Cinnamon-Spiced Hot Chocolate Cookies

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After reading these reviews I was a bit nervous to include this recipe in my collection for cookie samplers that I give out every year. But, it is difficult to tease apart the reviews that rate a cookie low because the person just didn't like the finished product versus those that are truly objective. I shall try to provide the latter:

I followed the recipe nearly exactly, doubling it to make enough (doubling went well. I used a bit extra cayenne cause I like the kick and added instant expresso powder (1 Tbsp for a 2x recipe as I always do for chocolate recipes. The rolling and slicing of the cookies went perfectly, and they baked up on AirBake pans in a mere 10 minutes, still crunchy are that (I prefer a chewy cookie, but the recipe accomplishes the crunchy cookie wonderfully. The dulce de leche from sweetened condensed milk was, in my opinion, not worth the time to boil it, but rather Smuckers caramel topping and walnuts were delicious. Given that they had to go into treat bags, the toppings were too messy for this, but the cookies fly just fine solo: with a bright cinnamon flavor at first bite, chocolately goodness in the middle and a great kick in the back of the throat at the end. These cookies are interesting and different and I will definitely make them again, as they were a huge hit among my gift recipients! Thank you!

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I made these cookies for a cookie swap today. I wish I hadn't. They sounded so intriguing. I followed the recipe to the T and I think they turned out the way they were supposed to. I even made the dulce sauce from scratch. The cookies leave a slight heat at the back of the throat but other than that they are not very flavorful. I won't be keeping this recipe. I guess all of the recipes can't be 'make agains'.

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The whole family loved these.... however, as a lot of other readers, made some changes (but that's what recipes are for -- a starting place.
Anyway, I bake with Whole Wheat Pastry flour, so figured I'd have to adjust the moisture anyway with a bit of additional water. I also used all butter, as don't consider margarine a food. Added a bit more cayenne and black pepper and the kick was awesome!!
Had purchased almonds to put on top, but couldn't find them when the time came, so put crushed walnuts on and those were good too, tho' I think i'd rather have the almonds. And the dulce de leche is a must and easy to make as previously noted.
Definitely a keeper.Thank you!!!!

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I made these for a cookie exchange after I read the ingred. so they would stand out from the other cookies.I thought Wow! that's different. They came out GREAT! No dryness or any problems. I did notice they were crisper until I put them into the container I was going to take them in and they were soft and chewy after that. Used the sweetend condensed milk trick. 2 1/2 hours I simmered in the can. They turned out great with such an unusual kick. A keeper!

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I healthied these up a bit by using half WW flour, "I Can't Belive It's Not Butter" and splenda granulated and brown sugar blend. Of course I don't know what it would have taste dlike otherwise, but I love them! They are more chewy than others have described but I love the unexpected kick of the pepper. I did as someone else suggested and boiled down the can of sweetened condensed milk...very glad I decided to try that! Took 3hrs and worked like a charm! I'm new to baking so I find this all so interesting! Merry Christmas!

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I love spicy chocolate, and I thought that these cookies would fulfill my craving. Not so much. After making the dough exactly as written, it was much too dry. Perhaps it is my altitude (5,500 ft., so I added ~3 tbsp. of water. That did the trick, and I was able to shape the dough at that point. The finished cookies were hard and crumbly. I tried baking again for less time, and they still tasted very dry. The flavor of the cookie was good, I actually would have liked more cayenne. I don't think I'll make these again, though.

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I try and do a recipe the first time the way the recipe reads, so I did and the cookies turned out the right shape, flavour and texture. But I did find it a bit too crisp for me, the only way we could eat them was by sandwiching some french vanilla frozen yogurt in between two. They were fantastic that way! I'll try the bread trick as another post suggested and margarine and lessen the baking time from 12 min to 10, and see how that goes. I love the flavour that they have though! And I'll be using those combinations again in my baking!

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I made the recipe pretty much as directed with the exception of slicing a little thicker than the 1/4 in and letting them cook a minute or two less. We like more chewy cookies. My daughter doesn't really care for the caramel flavor so I had caramel and fudge ice cream topping. I mixed a little brewed coffee with each (seperately and drizzled half with the fudge mixture and half with the caramel mixture. Then we did half the batch with chopped pecans and half with chopped walnuts..............they were simply AMAZING!! I made another batch and took to my husband's work and had them all asking for the recipe! This will definitely go in my permanent file! The cookies alone are great and I think you can do the topping with what you have on hand if you can't find or make the Dulce de Leche!

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Several people have asked what Dulce De Leche is. I think if you read all the reviews you'd figure it out. It is NOT plain sweetened condensed milk but you can make it from that by boiling (simmering it in the can for 3 to 4 hours. It's thick and caramel-ly looking and tasting. Some of the subsitutes mentioned here (melted white chocolate bark, royal icing, etc would all be ok but I think the spicy cookie deserves the real thing! Either look for it on the Hispanic Foods section of the grocery store or make it as above.

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I read all of the reviews before baking this cookie, and made several changes to the recipe. I was concerned about the crumbly dough and over crisp cookie problems that several reviewers mentioned.
I added two shots of brewed espresso, and used ALL butter, I'm a no margarine kinda baker. I didn't have the problem of crumbly dough, and I baked the cookies for only 10 minutes and let them sit on the hot sheet for 3-4 min. before transferring them to the cooling rack. The logs I rolled were about 1 1/2 inches in diameter and I sliced them slightly more that 1/4 inch in thickness. I was worried about the cookie being too crisp as many reviewers had mentioned. I live in the middle of nowhere and couldn't find Dulce de leche, so I tried the "boil the can of sweetened condensed milk" process. I worked out well, the trick is to keep the can completely covered in water and at a high simmer, or low boil, for 2 1/2 hours. If the can is dancing in the pan turn it down a bit. This recipe doubled well, I made it for a cookie exchange.
The spicey chocolate, and sweet nutty combination is fabulous. This one is going into my permanent rotation!