If you’re looking for a tasty dessert filled with sugar, spice, and everything nice, you can stop scrolling! These delicious Mexican Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies are filled with warm spices like cinnamon, melty chocolate, toasty ground oats, and crunchy nuts for an unusually satisfying cookie experience.

oblong silver serving platter with a batch of mexican hot chocolate oatmeal cookies garnished with branches of pine tree.

Why I Love This Recipe

Despite the fact that I always lament the end of summer (I’ll miss you, sweet corn and juicy tomatoes!!), I always look forward to the advent of what I’ve dubbed “Baking Season.” I mean, is there anything cozier than having your whole house smell like a dessert factory or having a plate of freshly baked cookies ready for your kiddos to snack on after school?

These amazingly delicious chocolate oatmeal cookies are made with spiced Mexican chocolate, gooey chocolate chips, nutty, whole grain oatmeal, and a combination of chopped pecans and walnuts for the ultimate flavor extravaganza. They’re a fun, fresh take on regular oatmeal chocolate chip cookies that the whole family is sure to love!

When they’re fresh from the oven, these oatmeal chocolate cookies are warm and soft before cooling to a delicately crispy consistency, making them a perfect middle-ground for families split between Team Soft & Chewy and Team Crisp & Crunchy. The fact that they have both chocolate in the dough and melty chocolate chips makes them the ideal choice for your resident chocoholics.

Best of all, these tasty Mexican chocolate cookies are made with just 13 ingredients (most of which are pantry staples) in under 30 minutes, meaning a deeply satisfying dessert is never far from reach. Come along with me to the kitchen and let’s whip up a batch, shall we?

oats, chocolate chips, walnuts, pecans, and a round of Abuelita mexican chocolate on a white table.

Ingredients & Substitutions

As promised, this Mexican chocolate oatmeal cookie recipe is made with primarily pantry staples. Here’s what to grab:

  • Unsalted Butter – I typically reach for unsalted butter for all of my baking needs because it gives me greater control over the end flavor. Feel free to swap in salted butter, but reduce or omit the added salt to compensate.
  • Granulated Sugar & Light Brown SugarDifferent sugars play different roles in baking, and you’ll need both to nail the perfect consistency in these Mexican chocolate cookies. White sugar helps to aerate the butter, creating more loft, whereas brown sugar brings the perfect amount of acidity to help activate the baking soda.
  • Eggs – I use large eggs as my standard size.
  • Vanilla Extract – For depth of flavor. Feel free to swap in vanilla paste or powder if you prefer.
  • Oatmeal – I always have rolled oats on hand for making breakfast, but feel free to swap in oat flour.
  • Flour – I used regular all-purpose flour, but feel free to swap in cake flour for a more tender cookie.
  • Salt – Don’t underestimate the importance of salt in your desserts; adding a bit helps to wake up all the other flavors!
  • Baking Powder & Baking Soda – Yes, you’ll need both.
  • Mexican Chocolate – Discs of Abuelita are a staple in my kitchen, especially during the winter months. Use them to make a mug of Mexican Hot Chocolate or any number of delicious chocolatey desserts like my Mexican Chocolate Skull Cakes for Halloween or Spicy Mexican Chocolate Fudge for your Christmas cookie platters.
  • Chocolate Chips – Double the chocolate = double the fun.
  • Chopped Nuts – I recommend adding pecans, walnuts or both. You can also go nut-free by swapping in pepitas or sunflower seeds, or opting to use a different type of chocolate chip for variety.

How To Make Mexican Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

This chocolate oatmeal cookies recipe comes together in a jiffy. Here’s how:

Step 1: Prep. Preheat oven.

Step 2: Cream Butter and Sugars until light and fluffy. Stir in eggs and vanilla until just combined.

Step 3: Dry Ingredients. Combine the oatmeal, flour, salt, baking powder and soda in a medium bowl, and slowly add it to the wet ingredients. Beat just until combined.

Step 4: Melt Mexican Chocolate and add it to the dough, along with chocolate chips and nuts. Mix just to combine.

Step 5: Shape. Roll cookie dough into 1-inch balls, 2 inches apart, on a greased cookie sheet.

Step 6: Bake for 10 minutes. Allow them to cool for about 5 minutes on the pan before removing them to a cooling rack.

Mexican chocolate oatmeal cookies cooling on a wire rack.

Optional Variations

While I’m a big fan of my Mexican chocolate oatmeal cookies, there’s always plenty of room for customization here in the Muy Bueno kitchen. Here are a few variations to consider:

  • Dairy-Free – Swap in your favorite plant-based butter to make them lactose-free.
  • Vegan – Use dairy-free butter and use a vegan egg substitute like JUST Egg or Bob’s Red Mill egg replacer.
  • Gluten-Free – Use a cup-for-cup gluten-free all-purpose flour blend.
  • Edible Dough – Like the dough more than the cookies? Be sure to heat treat your AP flour and use pasteurized eggs or a vegan egg substitute to make it safe for eating raw.

Expert Tips

  • Freeze dough balls for on-demand warm cookies from the oven. Simply roll out the balls and freeze in a single layer until firm. Pop the frozen dough into a zip-top bag or freezer-safe container for up to 6 months. Whenever the cookie craving strikes, grab as many cookie dough balls as you need and bake directly from frozen, adding 2-3 minutes onto the baking time.
  • Don’t skimp out on time for creaming butter and sugar. While it might be tempting to hurry through this step, it’s important to let the sugar create little air pockets in the butter. Make sure the butter and sugar mixture is light in color and nice and fluffy before adding the eggs and moving forward with the recipe.
  • Let eggs come to room temperature for easy mixing. If you add them while they’re still cold from the fridge, it will cause the butter to seize and make it harder to mix them in to the dough.

Frequently Asked Questions

What makes Mexican chocolate special?

Mexican chocolate is made from cacao nibs, sugar, and spices like cinnamon and chili powder. The consistency is slightly grainier than regular chocolate, but the real treat is having those warming spices to offset the sweetness.

Can you eat Mexican chocolate raw?

Sure! Feel free to cut off a wedge of one of the rounds and give it a try. It will be much grainier in consistency than regular chocolate bars because of the high sugar content, but I sort of love the texture.

What is a good substitute for Mexican chocolate?

While you should be able to find Mexican chocolate at just about any grocery store nowadays, you can always make do with plain semi-sweet chocolate. Swap in an equal amount of semisweet chocolate and add about 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon, a pinch of cayenne powder, and a drop of almond extract for a pretty convincing substitute.

oblong silver serving platter with a batch of mexican hot chocolate oatmeal cookies garnished with branches of pine tree.

Mexican Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

4.72 (14 ratings)
These cookies are made with Mexican chocolate, chocolate chips, oatmeal, and a combination of chopped pecans and walnuts. They taste soft and gooey, warm out of the oven and light and crunchy once cooled.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 cup light brown sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 3 cups oatmeal
  • 2 cups flour
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 disk Mexican chocolate, (about 3 ounces)
  • 12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 1 ½ cups chopped nuts, recommend pecans, walnuts or both

Instructions 

  • Preheat oven to 365 F. degrees.
  • Cream together butter and both sugars. Stir in eggs and vanilla.
  • Combine the oatmeal, flour, salt, baking powder and soda in a medium bowl, and slowly add it to the wet ingredients. Beat just until combined.
  • In a microwave safe bowl melt Mexican chocolate for 30 seconds to 1 minute to soften chocolate and add it, along with chocolate chips and nuts to the batter. Mix just to combine.
  • Roll cookie dough into 2-inch balls, 2 inches apart, on a greased cookie sheet.
  • Bake for 13 to 16 minutes.

Notes

  • Store the cooled cookies in a cookie tin at room temperature. 
  • Here are a few variations to consider:
    • Dairy-Free – Swap in your favorite plant-based butter to make them lactose-free.
    • Vegan – Use dairy-free butter and use a vegan egg substitute like JUST Egg or Bob’s Red Mill egg replacer.
    • Gluten-Free – Use a cup-for-cup gluten-free all-purpose flour blend.
    • Edible Dough – Like the dough more than the cookies? Be sure to heat treat your AP flour and use pasteurized eggs or a vegan egg substitute to make it safe for eating raw.
Serving: 1cookie, Calories: 164.35kcal, Carbohydrates: 20.38g, Protein: 2.09g, Fat: 8.77g, Saturated Fat: 4.09g, Cholesterol: 17.33mg, Sodium: 55.21mg, Potassium: 54.68mg, Fiber: 0.92g, Sugar: 13.85g, Vitamin A: 138.2IU, Vitamin C: 0.09mg, Calcium: 23.08mg, Iron: 0.68mg

Photography by Jenna Sparks 
Originally published: December 201
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