Description
Delightfully rich and comforting Hot Chocolate Cookies made with real hot cocoa mix, chocolate chips, and gooey mallow bits for a perfect winter treat. These cookies combine the flavors of classic hot chocolate into a soft, chewy cookie that’s ideal for holiday gatherings and cookie exchanges.
Ingredients
Scale
Wet Ingredients
- 1 cup butter (softened)
- 1 cup sugar
- 2/3 cup brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Dry Ingredients
- 3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour*
- 4 packages hot cocoa mix (or 3/4 cups hot cocoa mix – NOT SUGAR FREE VERSIONS)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
Add-ins
- 1 cup chocolate chips
- 1 cup Mallow Bits*** (mini marshmallows do not work the same and can be a bit of a sticky mess)
Instructions
- Cream Butter and Sugars: In a large bowl with a standing mixer, beat the softened butter, sugar, and brown sugar together until the mixture becomes light and fluffy, ensuring the sugars are well incorporated.
- Add Eggs and Vanilla: Add the eggs and vanilla extract to the butter mixture and mix well until fully combined and smooth.
- Combine Dry Ingredients: In a separate bowl, sift together the all-purpose flour, hot cocoa mix, salt, baking soda, and baking powder to ensure even distribution of leavening agents and cocoa powder.
- Mix Dry Ingredients into Wet: Gradually beat the dry ingredients into the wet butter mixture until the dough is blended evenly with no streaks of flour remaining.
- Fold in Chocolate Chips and Mallow Bits: Gently stir in the chocolate chips and Mallow Bits, ensuring even distribution throughout the dough without breaking up the marshmallow pieces.
- Chill Dough: Cover the dough and chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes and up to 24 hours; chilling helps to firm the dough and enhance flavors.
- Preheat Oven: When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C) and prepare baking sheets by lining them with silicone baking mats or parchment paper.
- Form Cookies: Drop rounded tablespoons (about 2 tablespoons per cookie) of dough onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing each about 2 inches apart to allow for spreading.
- Bake: Bake for 9 to 11 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned but the centers remain soft, creating chewy cookies with a slight crust.
- Cool: Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes to set before transferring them to wire racks to cool completely.
Notes
- These Hot Chocolate Cookies are perfect for winter or Christmas-themed gatherings and make excellent gifts for cookie exchanges.
- Use regular hot cocoa mix, as sugar-free versions don’t produce the correct texture or flavor.
- Mallow Bits are preferred over mini marshmallows to avoid sticky melting and keep a pleasant texture in the cookies.
- Chilling the dough before baking improves the flavor and helps the cookies hold their shape.
- For best results, use fresh baking powder and soda to ensure proper rise and texture.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 157.26 kcal
- Sugar: 13.55 g
- Sodium: 150.58 mg
- Fat: 6.65 g
- Saturated Fat: 4.07 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 2.58 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 22.93 g
- Fiber: 0.44 g
- Protein: 1.8 g
- Cholesterol: 23.4 mg
