Sweet, earthy and a little spicy, these Chocolate, Chili and Dulce de Leche cookies are a flavor explosion and a creative riff on alfajores.
Phew, that was quite a mouthful!!!
After a week of "hatch chile madness" I wanted to end on a sweet and a "little spicy" note with these Chocolate, Chili and Dulce de Leche Cookies. The inspiration came from a new and fun little cookie cookbook - "The Cookiepedia - Mixing, Baking and Reinventing the Classics" by Stacy Adimando. Quirk Productions, who published Matt Armandariz's book, "On A Stick" graciously sent me an advance copy of The Cookiepedia to review - and I am so glad that they did.
I found this little book very appealing - the recipes are indeed classics but many feature a modern twist. What I liked most about this book though is the helpful hints and easy to read layout. This would be the perfect gift for anyone who has never baked or who is convinced that baking is beyond them.
As I read through the book, the Chocolate Sandwich Cookie recipe caught my eye and I immediately thought of a way to adapt the recipe for a cookie that would be a fitting end to my Hatch Chile madness of this week.
And that is how these Chocolate, Chili and Dulce de Leche Cookies came to be.
Two not-too-sweet dark chocolate cookies slathered with creamy and caramelly Dulce de Leche. Another twist on a classic and the perfect ending to my week of Hatch Chile Madness.
📖Recipe
Chocolate, Chili and Dulce de Leche Cookies
Print Pin Rate Add to CollectionIngredients
- ½ cup sugar
- ¼ cup light brown sugar
- 1 ½ cups flour
- ¾ cup cocoa powder
- ½ tsp. baking soda
- 1 tsp. salt
- ¾ cup unsalted butter - room temperature and cut into small pieces
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract preferably mexican vanilla
- ½ tsp. chili powder
- Filling: 1 - 14 oz. can Dulce de leche
Instructions
- In a large bowl of a mixer, combine the sugars, flour cocoa powder, baking soda, salt and chile powder. Mix at low speed for a minute or two until all ingredients are combined.
- Mix in the butter a piece at a time until the butter is thoroughly incorporated.
- Add the egg and the vanilla and continue to mix until a dough begins to form.
- Turn the dough out onto a board and form it into a disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour or overnight until firm.
- When you are ready to bake the cookies, let the dough warm up for 5 - 10 minutes. Line 3 sheet pans with parchment paper. Cut the dough in half and roll one half out until it is approximately ⅛ inch thick. Using a 2 inch round cookie cutter, cut rounds out and place on a parchment lined sheet pan.
- Place the rounds on the sheet pan. Repeat with the remaining dough. Bake for 12 - 15 minutes until cookies are dry. Let cool.
- When cookies have cooled, stir the dulce de leche and spread about a tablespoon on the bottom of one cookie. Top with another cookie and "squish" until the filling reaches the edge. Repeat with remaining cookies.
- Store in an airtight container.
Nutrition
Amanda says
Beautiful and delicious Nancy!!
Nancy says
Hi Amanda!! Thank you so much!!!
Barbara | Creative Culinary says
Oh my goodness these sound just perfect Nancy. I love the idea of a sweet that packs a little bit of surprise heat. Great photo too.
Nancy says
Thanks Barb!! When I first heard about pairing chile with chocolate I was a little skeptical... until I tried it and was amazed at how well it worked!
Marla says
Nancy I have GOT to get my hands on Cookiepedia!! Looks amazing & those cookies look extraordinary! Have a wonderful weekend 🙂
Nancy says
Hey Marla!!
Thank you!!! I definitely see a book like this in your future!! Hope you have a great weekend too!
sippitysup says
Great flavors, very modern. GREG
Nancy says
Hi Greg! These were fun to make and not too sweet - definitely my kind of cookie!
aida mollenkamp says
Chocolate, dulce de leche, and chili -- a delicious combination for sure. Thanks for sharing!
the urban baker says
what a great combo, Nancy! So in love with these cookies. And lucky you for getting an advanced copy!!!
Esi says
I love spice with chocolate. These look so good!
Magic of Spice says
What an interesting recipe...they look fantastic!
Kristen says
Oh my heavens, Nancy. Those cookies sound phenomenal. I just want to reach in and grab one off the screen!
Nancy says
Thanks Kristen - I have to admit they were pretty tasty!!
Sasha says
These look insanely flavoursome! I fear I would not stop eating these if i was given the chance...and i very much hope there is a chance sooner rather than later 🙂 gorgeous!
Nancy says
Thanks Sasha!! I was having the same problem - so thank goodness for neighbors!!!
Karly says
I love treats like this...such an unexpected flavor from the chile. Yum!
Nancy says
I was a little late to the spice and sweet bandwagon but now I get it - absolutely love the combo!
Tres Delicious says
That's definitely a creamy delight. Sounds like leche flan, I will definitely like it.
Nancy says
I love leche flan!! One of the best desserts ever!!
Priscilla - She's Cookin' says
Oh my, I've been absent lately and missed these gorgeous cookies! Adore chocolate and chile together, how thoughtful of you to make these for my birthday 😉
Nancy says
Just wish I could have given them to you in person!!!
Jacob says
I love chocolate and chili powder together. I've yet to try it with dulce de leche, but it sounds delicious squared.
Nancy says
Hi Jacob!!
I really enjoyed this combo - the cookies aren't very sweet so the dulce de leche works really well!!!
Joanna says
Hello,
My dough is sitting in the fridge for an hour right now and as I was going back through the recipe, I see that there is no oven temperature listed. What temperature should I bake these for?
Nancy says
Hi Joanna!
First off, HUGE apologies for not replying sooner! This somehow ended up in my spam filter and I am don't check it nearly as often as I should :-(! The temperature is 350 degrees - I am so glad you pointed that out because I completely missed it - am going back to fix ASAP! I truly hope the cookies came out well and that you enjoyed them!!
Joanna says
Hi Nancy,
Thanks for getting back to me. I googled around and went with 375 for 10 - 11 minutes and they turned out fine. I opted to omit the chili and made my own dulce to leche. I liked them a lot and thought the cookie part tasted exactly like oreos. The dough was really crumbly for me and I was afraid I did something wrong, but I kept on stirring and eventually the crumbs came together into a dough.
Chung-Ah | Damn Delicious says
What, what a treat! I definitely have to make a batch of these over the weekend!