Cookies as a hostess gift? Always a good idea—especially during the holiday season. When we were headed to a recent party, I had a moment of nostalgia and decided to revisit a cookie I hadn’t made in ages. As I sifted through memories and recipes, I realized I’d never shared them on Riegl Palate—despite baking them as far back as the ‘90s.
These cookies originated from the Williams Sonoma Kitchen Library series, a collection of green-hued books from the ‘90s published with Time Life. I had quite a few, but they didn’t survive my 2021 cookbook purge. The original recipe was titled ‘Mexican Wedding Cookies,’ but let’s clear something up: these are not the powdered sugar-dusted snowball-style treats often associated with that name (though I have two great recipes for those too).
To avoid confusion—and to better reflect their flavor—I’ve rechristened them Mexican Hot Chocolate Cookies. The name pays homage to the warm, spiced drink my mom used to make for us on Christmas morning while we opened presents. These cookies capture that same cozy, citrus-cinnamon-chocolate essence.
Think shortbread, but with mini chocolate chips (mini are a must as these are small cookies), orange zest, and a generous dose of cinnamon. You shape the dough into a log (reminiscent of those nostalgic Pillsbury chocolate chip cookie rolls), slice into rounds, bake, and then toss them in cinnamon sugar while warm. The double hit of cinnamon gives them that unmistakable Mexican hot chocolate flair.
These little bites of joy have been part of special cookbooks I’ve made for friends and family—the last one was in 2007 well before Riegl Palate—but somehow never made it onto the blog until now.
They’re easy, festive, and ideal for gifting. I tucked mine into small plastic bags tied with a ribbon.
Tip: I recommend using a ruler to ensure your cookie logs and cookies are uniform. I keep a ruler in my kitchen for just this purpose.
Looking for that snowball-style cookie? Try Talia’s Russian Tea Cakes (named for our first Siberian Forest cat) or Tropical Tea Cakes (in memory of my paternal grandmother).
Mexican Hot Chocolate Cookies
Ingredients
Cookies
- 12 tablespoons (1-1/2 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
- 1/2 cup granulated (white) sugar)
- 1-1/2 teaspoons grated orange zest ~1/2 medium orange
- 1-1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt
- 2 large egg yolks
- 1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup (6 ounces) miniature semisweet chocolate chips
Cinnamon Sugar
- 1/3 cup granulated white sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer (or large bowl and hand mixer), combine the butter, sugar, orange zest, cinnamon and Kosher salt. Mix on high speed until light and fluffy.
- Add the egg yolks and beat until light and fluffy on high speed.
- Reduce the speed to low, add the flour and chocolate chips and mix just until incorporated.
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Divide in half. Roll each piece between your palms and the work surface to form a log 1-inch in diameter.
- Wrap the logs tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour or as long as overnight.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line baking sheet(s) with parchment paper.
- Unwrap the dough and cut each log into 1/4-inch thick rounds. Transfer to the prepared baking sheets, spacing 1-1/2 inches apart.
- Bake until the edges are brown, about 12-16 minutes.
- While the cookies are baking, prepare the cinnamon sugar. Stir together the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl.
- Transfer the cookies to wire racks and let cool for 5 minutes.
- Add 1 to 2 warm cookies to the cinnamon sugar bowl. Toss to coat with sugar. Return the cookies to the racks to cool completely. Repeat with the remaining cookies.
Notes
- I recommend using a ruler to ensure your cookie logs and cookies are uniform.
- For larger cookies, form each log into a 1-1/2 inch in diameter size which will yield about 4 dozen cookies.
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