Mexican Hot Chocolate, Wait for It…Cookie!
Another winner from Vaughn Vreeland and NYTCooking’s Cookie Week. He captures all the flavors of Mexican Hot Chocolate in a fabulous cookie, cinnamon sweetness, cayenne spiciness, and cocoa to bring out the chocolate. To top it off, the marshmallows are melty and gooey, just like on a cup of cocoa. The cookies are rolled in cinnamon sugar just before baking, providing a nice crunch finish.
Do watch his video on NYTCooking channel on Youtube, Cookie Week 2023. It’s instructive and entertaining. I’m still chuckling.
The Cookie
Chocolate- Cocoa, Dutch-processed preferred) . (I use KA’s Triple cocoa which contains both Dutch-processed and natural cocoa. I threw in a couple of mini-chocolate chips with the marshmallows, but I could not detect a difference.
Cayenne- Fair warning, 1/2 teaspoon is pretty darn spicy. I reduced it to 1/4 teaspoon and you could taste the spice. Lots of comments on NYT that the cookies were too spicy.
Marshmallows- Buy mini ones, remove about 100-120 from the bag to freeze. You do not need to freeze the entire bag.
Scoop-de-doop- I used a #40 scoop which is shy of 2 tablespoons and will yield about 24 cookies.
Full Circle—When the cookies come out of the oven, they might look a little wonky shape-wise. Use a glass or cookie cutter to reshape them into pretty little circles.
It is a fairly stiff dough, and here is a marginally acceptable picture of it, lol. It is not very appetizing but informational.
I used a #40 scoop, approximately one and a half tablespoons. Scoop all your dough and chill for a minimum of 2 hours to up to 24 hours.
Take each ball of dough and press it into a circular disc. Place 4-5 frozen marshmallows in the center of dough and gather it around the mallows to form a ball. Pinch the dough together to surround the mallows, it’s ok if a bit of the mallows is exposed. Roll in cinnamon sugar and place on parchment-lined baking sheet.
These are delicious and really, are pretty easy to make, and I think visually a nice looking cookie. Enjoy!
Mexican Hot Chocolate Cookie
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour 192 grams
- ½ cup cocoa powder 51 grams preferably Dutch-processed
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt such as Diamond Crystal
- ½ teaspoon ground cayenne
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Creamed Mixture
- ½ cup unsalted butter (1 stick) 113 grams at room temperature
- 1½ cups light brown sugar 305 grams
- 1 large egg at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Filling
- 1 bag Mini marshmallows (will not need entire pkg) frozen solid
Cookie Coating
- ¼ cup granulated sugar 50 grams
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt, cayenne and ground cinnamon. Set aside.
- Freeze marshmallows, don't freeze the whole bag. You'll need about 100 marshmallows.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle, or a large bowl with a hand mixer, beat butter and brown sugar on medium-high until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add egg and vanilla. Beat until creamy, 2 more minutes. Add flour mixture. Beat on low until no dry spots remain, about 1 minute.
- With a 2-tablespoon (1-ounce) cookie scoop or tablespoon measure, scoop dough into mounds on a baking sheet. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or up to overnight.* (#30 scoop ~ 2.1 T, #40 scoop ~ 1.6 T)
- When ready to bake, heat oven to 350 degrees and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Add granulated sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon to a small bowl.
- Remove half of the dough from the refrigerator and let sit at room temperature for 5 minutes if the dough is very stiff. Take a mound of dough and flatten slightly in the palm of your hand. Pile 4-5 frozen mini marshmallows on top of the flattened dough, then bring the outer edges over the marshmallows to envelop them. Roll into a ball and then roll in the cinnamon sugar to coat. Place on the baking sheet, 3 inches apart.
- Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, rotating halfway through, until cookies puff slightly and bits of molten marshmallow peek through the surface. Cool on the sheet for about 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with the remaining dough and marshmallows. Cookies will keep for about 3 days in an airtight container at room temperature.