Dark Chocolate Chili Cookies
Updated March 26, 2019
Dark Chocolate Chili Cookies-rich chocolate cookies with a hint of cinnamon, cayenne pepper, and chunks of dark chocolate chili chocolate! Have a glass of milk nearby because these cookies have a kick!
I am dusting off my sombrero because tomorrow is Cinco de Mayo! I am ready to PARTY! And when I say party, that means a festive dinner at home with my boys. Hey, we might get a little wild and turn on some mariachi music. Or maybe we will do some salsa dancing, see, I told you things might get wild:)
Yesterday, we shared the perfect Cheesy Guacamole recipe to kick of the festivities and today we are moving on to dessert! These Dark Chocolate Chili Cookies need to be added to your Cinco de Mayo right now!
We all know guacamole is a MUST on Cinco de Mayo, but dessert sometimes gets forgotten. Well, not in our house. I NEVER forget about dessert. When we go out to eat, I usually look at the dessert menu first so I can plan my meal. If dessert looks good, I order a healthy entree so I can justify splurging on dessert. And sometimes I order two or three desserts because I can’t make up my mind:)
I tasted the Lindt EXCELLENCE Chili dark chocolate bar for the first time on my trip to New Hampshire. I was a little scared to try it because I am usually a wimp when it comes to spicy things. Everyone said it wasn’t too spicy so I gave into peer pressure and took a bite. I am so glad I did because I LOVE this chocolate bar. The spicy flavor of red chili paired with dark chocolate is amazing! I knew as soon as I tasted it that it belonged in a cookie.
I have been waiting for Cinco de Mayo to roll around so I could make my special Dark Chocolate Chili Cookies. The cookies are rich, fudgy, and have a hint of cinnamon. Trust me on the chocolate and cinnamon combo, it’s a winner. Next, comes the spicy part. I added a little cayenne pepper and the Lindt EXCELLENCE Chili chocolate chunks.
When you first bite into the cookie, you won’t even notice the heat. It comes at the end and it is a nice surprise. The heat isn’t overwhelming and it won’t make your eyes water or your face turn red, but you might want to have a glass of milk nearby, just in case. I am not brave when it comes to spicy foods, but I love these cookies. The spicy kick goes so well with the chocolate!
Celebrate Cinco de Mayo with Dark Chocolate Chili Cookies. They are guaranteed to spice up the party!
Dark Chocolate Chili Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 cup Dutch processed cocoa plus 2 tablespoons
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup chopped Lindt EXCELLENCE Chili dark chocolate
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or Silpat baking mat or parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, cocoa, cayenne pepper, and cinnamon. Set aside.
- With a mixer, cream butter and sugars together until smooth. Add in egg and vanilla and mix until combined.
- Gradually add flour mixture and beat until just combined. Stir in the chili chocolate chunks. Scoop the dough into rounded tablespoons and place on prepared baking sheet, about 2 inches apart. Bake cookies for 8-10 minutes, or until cookies are set, but still soft in the center. Don't overbake. Remove from oven and let sit on baking sheet for 3 minutes. Move to a cooling rack and cool completely.
- Note-store cookies in an airtight container for up to 4 days. You will need 2 (3.5 oz) Lindt EXCELLENCE Chili bars for this recipe. You won't use all of the second bar for the cookies, but you can save the rest for eating!
Have you tried this recipe?
Leave a comment below and share a photo on Instagram. Tag @twopeasandpod and hashtag it with #twopeasandtheirpod
This post is in partnership with Lindt Chocolate, but our opinions are our own. Thank you for supporting the brands that continue to make Two Peas and Their Pod possible.
Maria, these are absolutely wonderful! love the chili!
I LOVE the spicy kick!!!
Chocolate and a spicy kick? I’m in!
hey Maria These look really good! I don’t like real spicy food either, but maybe these are worth a shot!
Chili and chocolate, that’s what I’m talking about! Looks delicious!
I will have to make these they sound delicious! How many chocolate bars would you recommend buying to equal 1 c chopped?
2 bars, see the note in the recipe! Enjoy!
Love the use of chili in these cookies!
I love that Lindt bar and LOVE that you put it into cookies even more. Spicy food always entices me… and so does chocolate 🙂
Wow. Looks delicious. Wonderful snaps. I did not knew that we get readymade Chili dark chocolate. Need to check in local stores. Thanks.
Oh my goodness you have some great recipes here…..I want to make them all today 🙂
Thank you!
If I can’t get Lindt chili chocolate.
What can I do? Please advice.
Thanks
You can use regular chocolate and add a little more cayenne pepper.
I used 2tbsp of crushed red pepper
I used Bournville dark chocolate in place of the chilli choc and added extra chilli flakes. It works but is a bit sweet. Still very yummy!
This is an amazing combination of chocolate, chili and cayenne pepper! The dense flavors work well in combination with each other.
Is the brown sugar packed or unpacked? (Honestly, I really dislike this about the cup measurement system. Using the metric system just so much more precise!)
I always pack my brown sugar.
What kind of cocoa powder do you use? Made thes. Delicious, but not as dark brown. As yours. Thought the brand of cocoa powder might help.
Making my 2nd batch in 2 weeks. Love then!
Yay!
hi,, made these today,, delicious! :),, this is the 4th recipe from your site that i have tried,, all turned out to be bestsellers,, i love how your recipes are very accurately written that when the final products come out of the oven- they would look exactly like yours in the pictures,, most of the time i stay near the oven because baking times seem different with mine but yours come out great exactly with the time you specify,, no more dried up cookies for me,, love your blog,, 🙂
Glad you are enjoying our recipes. Thanks for letting us know!
Great tasting with a hint of Spice!
I added 3x as much cayenne pepper and 2 tbsp of crushed red pepper to make up for the chili chocolate and I had to add 1/8cup of water
Hi Maria. First thing I want yo say is AMAZING! These cookies now hold a spot in the make again category. I didn’t change anything, your directions are super easy to follow with ingredients that a baker would commonly stock. I applaude you on such a great site with many great recipes. Thank you so much for sharing.
PS: these little morsels are addictive and now my husband only wants me to bake these. I’m always asked for this recipe and I continually direct them to your site.
When I first try a recipe I follow the original as much as I can. I would leave out the 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper next time I try. The dark chocolate chili candy bar has enough of a bite that the extra cayenne just, well no one liked it. The cookie itself had beautiful dark chocolate flavor and the cookie held it’s shape well but too spicy. I’d try again but not with the cayenne pepper.
I made these with powdered habanero instead of the cayenne to give them even more kick…can not stop eating them!
Always use the given recipe the first time. But these were a bit too hot for the Senior Center.
Great flavor, but will leave out the cayenne next time.
Just “oh my”. Rave reviews. The angels sang when I ate the second one. Perfect balance. I’ll be making these many more times.
Is one cup of chocolate equal to 4.5oz or 8oz? Thanks!
Very lekker! Lekker is a South African afrikaans word used by all 11 languages when something is yummy or pleasurable. Pronounce “Lakka”
These cookies are AMAZING! I added just a little extra cayenne, and also added some espresso powder – LOVE!! Thank you for sharing!
This recipe is amazing and has given me much joy! Thank you!
Looks delicious Maria! I’m wondering if I could use the Lindt spicy chocolate bar chopped in a chocolate cake?
Your opinion would be appreciated! I am not finding much on using a spicy chocolate bar into a cake.
Thank you! Have a wonderful day!
My husband actually made these cookies. They were very good but next time we agreed that we would double the cayenne
Came out absolutely perfectly. My first bake in my new house with an oven I hadn’t baked in before and the recipe details led to perfection. The perfect amount of spice/kick. Perfect for Halloween – Trick AND Treat! Thank you! 🙂