Mexican Hot Chocolate Cookies

I decided to splurge a little this week, with the whole Cinco de Mayo thing... I had been wanting to try out these cookies for a long time, and this week just seemed like as good a  time as any.  I never bake sweets during the week, so it was a great surprise for my kiddies :)
I am the first to admit... these are not the healthiest treat I have ever made, but they are homemade, which means no preservatives or chemicals, they are whole grain, and, as my kids say, made with love.. that has to count for something, right???
You will notice there is chili powder in the ingredients... that is not a mistake!  It is supposed to give these cookies a little heat, and honestly, I did not find them very spicy, No one did, but I think it may have made the chocolate a little more decadent. If you would prefer more heat, I would recommend adding 1/4 tsp more chili powder until you reach perfection.

To make Mexican Hot Chocolate Cookies, you will need:

• 2 1/2 cups whole wheat all purpose flour, spoon and sweep measured
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder. The better quality, the richer your cookies will be
• 2 tsp cream of tartar
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp each: salt and chili powder
• 1 cup softened butter, unsalted.  if you only have salted butter, just reduce your salt to 1/4 tsp
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a medium bowl, sift all dry ingredients together and set aside.
In your stand mixer bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy (2 minutes).

 Add eggs.

 Gradually add flour until combined, but do not overmix!

scoop out 1 Tbsp of dough at a time and roll into a ball (a cookie scoop makes fast work of this)

Place on a parchment lined cookie sheet  about 2 1/2 inches apart and bake in center oven for 8 - 10 minutes.

 Allow cookies to cool for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Pour yourself a glass of milk and enjoy!

Happy Mothers Day to all the Mommies out there!  I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!