some brands have a very strong cinnamon flavor that can become bitter whereas Penzeys has a beautifully bold sweet cinnamon flavor without the bitterness. I think individual personal preference really depends upon what you are most familiar with and what type of cinnamon spice brand you enjoy. The cinnamon in this cookie recipe is used as a beautiful accent flavor.
*Unsalted Almond Butter: You want the almond butter softened, but not melted. Almond butter at room temperature is best; however, if you store your opened jar of almond butter in the fridge like we do, just spoon out the recipe required amount and microwave it for 4 to 5 seconds to soften it without melting it. You can substitute other nut or seed butters that have the same consistency as the almond butter with the understanding that the flavor will slightly change. We do not recommend tahini as a substitute. Additionally, use only a nut/seed butter where the only ingredient is the nut or seed. Do not use a nut/seed butter where the separated oil has been pour off; instead any of the oil that separates on the top should be stirred back in for a smooth consistency.
*Rolling Cookie Balls: The dough is very sticky. Tip: wash your hands between every 5 cookies or so, so you can roll a smooth round cookie ball. If you leave your hands very slightly damp, you will get a smoother, glossier cookie. The cookie photos do not show the glossier cookie as we dried our hands and did not leave them a little bit damp. We were divided over the glossier versus natural look of the cookies.
*Sea Salt: Please adjust the sea salt based upon your family’s sea salt preferences and/or based upon dietary needs.
*Serving: Makes approximately 14 to 16 cookies.
*Storage: Use within 5 days. Freezes well.