Hatch Chile Chocolate Chip Cookies are subtly spicy, sweet and have chocolate and a touch of coconut in every bite. They're a gluten-free unique cookie and that will totally wow your friends. 
Hatch Chile Cookies with Chocolate Chips are much sweeter than they are spicy, but the touch of heat brings about an incredible flavor combination.
Years ago, Melissa’s Produce introduced me to Hatch Chiles, and I’ve been cooking and baking with them ever since. Here are a handful of the recipes I've created with them. They are a prized New Mexican chile and are available only in August and September.
Ingredients for Hatch Chile Cookies
- Hatch chiles (mild, medium or spicy -- see Recipe Tips below)
- powdered sugar
- unsalted butter
- egg
- vanilla
- Cup4Cup gluten-free all-purpose flour (or other 1 to 1 gluten-free flour)
- coconut flour
- salt
- sweetened shredded coconut
- semisweet chocolate chips
How to Make Them
(More detailed instructions are in the recipe card below.)
- Roast, peel, seed and finely chop the Hatch chiles. (Here’s a step-by-step guide for roasting chiles.)
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the powdered sugar with the softened butter. Once it’s smooth, add the egg and vanilla and mix again.
- Add the gluten-free flour, coconut flour and salt. Mix to blend.
- Fold in the roasted, peeled and chopped Hatch chiles, shredded coconut and chocolate chips.
- Use a small cookie scoop to shape the cookies, placing them on a parchment-lined baking sheet as you go, very close together so they all fit on the one sheet. Cover the sheet tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
- Now place them on another baking sheet with parchment paper, only this time, with a couple of inches between them. Bake in a preheated 325°F oven until the cookies are golden along the edges, about 12 minutes. 
- Let them cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes and then transfer them to a cooling rack. Serve at room temperature.
Recipe Tips and Substitutions
- One of the joys of using Hatch Chiles is that you can purchase them with the amount of heat you like. They're (almost always) marked "mild, medium or hot" in stores. Choose the amount of heat you want in your Hatch Chile Cookies. I use medium or hot for this recipe because it balances nicely with sweet ingredients.
- Cup4Cup is my favorite brand of gluten-free flour. It consistently yields great results. You can however, use any 1 to 1 gluten-free flour you like as long as it includes xanthan gum, which is a binder.
- If you don't want or need them to be gluten-free, use regular all-purpose flour (in addition to the coconut flour).
- When the edges start turning golden, the cookies are ready -- even if they still seem to look raw in the middle. A couple of minutes out of the oven and they'll become solid.
Storing the Cookies
- These cookies should be stored in an air-tight container. If you don’t plan to serve them within the first day or so after baking them, you can freeze them.
- They can be kept frozen in an air-tight container for up to a month. (Longer is okay, but the longer they're frozen, the more moisture they'll lose.)
I hope you love these Hatch Chile Cookies as much as my family and I do!
More unique chocolate chip cookie recipes:
- Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Olive Oil Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Buckwheat Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Raspberry Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Black Pepper Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Creamy Coffee Chocolate Chip Cookies
Hatch Chile Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe
Ingredients
- ½ cup roasted, peeled and seeded Hatch Chiles (mild, medium or hot)* from about 2 large peppers
- 1¼ cup powdered sugar
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- ¾ cup Cup4Cup gluten-free all-purpose flour (or other 1 to 1 gluten-free flour)*
- ½ cup coconut flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ cup sweetened shredded coconut
- 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Prepare chiles. Roast, peel, seed and finely chop the Hatch chiles.(Here's a step-by-step guide for roasting peppers.)
- Prepare baking sheet. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- Make batter. In a large mixing bowl, combine the powdered sugar with the softened butter. Mix until smooth and then add egg and vanilla. Again, mix until smooth.Add the gluten-free flour, coconut flour and salt. Mix to blend.Fold in the roasted, peeled and finely chopped Hatch chiles, shredded coconut and chocolate chips.
- Shape, refrigerate, set oven. Use a 1¼-inch cookie scoop (about 1 generous tablespoon) to shape the cookies into small balls of batter, placing them on the parchment-lined baking sheets as you go, very close together so they all fit on the one sheet. Cover the sheet tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.About 15 minutes before you're ready to bake, preheat the oven to 325°F .
- Bake. Remove the shaped batter from the refrigerator, and line one or two more baking sheets with parchment paper. Place the balls of batter on them, only this time, with a couple of inches between them. Bake in the preheated 325°F oven until the cookies are golden along the edges, about 12 minutes. (Repeat this process until you've baked all of the batter.)
- Cool. Let them cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes and then transfer them to a cooling rack. Cool them at least until they are room temperature before serving.
Notes
Ali from Home & Plate
I would have never thought to add chilies to my chocolate chip cookies but love the idea of sweet with a little heat. Looks intriguing!
valentina
Thanks, Ali. It's a surprisingly delicious blend of flavors. 🙂
Lisa | Garlic & Zest
This is a new one on me! I love hatch chiles and have several "ode to" posts on my website about them, but I've never heard of putting them in chocolate chip cookies before. Bam! You've opened my eyes!
valentina
Yay! Hope you try them, Lisa. They really are yummy! 🙂
maria long
Wowsa I would never thought this combo in a cookie. Hatch chilies were being featured at our Wegmans this week.
valentina
I hope you try them! You can only Hatch chiles for another month!
Alicia Taylor
This sounds very interesting. I like to make spicy sweets sometimes. I picked up a taste for it when I lived in Orlando.
valentina
Thanks, Alicia -- if you like sweets with a bit of heat, these are for you. 🙂
Nadja | Nashi Food
I would never have thought to add chiles to a cookie! By the way, I never had hatch chiles before, not sure if they sell them in Panama.
valentina
You can try these cookies with other chiles, too! Whatever you have that's local, that you like. Just be sure to adjust the amount depending on how hot they are.
sippitysup
Fascinating combo that I know I would love. GREG
valentina
Thank you Greg. xo
David
This post makes me think back to when we first "met" through the block world. You sent me a wonderful book of Hatch chile recipes. While I use the cookbook, I think of you as the much better resource for Hatch chile recipes. Like this one, for example… Hope you're having a lovely weekend! XO
valentina
You are a sweetheart, David! XOXO
Karl
I've never had the opportunity to use Hatch chiles in a dish before. Thankfully, these chocolate chip cookies look too good to resist. Thanks for sharing this.
valentina
You are so welcome! You can find them in stores for another 3 weeks or so. Enjoy! 🙂
Coco
You put roasted peppers into your cookies?!
O
M
G
I have to taste these, like now!
valentina
Do it! 😉
Mason Wein
I would have never thought to put peppers in cookies! These are phenomenal, my mom made them for me and they were some of the best cookies I've ever had!
valentina
Ha ha! Happy you loved them! XOXOXOX
Lynn
Do you know if these can be freezed? I'd love to make them for my daughter's wedding, but need them done ahead of time.
valentina
Hi Lynn, Yes, you can absolutely freeze these. I would say you can freeze them for up to 3 weeks IF they are wrapped and sealed tightly, once they've cooled completely. I'd thaw them a day ahead of time. Enjoy and congrats to your daughter! 🙂 ~Valentina