I kind of have a thing for spicy and sweet paired together. I’ve posted recipes for spicy chocolate almonds and double dark chocolate chipotle cookies to name a few.
Earlier this week I posted a salty and sweet popcorn. While salty and sweet is a great combo, I think I may like spicy and sweet even more.
The idea for this particular cookie came from a show. I can’t really remember which one, the boys and I watch our share of Food Network and the Cooking Channel!
But when I heard mention of a chipotle peanut butter cookie I kept that idea in the back of my head and stored it up for a rainy day. Actually, quite literally. It rained the day I baked these!
With the weather cooling off a little I can finally bake again. Okay, I bake year round but it gets done first thing in the morning in the hot summer. Now I can actually bake any time of day and not die from the heat or need to crank up the air conditioning.
Now that I bake more I can indulge in some cookie baking. It was time anyway, my stash of cookies in the freezer was gone. Jack recently discovered the chocolate chip cookies which were once hidden under a bunch of other packages. In my last rummage they were uncovered.
I always know when it’s Jack. He can’t reseal a zip top bag! Luckily he didn’t eat them all so I put the bag in a box of panko fish in the freezer. It wasn’t long before Josh had a “cookie emergency” and wiped out that last two cookies.
So in an effort to restock the freezer I remembered my desire to bake chipotle peanut butter cookies. My lips watered just thinking about this new experiment.
My first thought was take my basic peanut butter cookie recipe and add chipotle powder to the dough. Then the lighbulb went off in my head, add a little chipotle powder to the sugar to roll the dough balls in.
I like spicy, as in really spicy. The boys even like spicy. Jack and Sean recently have developed a love of spicy food. Ewan has always like is super hot. This would be a cookie for the whole family,
These cookies have a great smoky chipotle flavor. You don’t really notice it right away, it takes a couple bites. Then once you notice it the flavor is a perfect combination of sweet and spicy. A glass of milk would go well with these little gems!
Spicy Chipotle Peanut Butter Cookies
1 c. creamy peanut butter
1/2 c. unsalted butter, softened
1 1/4 c. brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. chipotle chile powder
1/2 tsp. salt
To coat the cookies:
1/4 c. sugar
1/4 tsp. chipotle chile powder
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line cookie sheets with parchment paper. In a large bowl cream together the peanut butter, butter and brown sugar. Beat in the egg and vanilla until well combined.
In another bowl sift together the flour, baking soda, chipotle powder and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture and stir well.
Combine the sugar and chipotle powder in a small bowl. Shape the dough into approximately 1 1/2 inch balls (a small cookie scoop works best) and roll in the spicy sugar. Place on a cookie sheet. Using a fork mark a criss cross pattern on the top of each cookie. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Allow to cool for a few minutes on the sheet and then place on a cooling rack.
Yields: 3 dozen
Feeding My 3 Sons 
Wow, these sound amazing! I love sweet and spicy too, and especially love peanut butter anything. Yum!
Isn’t sweet and spicy the best?! And yes, peanut butter anything is fantastic. With the three boys we go through tons of peanut butter!
Hmmm, how interesting! I would never think to put these flavors together especially not in a cookie but I have to admit I’m very intrigued by these. They look delicious, that’s for sure. 😉
I wouldn’t have thought of it either except I saw it on a show. It really makes sense though, you see spicy peanut butter sauces in savory dishes.
Great combo Gretchen, I love chilli with sweet flavours too, but would never have thought to combine it with peanut butter cookies
Very unique Gretchen – I’ll have to keep the sweet and spicy idea in mind – I also need to get my hands on some of that chipolte powder!
We love chipotle powder! Just used some on roasted pumpkin seeds.
LOL, hiding them in with the fish, what a crack up! Interesting sounding recipe. 🙂
I am running out of hiding places! My oldest is the one that will hunt down treats if he knows they are in the house 😁
My daughter (eldest) is known in the family as the present and choke sniffer. She can sniff anything out. Her babysitter once found her in their wardrobe eating their secret stash of chocolate. I think she was about 3 then!
Maybe it’s an oldest child thing! Jack is my oldest and the one from whom I am constantly hiding things.
Well I like spicy peanut sauce so I know I would really enjoy one of your cookies.
Not so long ago, I would have looked at this post’s title and kept on going. I just couldn’t handle spicy foods, a sweat-covered brow was only the beginning. Now, after years of eating consistently spicier and spicier foods, I see these cookies far differently. Peanut butter flavoring with a bit of a kick sounds delicious, Gretchen. Who’d-a-thunk?
My dad never liked spicy food growing up but everyone else did. Eventually we broke him down and he does pretty well now. These aren’t too spicy, plus you can adjust it to your heat level.
These sound great. I make a similar biscuit based on an Ottolenghi recipe. I use peanut butter & chunks of crystallised ginger. If I make the normal Ottolenghi recipe I press the fork across once and when I make the peanut version I make a criss cross with the fork so I can tell the difference and make sure anyone with allergies can tell also. How appropriate that your peanut cookies has the double cross too. I bet these are addictive!
Oh peanut butter and crystallized ginger sounds fantastic too. I might have to try that too, even better one of the boys doesn’t like crystallized ginger. I may actually get to eat a few of them!
I love peanut butter and spice. If you left me in a room with those cookies, you’ll be sure to find the plate empty. They also look very pretty. Thanks for sharing!