Sweet and Spicy Chocolate Chip Cookies
These sweet treats are inspired by the thought of Mexican hot chocolate. Sometimes it is just too hot to enjoy a cup of hot chocolate, but with these sweet treats, you can still savor the spicy-sweet flavors.

The addition of cinnamon and cayenne pepper kicks this basic, delicious chocolate chip cookie up a notch. Let’s take a quick look at some facts about these spices.
Cinnamon
Did you know that cinnamon is obtained from the inner bark of several trees from the genus Cinnamomum. Seventy to ninety percent of these trees grow in Sri Lanka, but it is also grown in Brazil, the Caribbean, and India. Saigon, or Vietnamese, cinnamon is a much-prized variety because of its higher oil content.
So why is cinnamon associated with Mexican hot chocolate? Well, Mexico happens to be the largest importer of Sri Lankan cinnamon.
WebMD has posted ” Lab studies have found that cinnamon may reduce inflammation, have antioxidant effects, and fight bacteria. But it’s unclear what the implications are for people.”
Cayenne Pepper
According to the internet, where everything is true 🙂 , cayenne is relatively high in Vitamin A. At least by weight. It also has vitamins B6, vitamin E, Vitamin C, riboflavin, potassium, and manganese.
So…since these cookies have some cayenne pepper and cinnamon, they must be good for you, right? Be sure to have a glass of cold milk to go with them. There is a little heat to them.
Now, let’s get on to the recipe.
Ingredients
- all-purpose flour
- baking soda
- salt
- cayenne pepper
- cinnamon
- butter
- granulated sugar
- brown sugar
- vanilla extract
- egg
- chocolate chips
Directions
- Preheat oven to 375° degrees.
- Combine flour, baking soda, salt, cayenne pepper, and cinnamon. Set aside.
- In mixer, cream butter. Add granulated and brown sugar and mix well. Add vanilla extract and egg beating well.
- Add dry ingredients to mixer bowl and beat until well mixed. Add chocolate chips.

- Use medium-sized cookie scoop and place dough balls approximately 2 inches apart on a baking sheet.
- Bake for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Let sit for one minute then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.


Sweet and Spicy Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup + 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- 1 stick butter softened
- ¼ cup + 2 Tbsp granulated sugar
- ¼ cup + 2 Tbsp brown sugar
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375° degrees.
- Combine flour, baking soda, salt, cayenne pepper, and cinnamon. Set aside.
- In mixer, cream butter. Add granulated and brown sugar and mix well. Add vanilla extract and egg beating well.
- Add dry ingredients to mixer bowl and beat until well mixed. Add chocolate chips.
- Use medium sized cookie scoop and place dough balls approximately 2 inches apart on baking sheet.
- Bake for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Let sit for one minute then remove to wire rack to cool completely.
Nutrition

Other cookies you might like:
- No-Bake Peppermint Cookies – If you like Girl Scouts’ Thin Mint Cookies, then you will love these easy-to-make cookies that taste very much like the Girl Scout favorite.
- Homemade Orange Cookies – This recipe has to be my family’s favorite cookie recipe. These are orange cake-like cookies that are topped with a sweet orange icing.
- Toasted Pecan Cookies – These sweet treats are made with Rice Krispies and oatmeal – perhaps they should have been named breakfast cookies?
Just made these cookies and they are super simple to make and taste amazing! Excellent adult specialty cookie!
I am glad you liked them!
Wow! These chocolate chip cookies sounds amazing! I love that they have a little heat in them.
I love the kick of heat in these. That’s totally up my alley!
I never met a cookie I didn’t like and this sounds really interesting!
Oh, how interesting! I need to try these!
Hello yum! What a fun combination. I think I might try and surprise my husband with these. He absolutely loves spicy foods and has a sweet tooth so these are perfect.
Oh daaaaaaamn! Those look SPECTACULAR!
I adore Mexican Hot Chocolate. Mixing spicey peppers with chocolate always intensifies the richness. Yum!
I LOVE mexican chocolate and these look and sounds truly delicious… I suspect pairing them with a glass of red wine would be wonderful as well 🙂
I LOVE chocolate chip cookies… I would never think to make them with a bit of kick and spice… but my love of chocolate chip cookies trumps being scared of trying new things. 🙂 I bet they are delicious! 🙂
I personally probably wouldn’t like these as I’m not a big sweet & spicy person but I bet my husband would love them!
Oh I bet these are SO GOOD!!!
I’ll have to try this recipe.
sounds so tasty Yummmy
Those sound insane! Sooo curious to try these!
There is just enough spice to make them different than the plain ole chocolate chip cookie without making you want to slap your momma. 🙂
I’ll take the sweet, but not so sure the spicy LOL!
I like the added pepper! Sounds tasty!
I like the little added kick you put in there 🙂
I don’t really care for spicy foods, but these look good though.
Ooh, this sounds good!
Oh, my word — I want Mexican Hot Chocolate right now!!!! Those cookies look amazing!
I need to try these!
I love cayenne in cookies! It’s a great unexpected kick!
I have never had a spicy cookie before, bet it is yummy!
I bet those are amazing! I have never tried spicy chocolate chip cookies but I love cinnamon.
Ok, I definitely have to try these sometime!
Spicy? Oooh! Sounds yummy and I think they look absolutely perfect!
I recently bought my husband a chili chocolate bar and he really enjoyed it. I’m sure he would like these as well.
It combines the goodness of chocolate chips with the health benefits of cinnamon and cayenne pepper. I think that it must be healthy ;). I love sweet and spicy so I’ll have to give it a try.
My favorite is def chocolate chip. I’m interested in a chocolate chip cookie with a kick to it too. I might just have to make these because I’m curious.
my favorite cookie is oatmeal, peanut butter, chocolate
My favorite cookie is chocolate chip, but I’ve never had a spicy one before. This sounds interesting.
Chocolate chip is my favorite cookie and next time I make some I’m going to include some cinnamon and cayenne!
You know I’ve had chocolate with a hint of spice in it but never cookies. I’m thinking I need to change that.
Interesting I love spicy things but never thought of a spicy cookie.
They sound yummy! I like a spicy cookie.
I have never heard of spicy chocolate chip cookies but I bet the mixture of the two tastes great.
Now that’s interesting! I have to try it!
I’ve never made spicy chocolate chip cookies before, but these sound awesome!