OK so I am getting back into the video world with a very appropriate, prim and proper little video about cookies! Mexican Hot Chocolate Snickerdoodles, to be exact. And I blather on about the Aztecs and autumn a bit in the video so I won’t overdo it here. But let me just say that they are one of my absolute favorites in the book, you probably already have all the ingredients, and I hope you make them!
Mexican Hot Chocolate Snickerdoodles
Makes 2 dozen Cookies
A beautiful crackle topped chocolate cookie with a spicy cayenne kick and a sugary cinnamon coating. Sold?
For the topping:
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
For the cookies:
1/2 cup canola oil
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
3 tablespoons almond milk (Or your preferred non-dairy milk)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon chocolate extract (or more vanilla extract if you have no chocolate)
1 2/3 cups flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
Preheat oven to 350 F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.
Mix the topping ingredients together on a flat plate. Set aside.
In a medium mixing bowl, use a fork to vigorously mix together oil, sugar, syrup, and milk. Mix in extracts.
Sift in remaining ingredients, stirring as you add them. Once all ingredients are added mix until you’ve got a pliable dough.
Roll dough into walnut sized balls. Pat into the sugar topping to flatten into roughly 2 inch discs. Transfer to baking sheet, sugar side up, at least 2 inches apart (they do spread). This should be easy as the the bottom of the cookies should just stick to your fingers so you can just flip them over onto the baking sheet. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, they should be a bit spread and crackly on top. Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
I made these gluten-free, and they came out great. I added an extra 1/8 cup of gluten-free flour and 1/4 teaspoon of xanthan gum. To see the pictures (and confirm the gluten-free crackling), I posted pictures here http://greetingsfromthefruitcellar.wordpress.com/2012/01/14/mexican-chocolate-snickerdoodle/. Amazing receipe. If you don’t have the cookbook, it’s a-ma-zing.
Absolutely 100% the best cookie there ever was. The first time I made them, they came out looking just like the photo and I was so proud. I’ve never been able to do that again, but nevertheless I’ve made them dozens of times and they’re always a hit. I think the cayenne pepper is absolutely compulsory – kids eat them quite merrily and it’s so worth adding the extra kick.
best cookies ive ever made! used golden syrup insted of maple as no maple syrup and made these at 5am so shops closed. i am in heaven right now! just one question what kinda tea to drink it with?
i used coconut oil in place of canola, and as i was making these realized to my horror i had no cayenne! so i subbed nutmeg because it was the first thing i grabbed that seemed like it would be complimentary. the result was a still pretty delicious! a little less spicy and a little more nutty.
To answer my own question above, I have successfully substituted baking powder for baking soda when using Dutch processed cocoa, measure for measure. Your mileage may differ!
I have made these three times now! I love them sooooo much they are my new go-to quick cookie!
Mexican Hot Chocolate Snickerdoodle + big spoonful of diary-free vanilla ice cream + Mexican Hot Chocolate Snickerdoodle
= ICE CREAM SANDWICH HEAVEN!
Is it cold? Is it hot? My mouth is in a state of confused bliss and it’s lovin’ it!
I am making these for the first time right now and waiting for them to come out of the oven. They smell really good!! Can’t wait to try one.
i made 2 dozen last night. somehow there are only 3 cookies left. i predict they will not see the end of this day. i do not care for traditional snickerdoodles, but this is possibly my new favorite snack. thank you for this amazing recipe!!
These were amazing! I expect that they will be go-to cookies for me. I generally have all of the ingredients on hand and they are delicious!
These are my all time favourit cookies!!!! I tried them over a year ago originally – and the first attempt was great – however with the second attempt I accidentally used waxed paper instead of baking paper… it kind of put me off going to the effort of making them for a while sadly :(. However – I started again less than a week ago and have made 4 batches so far – with the latest one (last tray in the oven now) being gluten free (for my gluten-free neighbour). They taste delicious!!! I’m SOOOOO hooked on them!!!!!!!! Even my partner, who doesn’t eat a lot of baking, adores them and definitely says yes if I offer him one 🙂 🙂 :).
Thank you for this recipe!!!!
These are so delicious – they have become my new favorite cookie! I doubled the cayenne. 😀 The ginger molasses cookies have been my favorites until now, but now I guess I have two favorites.
I’ve made these twice. The first time off of the website, and the second time I used the recipe from the iBooks version of your cookbook. The 2nd attempt yielded very wet dough. The cookies spread and came out way too crisp. Looking over the recipe online, now I know why– the iBooks versions states 2/3 cup flour rather than 1 & 2/3 cups! I think I’m going to stick with paper books from now on.
I made these for our sustainable potluck/environmental movie night this month at my church. I took over 2 dozen-there was only one left and it came home with me. Excellent. Will be making them again for the Worldwide Vegan Bake Sale this Sunday, Earth Day.
Just made these for cinco tomarro.Holy crap these are good!!! they came out perfect probably because i followed your video to a t!!Thanku for another awesomely yummy cookie!!
I fall in love all over again every time I make these. Seriously, they are life changing 🙂
excellent! made these tonight for cinco de mayo and they came out perfectly, so so good.. and pretty as a picture, I love a good crackled cookie with that crisp outside and soft inside peeking through the cracks.. and such an easy recipe too, definitely going on my favs list
These are my favorite cookies of all time! My friends and family love them too. 🙂 Thanks so much!
Super yummy! My husband and coworkers devoured these cookies. I wimped out and only used half the cayenne; the next batch will have the full amount. I know better than to question or doubt these recipes!
I’ve made this three times. I’ve subbed espresso powder for the cinnamon in the cookies. For the coating, I mixed 1/3 cup powdered sugar with 2Tbsp cocoa and a 1/2 tsp of espresso powder. Yum. The texture of the cookies is incredible. The omnivores dig these too.
Made these for a preschool graduation party, so i left out the cayenne and didnt have that choco extract so just used vanilla. They are super good, but also really really crispy. They taste just like Mi Abuela hot chocolate <3 <3 Oh yeah, final substitution- didnt have any maple syrup so I used agave. Maybe thats where the crispiness came from? Anyway mmmmmmmmmm!!111
I can’t wait to try a cookie
Love this recipe…though I had to modify it by increasing the spiciness considerably. We really like the hot kick so had to triple the cayenne.
As canola oil is apparently made from a selectively bred variation of rapeseed, i assume rapeseed oil would work? I havn’t seen canola oil in the uk. On a seperate note, there is alot of contradictory info online about canola oil being toxic and disease causing, but nothing conclusive. So I am guessing it is just scare mongering?
Just made these and they are fantastic
I live in Sweden and vanilla extract is crazy expensive or some nonsense made out of vanillin up here. Maple syrup is also expensive, 10 bucks for about 1 cup, is it OK to use cheap pancake syrup or is the real deal the only way to go?
WONDERING how many calories per cookie?
So, I made these with the cheaper pancake syrup (5 dollars for 3 times the amount of syrup? you betcha!), which is apparantly corn syrup with maple flavouring, and vanilla sugar instead of vanilla extract. It still turned out to be delicious, and I probably ate two cookies’ worth of dough while making them, haha. They looked really beautiful and sparkly after being rolled in sugar.
I just tried these last night, and I brought them to work for people this morning. Everyone loves them. Mine are black because I used black cocoa, but they taste awesome. And, bonus, they work at high altitude! (I live in Denver)
I followed this recipe almost exactly except I used half the amount of cayenne (I was skeptical). They are DELICIOUS. I’m bringing them to my coworkers tomorrow for Halloween. I love VCIYCJ, I need to bake from it more often.
Can I sub bean flour in this recipe?
Amazing…. It’s the first time my husband has ever genuinely liked cookies that I made. 🙂
I love your recipes, website and books. That is all. =) (I’ve made these numerous times and they’re great.)