Happy New Year! It’s January and it’s cold (somewhere) and the perfect time for hot chocolate. But, maybe not everyone enjoys a nice, hot mug of hot chocolate with marshmallows. I’ve seen recipes for Mexican hot chocolate treats and finally decided to give them a try. I am so glad I did. I’m including two recipes this month. One for cookies and one for a decadent cake. (One suggestion I received from two different people was to dip the cookies into the cake to eat them together!) The Mexican Hot Chocolate cookies have an unexpected kick to them from the cayenne. It isn’t much. Just different. I think they would make great ice cream sandwiches, I just didn’t have any cookies left to try them. And the Mexican Hot Chocolate Pudding cake…if you haven’t made a pudding cake yet, this is the one to try. Served warm with the vanilla ice cream melting into the fudgy sauce is delightful. Fortunately for me, I’m the only one in my house that likes the additional flavor of the espresso so I didn’t have to share the rest of the cake with anyone else. And it heats up nicely with just 30 seconds in the microwave, so you don’t have to eat it all the day you make it. I will be making the cake again without the espresso powder so the rest of my family can enjoy it, too.
Mexican Hot Chocolate Cookies
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup unsweetened Dutch-processed cocoa
- 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
- 1 ½ cups sugar
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup semisweet chocolate chips
Cinnamon-Chile Sugar
- ½ cup sugar
- 2 Tablespoons ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, sift together flour, cocoa, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed until creamy, about 2 minutes, scraping sides of bowl, as needed. Reduce speed to low and add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping the sides of the bowl, as needed.
- Add the flour mixture gradually, mixing on medium speed until well combined. Reduce the speed to low and slowly add the chocolate chips.
- In a shallow bowl, stir together sugar, cinnamon, and cayenne.
- Form 2 Tablespoons of the cookie dough into a ball and roll in the cinnamon-sugar mixture. Repeat with remaining dough. Place the coated balls on the lined cookie sheets, spacing them 3 inches apart (to allow for spreading).
- Bake the cookies until they are just set, 10-12 minutes.
- Remove the cookies sheet from the oven and allow cookies to cool for 2 minutes before removing to wire cooling rack to cool completely.
- Store in an airtight container for 3 days.
Mexican Hot Chocolate Pudding Cake
Bottom Layer:
- 6 Tablespoons butter, melted
- 1 cup packed light brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ cup whole milk
- 1/3 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 ¼ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- Rounded ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
Top Layer:
- ¼ cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
- ½ cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 ¼ cup very hot tap water
- 2 teaspoons espresso powder, optional
- 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips, for sprinkling
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Set aside an 8-inch square cake pan.
- For the bottom layer, whisk together the melted butter, brown sugar, and vanilla. Sprinkle in the cocoa powder, baking, powder, cinnamon, cayenne pepper, and salt. Whisk vigorously after each addition. Fold in the flour with a rubber spatula just until there are no streaks of flour. Pour the batter into the cake pan and set aside.
- For the top layer, using the same bowl, whisk together the cocoa, brown sugar, water, and espresso powder (if using). Slowly pour this over the batter in the pan. DO NOT MIX THEM TOGETHER. Sprinkle the chocolate chips over the top.
- Bake for about 30 minutes, rotating the cake after 15 minutes. The cake should look slightly soft and underbaked in the middle but drier around the edges. The center should jiggle when you gently move the pan.
- Remove from the oven and let sit for 15 minutes if you want a fudgy, sauce-like bottom layer. Or for 30 minutes if you want more of a pudding-like layer.
- Either way, serve cake warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. The cake will keep on the counter for 5 days.