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! I know it's hard to wait, but for best results, you really should cover and chill the prepared cookie dough balls for at least 2 hours before baking. It's worth it for super chewy cookies with crisp edges and big, puddle-like chunks of chocolate.
The first time I made these cinnamon-nutmeg spiced chocolate chunk cookies was for party I decided to attend 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.
It worked; There were no cookies left at the end of the night, and I 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 cookie recipe is a riff on the chocolate chunk cookie recipe from Mark Bittman's How to Bake Everything. Bittman includes suggested variations in the recipe notes and it was there 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 take of those chocolate chunk cookies, I've adjusted Bittman's ratios a bit, and converted the volume measurements to weight measurements (#TeamKitchenScale) so they bake up with perfect crispy edges and chewy centers every time.
- Cinnamon - I like Burlap & Barrel's Royal Cinnamon from Vietnam best.
- 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 most potent and flavorful when freshly grated. I get my whole nutmeg from Spicewalla.
- 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 I Hand Chop my Chocolate Chunks
When I make these cookies, I usually use bittersweet or dark chocolate (Ghirardelli's 60% Dark Chocolate is a favorite) that I chop into chunks by hand. 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, they're just there help them keep their shape in the oven.
But these chocolate chunk cookies get so flat in the oven that if you use chocolate chips, the cookies will end up lumpy and the chocolate won't be well distributed throughout the cookies.
Chopping the chocolate by hand gives more variety in the size of the chocolate pieces, marbles the chocolate puddles throughout the cookies, and also just looks nicer on top!
A simple cookie dough base
I wasn't trying to reinvent the wheel with this cookie recipe; it follows a pretty standard process known as the creaming method. It's a fairly standard cookie dough, too. I add the cinnamon, cayenne, and nutmeg in with the dry ingredients, and they infuse the whole dough with so much warm, cozy flavor when it rests.
First, I cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, then I add the eggs one at a time, and then I add the dry ingredients in two parts on low speed just until combined.
Adding the dry ingredients in two parts prevents them from flying up in my face in a cloud when I start mixing (a real nightmare when you're working with cayenne and cinnamon!), but, more importantly, it reduces the amount of gluten development that's occurring in the cookie dough. Over mixing = too much gluten development = tough cookies!
Why stir the chocolate chunks in by hand? The flour streaks will finish mixing in with the chocolate chunks, making it less likely that you'll accidentally over mix the cookie dough.
Scooping, Chilling, and Baking
I use a 2 tablespoon scoop scraped flat on the edge of the bowl to scoop my chocolate chunk cookies. And I press the remaining chocolate chunks into the top of the soft dough balls to get gorgeous chocolate puddles on top of the cookies.
To chill them, I arrange the dough balls in tight rows on a parchment-lined quarter sheet pan, which can fit exactly 35 cookie dough balls.
Chilling the cookie dough allows the flour to fully hydrate and gives the cookies a better texture and flavor. Baking cookies from cold 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.
Finish with a pinch of salt
Baked goods need seasoning too! A pinch of flaky salt right when these spiced chocolate chunk cookies come out of the oven brings out the best of the cinnamon, cayenne, nutmeg and pairs so well with the sweetness of the chocolate. You don't need much, a small pinch of salt per cookie is plenty.
💭 Have More Baking Questions?
I've rounded up answers to common baking questions and how-to guides, including:
- Ingredient swaps and FAQs
- Why my recipes are written in grams and not cups
- How to quickly bring eggs and butter to room temperature
- Ingredients I use (salt, flour, yeast, etc.)
- Step-by-step guides for bread and baking techniques
See my baking techniques & troubleshooting guide and ingredient swaps and FAQs for more!
📖 Recipe
Cinnamon-Nutmeg Spiced Chocolate Chunk Cookies
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.
- If you have arthritis or stirring by hand is difficult, you can use your mixer to stir in the chocolate chunks; just keep it on low speed and don't over mix.
- 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.
- Loosely adapted from Mark Bittman's How to Bake Everything.
- Storage: 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.
- To freeze: Scoop 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.
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 between additions. 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.
Janna says
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 says
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 says
So glad you liked the cookies and glad to hear it worked with GF flour!
Sabrina says
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 says
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 🙂
Mya says
Amazing recipe, this was my second time ever baking from scratch and I’ve already made 3 batches of these as I try to get better every time. I also was less scared of using the full amount of cayenne or doubling the nutmeg the second time. 10/10
Rebecca Eisenberg says
You should be so proud of yourself! The more you bake, the less scary it will be. So glad to hear you enjoyed the cookies. Happy baking! ~Rebecca