Easy Mexican Chocolate Shortbread Cookies
These easy, moist, and slightly crunchy chocolate Mexican shortbread cookies will be the perfect addition to any dessert table. They’re just sweet enough, but not too sweet, and full of layers of warming flavors. Whether you want to include them in the lineup for Christmas parties (posadas), as a unique cookie exchange offering, or make them for Cinco de Mayo, they’ll be just perfect. These cookies are a delightful twist on the classic shortbread, bringing a touch of Mexico’s culinary flair to your holiday cookie platter or your next fiesta. Imagine sinking your teeth into a heavenly combination of rich chocolate and warm spices with just a hint of heat. And no, these cookies are not spicy! I know that actually spicy chocolate is trendy right now, but these cookies aren’t spicy. The two secret ingredients give the cookies depth of flavor and a tiny bit of heat but by no means are they spicy. Wondering what the secret ingredients are?* These easy Mexican chocolate cookies include the perfect blend of unsweetened cocoa, cinnamon, nutmeg, black pepper*, and a hint of cayenne pepper* to create a flavor symphony that will leave your taste buds dancing with joy. You cannot taste the cayenne nor the black pepper, but rather they contribute to the wonderful depth of flavor.
Ingredients in Mexican Chocolate Shortbread Cookies
To make this easy recipe for Mexican hot chocolate cookies, you’ll only need a handful of easy to find and very common ingredients including the following: There’s also only white sugar – no brown sugar – in the cookies. Sometimes people have dietary restrictions, or they’re simply curious if I forgot an ingredient or two, but in this case these are egg-free cookies and brown sugar-free cookies!
All-purpose flour Unsweetened cocoa powder Cinnamon Nutmeg Cayenne pepper – just 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper so they won’t be spicy! Salt Black pepper Unsalted butter at room temperature Granulated sugar Vanilla extract Coarse sugar, optional Confectioners’ sugar, optional
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.
How to Make Shortbread Cookies with Chocolate and Spices
Making Mexican shortbread cookies is so easy to do with my simple instructions and about 15 minutes of hands on prep time. With just 8 to 10 mins of bake time, they’re ready in a total time of less than 1 hour. So grab your electric mixer, whisk, and baking sheet and let’s get started! Step 1: Combine the dry ingredients (except sugar) together in a medium bowl. In separate bowl beat butter, sugar and vanilla together until creamy. Step 2: Slowly beat in the flour mixture to the wet ingredients until combined and you have a large dough ball. It will be stiff. Step 3: Roll dough into a log on parchment paper OR roll out until ⅛ inch thick between two pieces of parchment. Either way – chill the dough in the fridge for 30 minutes. Step 4A: If rolled into a log, cut into ¼ inch slices. 2. Or you can refrigerate the dough, roll it out, and use cookie cutters to make cut out cookies. This is what I did using a small star-shaped cutter. Step 4B: If you rolled out the dough, use cookie cutters and cut out 24 cookies. Place the cookies on a parchment lined cookie sheet. You can reroll the dough scraps once. Step 5: Optionally sprinkle the tops with sugar. Step 6: Place in the oven and bake for 10 minutes, remove, and cool completely. Optionally dust cooled cookies with powdered sugar.
Tips for the Best Chocolate Shortbread Cookies
Adjust the spice/heat level: I have made these with half the cayenne and it will just taste like a chocolate shortbread cookie. If you use less than the 1/2 teaspoon cayenne, you really can’t taste it. At that point, while still tasty, the hint of spice that the cayenne lends is just so intriguing and enticing. And these shortbread chocolate cookies also have black pepper in them. You won’t taste the black pepper; rather it just enhances the chocolate flavor and adds some pizazz! Don’t Overmix Dough: If using the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment is easier for you, go for it. However, it’s much easier to overmix in a stand mixer than when using a hand mixer so just be mindful. Overworked dough = tougher cookies. Cookie shapes: You can roll these into a log, refrigerate, then slice, and bake. OR you can roll them out and use cookie cutters to shape them. If you’re making cutout cookies, you can use any shaped cutter you like. Round is probably the most common but I used a star shape. Baking time: Do not overbake. They will harden up as they cool. If you overbake them, they will get too hard. I bake my cutout shortbread cookies for 10 minutes, using the approximate 2 1/2-inch star shape cutter. Baking times will vary a bit, so keep an eye on things, but if in doubt, underbake rather than overbake. Cookies always harden up and get crunchier as the days pass. Easy cleanup: If using powdered sugar to dust the cookies, place a piece of parchment paper underneath a wire rack. The paper will catch the excess dust.
Storage Instructions
Store leftover cookies in an airtight container at room temp for up to 5 days. You can freeze baked cookies for up to 3 months. You can also freeze unbaked dough for up to 3 months. I suggest rolling it into a log and freezing a well-wrapped cookie dough log for logical space constraints and freezer space considerations. Allow the dough to come to cool room temp, roll out, and bake normally.
Serving Suggestions
These easy shortbread cookies are on the lightly crispier and crunchier side, which makes them perfect to dunk in your coffee, tea, or hot cocoa. If you’re making these during cooler weather months and or you like to serve ice cream with your sweets, the cookies are great with ice cream.
More Chocolate Cookie Recipes:
Hot Chocolate Cookies — These gooey hot chocolate cookies are complete with big gooey marshmallows and chunks of melted dark chocolate. This is the perfect holiday and winter time cookie recipe! Tried this recipe? Leave a review! Consider leaving a 5 star rating if you’ve made and loved one of my recipes! Chocolate Crinkle Cookies — These chocolate crinkle cookies are slightly chewy around the edges with a very fudgy interior and perfectly crinkly seams! Soft Frosted Double Chocolate Cookies — Soft, chewy, double chocolate cookies topped with tangy cream cheese frosting!! A match made in heaven! And everything’s better with sprinkles! Soft and Chewy Nutella White Chocolate Chip Cookies – Thick, rich, chocolaty cookies that are so soft you won’t be able to resist them! Caramel-Stuffed Quadruple Chocolate Cookies – Soft and chewy cookies with four kinds of chocolate and so much gooey caramel! Andes Mint Chip Soft Fudgy Chocolate Cookies – Big, thick, fudgy chocolate cookies with a hint of mint and loads of chocolate in every bite! Dark Chocolate Chunk and Peanut Butter Chip Chocolate Cookies – Rich, soft chocolate cookies with chocolate chunks and peanut butter chips! Devil’s Food Cake Cookies — Foolproof cookies made with just 5 ingredients!! If you’re craving chocolate and want to make super EASY cookies that are soft, FUDGY, and delicious, this is the recipe to make!! Double Chocolate Peppermint Cookies — Rich, decadent, soft and chewy double chocolate cookies are sandwiched together with a tangy cream cheese filling before being rolled in crushed candy canes and drizzled with white chocolate for extra flavor and holiday festiveness! They’re the PERFECT Christmas cookie!
