Vegan Mexican Hot Chocolate Snickerdoodles (Cinnamon Cocoa Cookies with a Spicy Kick)

These Vegan Mexican Hot Chocolate Snickerdoodles are a quick, budget-friendly dessert made with pantry staples and bold flavors. Inspired by traditional Mexican hot chocolate, these easy vegan cookies combine rich cocoa, cinnamon, and a hint of cayenne for a warm, slightly spicy twist on classic snickerdoodles. Perfect for when you want a fast homemade treat without fancy ingredients.

What Makes These Mexican Hot Chocolate Cookies?

Mexican hot chocolate traditionally includes cocoa, cinnamon, and chili, creating a warm, slightly spicy flavor. These cookies capture that same cozy heat in an easy vegan snickerdoodle-style cookie.

Why You’ll Love These Vegan Snickerdoodles

• Fast enough for sudden cookie cravings (no planning required)
• Made entirely from budget pantry staples
• Deep chocolate flavor with warming cinnamon and a gentle kick of heat
• Soft, chewy centers with crisp edges
• Perfect for casual baking, holidays, or late-night dessert fixes

Ingredients

• 1/2 C vegan butter
• 1 C sugar (and ~1/3 C for coating the cookies)
• 1/4 C maple syrup
• 3 tbsp plant milk
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 2/3 C flour
• 1/2 C unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp cayenne

Instructions

• In your stand mixer bowl, add 1/2 C vegan butter and 1 C of sugar and cream them together.
• Next, add the maple syrup, plant milk, vanilla extract and mix again.
• Add the rest of the dry ingredients and stir until combined.
• I’d recommend chilling the dough for ~5 min before rolling out the dough into balls. (You can skip this step if you are short on time as I found that chilling the dough didn’t help with making the cookies more poofy).
• Roll the dough out into 9 walnut-sized balls and coat each with some sugar.
• Flatten the balls on the baking sheet so that they make ~2 in sized disks. (Space the cookies ~1 in apart as they spread a lot during cooking!)
• Bake for 10-12 min (I usually do 12 min). While the batch bakes, keep the remaining dough chilled in the fridge. Repeat 2 more times.
• Remove the cookies from the oven and let them cool for ~5 min.
• Transfer to a cooling rack or a plate to cool completely.

Tips

• If you don’t like medium spicy foods as much, then half the cayenne.
• Space out the cookies enough on the baking sheet as they spread out a lot during baking.