The addition of Mexican-inspired spices like cinnamon, nutmeg and cayenne (yes, cayenne!) add a tiny bit of savory warmth to these homemade chocolate chunk cookies!
For best results, cover and chill the prepared cookie dough balls for at least 2 hours or overnight before baking. You’ll be rewarded with chewy cookies with crispy edges, dotted with chunks of chocolate. Recipes yields 36 cookies.
I might be a pastry chef but I've never liked overly fussy recipes. So when I'm making cookies from scratch, I always look for little ways to jazz them up. Adding a few warm spices to a classic chocolate chunk cookie is the kind of low effort, high reward recipe I live for.
If you like these cookie recipes you might also like my recipes for blueberry chocolate chip cookies, snickerdoodle chocolate chip cookies, or my chewy chocolate m&m cookies!
Jump to:
- About This Recipe
- 🍫 Ingredient Notes
- 🍪 Why Use Hand Chopped Chocolate Chunks
- 🔪 Mise en place (aka prep work)
- 🥣 Instructions
- Scooping, Chilling, and Baking
- 🍽 Equipment
- 🍪 Storage Notes
- 🍪 How to Freeze Cookie Dough
- 👩🏻🍳 Practical Tips & Recipe Notes
- 💭 Why is this recipe written in grams? I don't have a kitchen scale!
- 📖 Recipe
- 💬 Comments
About This Recipe
The first time I made these cinnamon-nutmeg spiced chocolate chunk cookies was for party I decided to attend at the almost-last-minute where I really only knew one other person. I wanted something quick and easy, with a little bit of flair. Something that said I want to impress you but don't want to look like I'm trying too hard to impress you.
As for whether or not my cookie plan worked, there were none left at the end of the night and I definitely formed at least one new friendship on the power of those cookies alone. (Also my personality is awesome and I'm a great friend, if I do say so myself, but I really don't want to undersell how great these cookies are).
This recipe is a riff on the chocolate chunk cookie recipe from Mark Bittman's How to Bake Everything. How to Bake Everything isn't just an encyclopedia of basic recipes; the real hidden gems come at the end of almost every recipe, where Bittman includes some suggested variations.
It was in those notes that I found my favorite addition to an otherwise standard chocolate chunk cookie recipe: cinnamon, freshly grated nutmeg, and yes, a little bit of cayenne.
For my version of those chocolate chunk cookies, I've adjusted Bittman's ratios a bit, and converted the volume measurements to weight so you get the perfect crispy edges and chewy centers every time.
🍫 Ingredient Notes
Here's what you'll need to make these cinnamon-nutmeg chocolate chunk cookies. Nothing too fancy or hard to find; just your standard cookie ingredients plus a few spices. See the recipe card (at the end of the post) for quantities.
- Butter - Unsalted, at room temperature. You should be able to easily make an indentation in it, but it shouldn't be melty or greasy.
- Sugar - Granulated sugar.
- Brown sugar - Use dark sugar for a more intense flavor, and light brown sugar for less intense flavor.
- Eggs - Large eggs, at room temperature. Room temperature eggs are looser and more fluid, easier to incorporate into your cookie dough.
- Flour - All purpose flour is just fine here.
- Vanilla - Vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste, whichever you prefer!
- Salt - I use Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt in all my baking. You'll want to use half as much if you're using a different brand.
- Baking soda - This leavens the cookies. Don't skip this or they'll be very flat and sad.
- Cinnamon - I like a Vietnamese Cinnamon (aka Saigon Cinnamon) for its more intense flavor. But any ground cinnamon is fine.
- Cayenne - You don't need much! Different brands of cayenne have different heat levels, so adjust accordingly. If you don't want a spicy cookie, cut the amount in half for less heat, or for a really spicy cookie you can add an extra ⅛ teaspoon of cayenne.
- Whole Nutmeg - Nutmeg is always best when freshly grated on a microplane zester. I get mine from Spicewalla.
- Chocolate - Bittersweet or dark chocolate, whichever you prefer. You'll want to hand chop a bar of chocolate for these spiced chocolate chunk cookies. I like using Ghirardelli's 60% Dark Chocolate for these; you'll need two whole bars.
- Flaky salt - For finishing! I use Maldon Flaky Sea Salt which has gorgeous large crystal pyramids. Add this while the cookies are still soft so they melt into the dough and stick.
🍪 Why Use Hand Chopped Chocolate Chunks
There's a reason I called this a chocolate chunk cookie recipe and not a chocolate chip cookie recipe. Hand chopped chocolate melts differently than chocolate chips and from store-bought bagged chocolate chunks. This can change the shape and texture of your cookies!
Chocolate chips and bagged chocolate chunks have stabilizers in them. Those stabilizers are harmless, but are designed to help them keep their shape in the oven.
These cookies get so flat in the oven that if you use chocolate chips or store bought chunks, the cookies will end up lumpy. The chocolate also won't be well distributed throughout the cookies.
If you use chocolate chips or store bought chocolate chunks on top of the cookie dough balls to get the chocolate puddles you will be very disappointed! The cookies will flatten and spread out and the chocolate chips and chunks will hold their shape on top instead of melting into gorgeous chocolate pools.
🔪 Mise en place (aka prep work)
Mise en place is a French culinary term which literally translates to "putting in place."
It basically means: Measuring your ingredients and making sure you have all the right tools ready to go before you start working. This can make a huge difference in a) how enjoyable you find the baking and cooking process and b) the success of your recipe!
Here's the mise en place you'll need for these chocolate chunk cookies:
- Bring the eggs and butter to room temperature. To quickly soften butter, microwave the wrapped sticks 3-4 seconds per side. Room temperature butter should be soft and pliable but slightly cool to the touch and not melty or greasy. To bring eggs to room temperature, submerge them in very hot water for 5-10 minutes before use.
- Make sure you have vanilla ready. I can't tell you the number of times I've started baking only to realize I've misplaced or run out of vanilla. Make sure you have it before you start!
- Hand chop the chocolate. It's tempting to wait and do this at the last minute, but you'll be glad you did it at the beginning. This also makes it more likely you'll remember to set aside ⅓ cup chopped chocolate to use for topping the cookies.
🥣 Instructions
Start by creaming the butter and sugar together in the bowl of your stand mixer.
Tip: Most people don't cream their butter and sugar long enough — give it at least 3-5 minutes or even up to 7 minutes at medium-high speed. Pause to scrape down the bowl at least twice, maybe three times. It should be lighter in color, airy, and look fluffy.
Scrape the bowl down again at the end, before you add the eggs.
Add the eggs one at a time, giving each one at least 60 seconds to incorporate at medium-high speed. Add the vanilla along with the second egg, and scrape the bowl down before and after adding each egg.
Then, reduce the mixer speed to the lowest possible setting and add half the flour mixture.
Why do we add the flour in two parts? One, to prevent it from flying up in your face in a cloud when you start mixing, and two, to reduce the amount of gluten development that's occurring. Over mixing = gluten development = tough cookies that don't spread!
When there are just a few streaks of flour, scrape it down and add the rest of the flour mixture. Keep the mixer on low and let it stir until the flour is almost all the way incorporated. Again, stop mixing when there is still some flour visible in the mix.
Scrape down the bowl, then add in the chocolate chunks and stir by hand with a spatula or on the lowest speed of the mixer just until they're evenly distributed. Do not over mix!
Why stir the chocolate chunks in by hand? The flour will finish mixing in as you stir in the chocolate, and make it less likely that you'll accidentally over mix. If you have arthritis or stirring by hand is difficult, you can use your mixer; just keep it on low speed.
Scooping, Chilling, and Baking
Scoop the chocolate chunk cookies using a 2 tablespoon scoop. Scrape the scoop flat on the edge of the bowl so you get an exact 2 tablespoon measure.
Arrange the dough balls in tight rows on a lined sheet pan. I like using a quarter sheet pan for this — you can fit exactly 35 cookies on it!
To finish, press the remaining chocolate chunks into the top of the soft dough. This is a tip I picked up from my friend Erin over on her blog Cloudy Kitchen, and is how you get gorgeous chocolate puddles on top of your cookies.
Chill the cookies in the fridge for at least 2 hours or overnight. This allows the flour to fully hydrate and gives your cookies a better texture and better flavor. Baking cold cookies also slows their spread in the oven.
If you don't chill these chocolate chunk cookies before baking, they will spread out into truly giant cookie puddles on your sheet pan and you will be very sad.
Because these are such thin cookies, they bake quickly. Just 9-11 minutes at 375F.
They'll look underdone — slightly domed with slightly pale centers — when you pull them out. But they will settle and firm up as they cool. Because they're so delicate, let them cool for 5 mins on the sheet pan before transferring them to a cooling rack.
If getting perfectly circular cookies matters to you, use a large round ring cutter to scoot the cookies on the pan while they're still warm. This is optional, and will give you slightly less crispy edges, but is very aesthetically pleasing!
Depending on the placement of your oven racks and the accuracy of your oven temperature you may need 9 minutes or you may need up to 10 minutes.
The nice thing about this recipe is you can only bake about 6 cookies at a time, so you can use the first batch to figure out just how long they need. The last batch I made was perfect at 9 and a half minutes.
Tip: These chocolate chunk cookies spread out a lot in the oven, so you want to give plenty of room between each one on the sheet pan. I usually fit 6 cookies per pan and bake off two pans at once.
🍽 Equipment
- Cookie scoop - I use this 2 tablespoon cookie scoop to get uniform cookie sizes. Press the dough all the way into the scoop and scrape it flat on the edge of the bowl so you're sure all the cookies are the same size. No heaping scoops here!
- Silicone baking mat - A silicone baking mat will help the cookies spread more than parchment paper does. If you don't have a silicone mat, parchment is better than a greased cookie sheet. These cookies are thin enough that the grease will change their texture, and you don't want that.
- Cooling rack - Because you can only fit about 6 cookies per sheet pan, you'll want to have a cooling rack on hand to transfer the cookies shortly after they come out of the oven.
🍪 Storage Notes
Store in an airtight container (I usually use a large gallon bag) for up to 3 weeks. You can also store baked cookies in the freezer in an airtight container for up to 6 months.
🍪 How to Freeze Cookie Dough
Scooped chocolate chunk cookie dough balls onto a lined sheet pan, place in the freezer for 30-60 minutes. Once frozen, transfer frozen cookie dough balls to a large freezer bag. Remove as much air from the bag as possible.
Use frozen cookie dough balls within 3 months for best results, but they will stay good for 6 months or even longer.
To bake from frozen: Add 2-3 minutes to the bake time to account for the colder starting temperature.
👩🏻🍳 Practical Tips & Recipe Notes
- There's a reason I took the time to write "scrape down the bowl" as often as I did — this isn't a suggestion! It can really change the way your ingredients incorporate. I know it can be tedious, but it's worth taking the time.
- You won't hurt the cookie dough by creaming the butter and sugar and eggs on medium-high speeds for up to 7 minutes. Be patient and take the time to do those steps right. Set a timer if you have to — it can be hard to judge how long 60 seconds is when you're not looking at a clock!
- Once you add the flour, only mix on low speed so that you don't develop the gluten network of the dough, which toughens up the cookie dough and prevents spreading.
- The shape and temperature of your dough balls changes the way the cookies will bake. You want nice domed cookie balls with flat bottoms and round tops. Don't roll the dough into round balls or flatten them into discs before baking. Leave the dough balls in the fridge until ready to bake.
- If you're baking the cookie dough from frozen, add 2-3 minutes to the bake time to account for the colder starting temperature.
💭 Why is this recipe written in grams? I don't have a kitchen scale!
Volume measurements like cups are wildly inaccurate. Not only do the size of them vary by brand and shape, how loosely or tightly packed the flour is when you scoop it can mean you end up with a lot more flour than you need! I've written more about why switching to a kitchen scale is worth it if you're on the fence about getting one, but it's the number one tool you can add to your kitchen that will immediately make you a better baker. A kitchen scale is very inexpensive and will make a huge difference in how your baking projects turn out.
The tl;dr is that when you scoop a cup of flour, depending on how you scoop it, you could end up with as little as 120 grams of flour or as much as 150 grams of flour! That can make a BIG difference in how these cookies spread. I use 120 grams as 1 cup of flour.
If your 1 cup scoop weighs 150 grams, you could end up with 60 grams (about half a cup!) more flour than this recipe calls for. Your cookies will be thick and chewy instead of thin with crispy edges. To reliably get crispy edges and chewy centers, you need to weigh the ingredients.
📖 Recipe
Cinnamon-Nutmeg Spiced Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Equipment
- #40 cookie scoop (1½-2 tablespoons)
Ingredients
- 226 grams unsalted butter, room temperature (1 cup)
- 200 grams dark brown sugar
- 100 grams granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs (large)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla (the good stuff)
- 240 grams all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon diamond crystal kosher salt (use half of another brand)
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne
- ⅛ teaspoon whole nutmeg (freshly grated, always)
- 8 oz semi sweet or dark chocolate bar (hand chopped)
- 3 tablespoons flaky salt (for finishing)
Instructions
- Mix the flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, cayenne, and nutmeg together in a bowl and set aside.
- Chop the chocolate into roughly ¼" pieces. Reserve ⅓ cup in a separate bowl for topping cookies. Set aside.
- Cream together the butter and sugars until light and fluffy in the bowl of an electric mixer, approximately 3-5 minutes, scraping down the bowl at least twice in the middle and again at the end.
- Add the eggs one at a time, allowing the first one to incorporate (60 seconds at medium-high speed) and scraping down the bowl before adding the second along with the vanilla. Beat well for 60 seconds, then scrape down the bowl.
- Add the dry ingredients in two batches, stirring on low speed. When just a few streaks of flour remain, stir in the chocolate chunks. Stop mixing as soon as the flour is incorporated and the chunks are evenly distributed. DO NOT OVER MIX.
- Use a 2 tablespoon cookie scoop to drop rounds of cookie dough on to a lined quarter sheet pan in tight rows. Scrape the scoop flat against the rim of the bowl to get dough balls with domed tops and flat bottoms.
- For chocolate puddles, press reserved chocolate chunks into the tops of the soft cookie dough balls. Then cover and chill at least 2 hours or overnight before baking.
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- Arrange 6 cookie dough balls on a sheet pan with plenty of room to spread out. (To test how much the cookie dough will spread in the oven, you can bake just one or two cookies on a sheet before doing the rest of the batch.)
- Bake for 9-10 minutes, until lightly browned around the edges. The centers of the cookies may seem bubbly or not fully set. That’s okay! They’ll set up when they cool.Sprinkle immediately with flaky salt and (optional) use a large circle cutter to scoot the cookies into perfectly round shapes. Let cool 5 minutes on the sheet pan before transferring to a cooling rack to finish cooling completely.
RECIPE NOTES
- Adding the dry ingredients in two stages prevents you from getting a cloud of flour to the face when you start the mixer again and prevents over mixing. You're welcome.
- Recipe makes 35-38 cookies, depending on how precisely you scoop them.
- Loosely adapted from Mark Bittman's TK from How to Bake Everything.
Janna
I absolutely loved these cookies and they were a huge hit with my family! Really easy to make and Rebecca has every possible question answered in her walkthrough. They are absolutely delicious. I highly recommend freezing some and baking them at a later date - my frozen dough somehow came out even crispier and crunchier! I substituted with GF Jules gluten-free flour, Green Valley Creamery lactose-free butter, Artisan Kettle semisweet chocolate, and Enjoy Life vegan chips. These have a pleasant aftertaste and are so yummy. I would punch up the cayenne and cinnamon next time to get some more lingering flavor.
Dawn Robertson
Terrific recipe! I made it with Bob’s One for One gluten free flour and the only other changes I made was halving the cayenne because my husband doesn’t handle spicy food well and not using fresh Nutmeg (I used ground). Also I got 4 dozen cookies using a 2TBSP scoop. I will definitely make these again!
Rebecca Eisenberg
So glad you liked the cookies and glad to hear it worked with GF flour!
Sabrina
I didn’t have any cayenne at hand so I doubled up on the nutmeg.
Also didn’t have the 2tbsp scoop so I just eyeballed the portions.
It still came out absolutely delicious. Can’t wait to make it again closer to the suggestions and have that same texture you had shared above !
This recipe is a keeper ❤️
Rebecca Eisenberg
I’m so glad you liked them and that those modifications worked! Nutmeg can be pretty potent, I’m curious to know what you think when you try them with the cayenne! Enjoy 🙂