Green Chile Chocolate Chip Cookies
Green Chile Chocolate Chip Cookies are a delicious twist on a classic — with a bit of a kick! These cookies start off with a traditional chocolate chip cookie base, but then you stir in roasted green chile peppers. They change the texture of the cookie into a lighter, fluffier bite, and add a little heat, too! You’ll love these unique chili pepper cookies!
This recipe was developed as a part of a sponsored Instagram campaign for NM Taste the Tradition in 2022. At long last, I am bringing this recipe to live on the blog because these cookies are incredible.
This post contains affiliate links.
Spicy Chocolate Chip Cookies
We all know and love classic chocolate chip cookies for a reason.
If you’re looking to mix things up, this cookie recipe is a fun twist on that.
And since green chile pepper season is officially here, what better way to celebrate than with a batch of cookies?
Why I love this recipe:
It’s hard not to love a chocolate chip cookie, and this recipe is a unique one.
These cookies are softer than my favorite chocolate chip cookies, which are crispy on the outside and gooey on the inside.
This is thanks to the roasted chile peppers, which are stirred directly into the batter. (We’re not adding ground chili powder or pepper to this recipe, so if that is what you’ve got, you need to find a different recipe.)
The roasted peppers make for a wetter cookie batter, which, in turn, makes the cookies a little fluffier than the traditional ones. And they are so wonderfully satisfying to bite into.
Here are some other things I adore about these cookies:
- They strike a balance. The combination of the sugars, plus the chocolate chips, balance out the smoky heat of the roasted chile peppers.
- Seasonal ingredients, like the roasted peppers, feel special, especially if you’re roasting the peppers yourself. After all, fresh New Mexico green chiles are only available a few months of the year.
- You can customize the heat. Since chile peppers come in mild and hot varieties, you can choose your own adventure. My kids were able to handle the mild ones, though they prefer the traditional CC cookies.
- They are great for sharing. This recipe is different than what you usually see at gatherings, so feel free to bake a batch to bring along to your next get-together.
More cookie recipes to try: Peanut Butter Shortbread Cookies with Raspberry-Orange Glaze | Chocolate Covered Ritz Cracker Cookies | No Bake Avalanche Cookies | Pumpkin Drop Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting
What you need to make this recipe:
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- Sheet pan
- Silpat nonstick baking mat or parchment paper
- Kitchen scale
- Glass bowls
- Whisk
- An electric mixer like a hand mixer or stand mixer
- Rubber spatula
- 1.5-tablespoon cookie scoop
- Wire cooling rack
- Cookie tins or other airtight containers for storage
Let’s talk ingredients!
In addition to the tools above, you’re going to need some ingredients to make this recipe, too! Chances are, you might already have some of them in your fridge or pantry. Scroll down to the recipe card for the full measurements and instructions.
Here’s what you’ll need to grab from the grocery store:
- All-purpose flour — we like to use unbleached AP flour in our household, but the regular kind works, too. I have not tried this with a gluten free flour blend.
- Kosher salt — salt is key in baking. Medium grain kosher salt (like Diamond Crystal) is my favorite. You can use a similarly sized sea salt. Table salt is saltier than kosher salt. If you use salted butter, skip the salt.
- Baking soda — make sure this leavener is fresh!
- Unsalted butter — be sure to get the butter out ahead of time to soften, or follow this tutorial on softening butter.
- Granulated sugar — this is also referred to as white sugar. Don’t use brown sugar in this recipe as it behaves differently when baked.
- Brown sugar — you may use light brown or dark brown sugar for this.
- Large egg — be sure to get the egg out about an hour ahead of time and make sure it is at room temperature before baking.
- Vanilla extract — always use a high quality vanilla extract in your baking recipes for the most flavorful results.
- Roasted green chile peppers — we roast ours at our house whenever green chile pepper season is! That said, you can use the canned peppers if you cannot find and roast the fresh ones yourself. You cannot replace these with powdered chili powder or hot sauce to get that kick… those won’t work for this particular recipe.
- Bittersweet chocolate chips — these are my go-to because I find these cookies get too sweet if you use a milk chocolate chip. Semi-sweet chocolate chips, as well as dark chocolate chips, also work in place of bittersweet.
- Chopped pecans — you can purchase chopped pecans or cut up the whole ones. Be sure they’re on the smaller side so no one is chewing giant chunks of pecans.
I have lots of tips for choosing the best ingredients for cookies in my Cookies 101 guide.
Customizations and substitutions
- Replace the butter with your favorite vegan butter or vegetable shortening to make them dairy free. Just be sure that your chocolate chips are also dairy free. Ms. Chris’s original recipe calls for shortening, and my mom still makes these beauties with it.
- Swap out the chocolate chips. I like bittersweet or dark chocolate chips the best, but you can use whatever you’ve got on hand. If you’re going to use semisweet or milk chocolate chips, add 2-3 tablespoons less than what the recipe calls for so that the cookies don’t become too sweet. You could also use a chopped chocolate bar or chocolate chunks, if desired.
- Leave out the nuts, or use another one. If you’re not a nut person or are allergic, leave out the nuts. If you don’t like pecans, swap them out for walnuts, cashews, peanuts, etc.
How to make Green Chile Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ready to make these Chili Pepper Cookies with Chocolate Chips? Let’s get started:
First and foremost, measure the flour, baking soda and salt to a medium bowl. Whisk to combine, ensuring all the ingredients are incorporated.
This will ensure the dry ingredients are evenly dispersed in the final cookies.
Next, measure the softened butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar into a separate bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.
Use a hand mixer or a stand mixer to cream the butter and sugars together, beating for 2-3 minutes until it turns a fluffy, light yellow.
Add the roasted green peppers, egg and vanilla extract to the bowl. Whip them into the butter/sugar mixture, beating until the batter is airy and smells amazing.
Use a spatula to push the ingredients down the sides of the bowl so they all are incorporated. These are our wet ingredients.
Pour half of the flour mixture into the wet ingredients, and stir with the mixer.
Add in the rest, and blend until the dough has just come together.
Next, measure in the chocolate chips and chopped pecans. Use a rubber spatula or a wooden spoon to gently fold them into the cookie dough.
Now, cover the bowl with plastic wrap (or your favorite eco-friendly wrap), and pop it into the fridge. The dough needs to chill for at least 2 hours.
We chill cookie dough to give the ingredients a chance to rest, as well as the flour to hydrate. Chilled cookie dough is less likely to spread as it bakes, leading to fluffier, fuller cookies.
When the cookie dough is done chilling, preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat, too.
Use a 1.5-tablespoon cookie scoop to scoop out rounds of the chilled cookie dough. You can roll the dough in your hands to make them a bit more rounded, but it’s not a necessity, nor will it affect the flavor of the cookies.
Evenly space the dough balls on the baking sheet. I leave about 2″ between each cookie dough ball so that the cookies can expand as they bake.
Bake the cookies in the preheated oven for 11-12 minutes, or until golden brown. Keep an eye on the cookies, as these will brown quickly if you’re not paying attention.
Let the cookies cool on a wire cooling rack.
Enjoy warm with a glass of your favorite kind of milk!
How to store and freeze
Once you have baked cookies, store them in a food-safe, airtight container and enjoy within a week.
You can also scoop them onto a wax paper-lined sheet pan, and freeze until solid. They will bake from frozen! The texture will be a little different because of the freeze, but they’ll still be tasty.
You can also freeze baked cookies and thaw them later for a party.
Erin’s Easy Entertaining Tips
These Green Chile Chocolate Chip Cookies make for a wonderful dessert when entertaining, whether you’re hosting a birthday party, an at-home tailgate, a holiday gathering or anything else.
Here are a few ideas of how to make these beauties for any special occasion:
- Double the recipe. Having made this for a few gatherings myself, let me give you this tip: Double everything. This cookie recipe is one of the ones that translates to that easily.
- Use a smaller cookie scoop* (affiliate link). This will make for bite-sized cookies for guests to enjoy. These cookies can be left gooey in the center, which is my favorite, but they can get messy.
- Add these to a holiday cookie tray to share with friends, neighbors and teachers. You can also make them for a cookie swap party!
- Make the dough a day in advance. This cookie dough can sit in the fridge for a day or two easily. Make it easier on yourself and prepare that early so that you don’t have to fret about it before guests arrive.
Frequently Asked Questions
There are a few potential problems. Your butter might have been too warm when you made the dough. Also, you might not have chilled the cookies long enough. Your baking soda could also have been old.
Eggs serve as a leavener and a binder in cookies, so if you leave them out, the texture of the cookies will surely change and they will be more dense. If you’re looking for an eggless chocolate chip cookie recipe, try my Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies.
The sugar content does this. More granulated/white sugar leads to a crispier cookie. However, this recipe involves some brown sugar, too, and that balances out the possible crispness, along with the roasted peppers, which add some more moisture to the dough and make these cookies a little softer.
Quick tips and tricks to making the best Spicy Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Make substitutions for your tastebuds. This cookie dough is super versatile. Substitute the pecans for other chopped nuts. Use milk or semisweet chocolate chips, but use about 2-3 tablespoons less to prevent the cookies from getting too sweet.
- Let them chill. Seriously. It makes a difference in the texture and shape of the final cookies.
- How to store: Once completely cool, store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week.
- How to freeze: I wrote a tutorial for you here! Freezing cookie dough is one of my all-time favorite things to do for my future self. When you’re ready to enjoy them, preheat the oven, line a baking sheet, pop the frozen cookie dough on it and bake for 1-2 minutes longer than specified in the recipe below.
- How to reheat: These cookies are best warm, in my opinion, Place on a microwave-safe plate and heat for 10-15 seconds. Do this in increments until the cookie is warmed to your liking.
Looking for more chocolate chip cookie recipes? Don’t skip Browned Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies with Bourbon and Walnuts and Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies!
Here’s how I make these beauties:
Green Chile Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour 210g
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt 3g
- ½ teaspoon baking soda 4g
- ½ cup unsalted butter softened (113g)
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar 133g
- ¼ cup brown sugar lightly packed (60g)
- 6 tablespoons finely chopped roasted green chiles
- 1 large egg
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ¾ cup bittersweet chocolate chips 145g
- ½ cup chopped pecans 64g
Equipment
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Instructions
- Measure the flour, salt and baking soda into a medium bowl. These are your dry ingredients. Whisk to combine, and set aside.
- In another large bowl, cream the butter with the granulated sugar and brown sugar until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.
- Add the roasted green chiles, egg and vanilla. Mix until combined and fragrant.
- Measure in the flour, salt and baking soda mixture. Mix until incorporated.
- Measure in the chocolate chips and pecans. Fold in with a spatula until incorporated.
- Cover the bowl in plastic wrap, and chill in the refrigerator for 2+ hours or overnight.
- After the chill, preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment.
- Scoop 1.5-tablespoon cookies onto the prepared baking sheet, giving space between each one so the cookies can spread as they bake.
- Bake for 11-12 minutes, or golden brown.
- Serve warm and slightly gooey.
Notes
A few more tips for the best cookies around:
- Acceptable substitutions: Substitute other chopped nuts for the pecans or simply leave them out. Use milk or semisweet chocolate chips, but use about 2-3 tablespoons less to prevent the cookies from getting too sweet.
- Let them chill. I mean it. It makes a difference in the texture and shape of the final cookies.
- How to store: Once completely cool, store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week.
- How to reheat: If the cookies are cooled and you’d like them warm to eat, heat up in the toaster oven OR microwave on a microwave-safe plate for 10-15 seconds, or until the chocolate is just slightly gooey.
Nutrition
About the Author:
Erin Parker is a Southern gal living in Texas with her husband and two daughters. She started The Speckled Palate to share what she was cooking as a newlywed… and over the years, it’s evolved to capture her love for hosting. Specifically, the EASIEST, lowest key entertaining because everyone deserves to see their people and connect over good food. Learn more about her…
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