Decadent Double Chocolate Chunk Cookies spiced with Cinnamon and Cayenne, studded with oven roasted walnuts
Feliz almost Cinqo de Mayo!
Happy Friday Guys! So, as you now, I grew up in California, and of course am obsessed with Mexican food. Really, I could eat tacos every day of the week and never get tired of them. Same goes for chips + salsa, guac, beans + rice, and Margs, haha all the things. It was a hard toss-up of what to share, but to commemorate the Battle of Puebla this year, I’m sharing one of my favorite cookie recipes with you! OK, I love Mexican Hot Chocolate that’s traditionally spiced with a little cinnamon and hot chili, and I thought why not make a cookie with the same flavors?!
For these cookies, I double up on the chocolate (of course) – I chop up a big bar of dark chocolate, toss in some chocolate chips, then I add REALLY golden brown, rich roasted walnuts, and a little cayenne for a kick that’s just right. The cayenne is totally optional, and if you’re making these for kids, you may want to leave it out, but I honestly love it, and I think it’s perfect with the rich dark chocolate.
NOTES:
- Here’s one of my favorite PRO BAKING HACKS! Once you’ve mixed up the cookie dough, scoop out the dough balls onto a large plate while the dough is still soft, cover with plastic wrap then pop in the fridge. The dough is SO much easier to scoop, and will chill 10x faster. After about an hour, place the chilled dough balls on a baking sheet lined with parchment and bake right from the fridge!
- I want to talk about the roasted walnuts for a second. You want to roast the walnuts until golden brown and nutty in the oven first, then take them out to cool while you’re mixing up the cookie dough. If you add hot walnuts to your dough, the walnuts will melt the butter in the dough and you won’t the right consistency.
Here’s your Fiesta Weekend baking project: Ready, set, GO! And remember, if you make this recipe or any other from the blog, please tag me @leanne.shor #lionsbread 🙂 I love seeing what you’re making!
P.S. You know what would be PERFECT to pair with these cookies? A really cold glass of Traditional Mexican Horchata made with my Homemade Almond Milk!
Mexican Hot Chocolate Chunk Cookies with Roasted Walnuts
Decadent Double Chocolate Chunk Cookies spiced with Cinnamon and Cayenne, studded with oven roasted walnuts
Ingredients
- 1 cup salted butter (2 sticks) at cool room temperature
- 1 egg plus 1 egg yolk
- 1 1/4 cup dark brown sugar packed
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 2 T sour cream or Greek Yogurt
- 2 1/4 cups unbleached all purpose flour
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground cayenne pepper optional
- 1 cup chopped dark chocolate
- 1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
- 1 1/2 cups roughly chopped raw walnuts
- flakey sea salt for sprinkling
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place the chopped walnuts on a rimmed baking sheet, and roast for about 12 minutes until they smell very nutty and are a rich golden brown. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool, while mixing up the dough.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, or a large bowl with an electric handheld mixer, cream the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar on medium speed for 3-4 minutes. Beat in the egg, egg yolk, vanilla extract, and sour cream for another minute.
Add the flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, and cayenne to the bowl, and mix on low speed until just combined. Add the chocolate chips and roasted walnuts and mix in gently, by hand. Using an ice cream scoop, portion out dough balls onto a large plate. Cover with plastic wrap, and chill for at least 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Remove cookie dough balls from the fridge, and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 10-11 minutes, rotating the pan 180* halfway through. The cookies should be lightly golden brown, and just set. Don’t overbake! Sprinkle with flakey sea salt and allow to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack or brown paper bag to cool completely. Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
Here's one of my favorite pro baking hacks! Once you've mixed up the cookie dough, scoop out the dough balls onto a large plate while the dough is still soft. The dough is SO much easier to scoop, and will chill 10x faster. After about an hour, place the chilled dough balls on a baking sheet lined with parchment and bake right from the fridge!