Mexican Chocolate Cookies with Cajeta
Don’t cringe, but… there’s chili powder in these cookies.
I pinky promise it’s amazing, though. It gives these fudgy cookies a slight spice, and a subtly savory note that is so so good. Plus, I topped them with ribbons of cajeta, so they’re extra amazing.
What’s cajeta? Cajeta is caramel that’s made from goat’s milk instead of cow’s milk. It has a deeper, nuttier flavor than regular caramel, and I absolutely love the stuff. This is actually its fourth appearance on the blog (check out the others here). I always have some in the fridge. It keeps pretty much indefinitely (not joking), so why not?
I love these cookies because they are thin with a slightly crisp outside, but still chewy. They’re best nice and warm and gooey from the oven, but they still taste phenomenal at room temperature.
Because of their texture, I feel like they would be great sandwich cookies. Especially, if, for the filling, you made my Salted Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting, but replaced the caramel with cajeta… Oh man…Why have I not done this, yet?
But for real, don’t be weirded out by the chili powder in these. It adds such an interesting smokiness, and no one will ever guess what the secret ingredient is!
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder
- 1 tsp cream of tartar
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp cornstarch
- 2 oz. chocolate, finely chopped (I used this Mexican-style chocolate, which is stone-ground and solo delicious---any of their flavors would be perfect)
- 1 stick (4 oz.) unsalted butter
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- Cajeta, to drizzle
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder, cream of tartar, baking soda, salt, chili powder, cornstarch, and finely chopped chocolate.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar for a few minutes. Add in the egg and beat for 8 minutes until very light and fluffy. With the mixer on low, add in the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.
- Cover the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
- When ready to bake, preheat oven to 400 degrees and place the rack in the top and bottom third of the oven. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats.
- Using a 1 to 2 tablespoon-sized cookie scoop, scoop dough a couple inches apart onto prepared baking sheets. Bake for 4 minutes, then switch the sheets (move bottom to top and top to bottom) and bake for 4 minutes more.
- Allow to cool and then drizzle with cajeta.
Notes
recipe inspired by this one
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