It’s Christmas cookie time! Every year I make at least one type of Christmas cookie. It’s a fun tradition and they make an easy, super inexpensive gift (who doesn’t like cookies?!). This year I made these awesome Chocolate Cayenne Crinkles that have all the spicy cocoa flavor of my favorite Aztec Cocoa in a light, chewy cookie.
This post contains some affiliate links, which means that we make a small commission off items you purchase at no additional cost to you.
I saw these Flourless Chocolate Cookies on Cooking Classy and immediately wanted to make them. There are only a few simple ingredients and they looked a lot like the delicate and delicious shell of a macaron. I love how the exterior of a macaron is shiny and thin, but the inside is kind of dense and chewy. That’s exactly how this entire cookie is. YUM!
I wanted to put my own spin on the Flourless Chocolate Cookie, so I decided to add some cayenne pepper. Cayenne and cocoa is an age old duo and one that I can’t get enough of. You can leave the cayenne out and do a plain chocolate cookie, if you desire, or try replacing some of the vanilla extract with peppermint extract for a sort of mint hot cocoa effect. Cinnamon could also work (a chocolatey alternative to snickerdoodles, maybe?) You could even top them with crushed candy canes. Fun, right?
YAY, Christmas cookies!
Chocolate Cayenne Crinkles
Servings 20 cookiesIngredients
- 3 cups powdered sugar ($0.54)
- 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder ($0.48)
- 1 Tbsp cornstarch ($0.04)
- 1/4 tsp salt ($0.02)
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper ($0.05)
- 2 large egg whites ($0.42)
- 1 large whole egg ($0.21)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract ($0.28)
- 1 cup chocolate chips ($0.91)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, stir together the powdered sugar, cocoa powder, cornstarch, salt, and cayenne pepper until evenly combined.
- Add the egg whites, whole egg, and vanilla extract to the powdered sugar mixture. Carefully stir the mixture until all of the powdered sugar has dissolved into the eggs and a very thick batter forms. It may seem like there is not enough moisture to stir in all the powdered sugar, but keep stirring and it will eventually melt in. The mixture will be very thick and stiff, so use a strong spoon. Add the chocolate chips and stir until incorporated.
- Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Spoon the batter, one heaping tablespoon at a time, onto the baking sheets. Be sure to leave a couple inches between each cookie because they will spread. (I suggest ten cookies per sheet.)
- Bake one cookie sheet at a time for 14 minutes or until the cookies are puffed and cracked over the surface. Allow the cookies to cool before removing from the parchment.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Notes
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!
How to Make Chocolate Cayenne Crinkles – Step by Step Photos
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a LARGE bowl, combine 3 cups powdered sugar, 3/4 cups unsweetened cocoa powder, 1 Tbsp cornstarch, 1/4 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper. If you’re scared of the spiciness, start with 1/4 tsp cayenne. Make sure the dry ingredients are very well mixed. Hint: use a bowl with steep sides, or you’ll get powdered sugar everywhere.
Add two large egg whites, one whole egg, and 1 tsp vanilla extract. Begin to carefully stir these into the powdered sugar mixture. You can use a whisk at first, but it will soon get too thick and you’ll need to switch to a spoon.
As you stir the eggs and vanilla into the powdered sugar it will seem like there’s not enough moisture to make it work (I went back and checked the recipe THREE times to make sure…), but just keep stirring and eventually all of the powdered sugar will melt into it. The batter becomes very thick and stiff.
Stir in one cup of chocolate chips. I happened to have some leftover mini-chocolate chips, so I used those.
Cover two baking sheets with parchment paper. Drop the batter onto the sheets in heaping tablespoons, about ten per sheet. Leave a couple of inches between each cookie for them to spread while baking.
Bake one sheet at a time for 14 minutes, or until the cookies are puffed up and cracked along the top (they deflate upon cooling). Let the cookies cool completely before removing them from the parchment.
Enjoy the warm chocolatey goodness and the sassy kick of cayenne!
this looks sooo good! did you use semi-sweet chocolate chips?
Yep :)
I made these and none of them cracked except the very last batch! Is there a trick?
The only thing that was done differntly is the last batch sat on the tray while the oven re-heated again, as for the other batches went in the oven immediately.
But regardless of the crinkle or not they are fabulous! The crinkle just makes them pretty.
I’ve made 3 and a half batches so far, these are now my go to holiday cookie. I’ve been using mint chocolate chips instead of regular and it creates the perfect balance of mint and chocolate!
These came out great. Love the little bite.
Why the recommendation to bake the trays one at a time?
Better air flow in the oven usually yields better results. :)
I loved the cayenne ‘finish’. I found my cookies to be very dry. Did I over baked them?
Perhaps, I bet over baking would cause them to be a bit dry.
These cookies came out perfect! I signed up for a cookie exchange and usually I go all out & end up eating noodles for the rest of the week because of expenses. A great cookie recipe that won’t break the bank & is delicious!
Thank you, thank you, thank you!
forgot the rating!
These cookies were delicious! My first round, I used less than 1/8 of cayenne, because my 2 and 6 yr olds wouldn’t have eaten them! Everyone loved them- so I made another batch and took them to my work Christmas party! Delicious and so easy. I only mixed by hand, using a spoonula. Thanks for another great hit!
Did you use a mixer or mix by hand? I want to make these this week and after reading the comments, I’m wondering which way is better. Thanks!
I mixed by hand. I suspect that it might be too thick/stiff for a mixer.
I grabbed the wrong eggs and used “jumbo” instead of “large” which caused the batter to run. I’m going to try again!
I was needing a major chocolate fix last night so we decided to give these a try. They are AMAZING! I left out the cayenne because my bf wasn’t wanting the pepper kick. They came out as chocolate perfection! I’m making these for Christmas baskets with a little bit of peppermint. We had them with coffee this morning and they’re just a yummy for breakfast! Thanks Beth!
Worked great and are a big hit! I would recommend though that the size spooned onto the baking sheet is a TEASPOON, not a tablespoon.
Amazing! It turned out perfect. I did however reduce the amount of cayenne by about half as I’m not big on spicy and it turned out perfect. So chocolaty with just a little kick at the end! Perfection! I can’t wait to pack up the extras to send to my friends but first they have to cool. Thanks Beth!
These turned out great and were very easy. I didn’t have parchment paper so used a no stick pan. Maybe it was because I didn’t have parchment that they spread and got too thin. But really great, loved the slight spicy kick of the cayenne.
I made these last night and they really are fantastic. I did, however, decide to leave out the cayenne so I’m mostly reviewing the base recipe. I made a full batch exactly as described, and the only thing I did differently was I left some of them plain chocolate, I added some milk chocolate chips on top of some of them, and the rest I dumped on finely crushed peppermint.
The dough is a tiny bit difficult to handle because of how thick it is, but my end product was basically a brownie cookie and looked exactly like yours do in the pictures (maybe a bit darker!). I am definitely going to make these for Christmas because I think they are just too good not to share (not to mention, they were ridiculously easy to get it all together AND we have a gluten-free family member who never gets to partake in my desserts). I will definitely try it with cayenne in the future because that sounds awesome, but I doubt the family would like that so I’m pleased to see the peppermint suggestion.
Mine didn’t turn out, either. The batter was so stiff, my Kitchenaid had a hard time mixing it! For clarification, powdered sugar = icing sugar! right? Also, I kind of packed it in the measuring cup, so that could be my problem. Do you just measure it loosely? I tried to salvage the batter after baking the first tray by adding a bit of milk, but they still aren’t baking properly. :(
I believe powdered sugar is the same as icing sugar! We also call it confectioners sugar. Packing it in the cups may have been the problem. I did measure mine loosely and then just scraped the top of the cup even with a knife.