Hot Cocoa Cookies are the best combination of a soft, chewy chocolate cookie, a brownie, and hot cocoa with marshmallows. They are such a classic Christmas cookie favorite and perfect dessert all winter long.
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Several years ago, one of my friend’s hosted a cookie exchange party for the holidays. These Hot Cocoa Cookies were the star of the show and we all begged her for the recipe. They have since become a standard in my house all winter long, and especially in December.
If you love hot chocolate with marshmallows, you will love this hot cocoa cookie recipe. They’re soft and chewy, with a brownie like base, topped with a gooey marshmallow, and coated in rich chocolate icing. They taste like, you guessed it, hot cocoa! Wash them down with coffee, tea, or hot cocoa, of course.
You just can’t beat pretty iced cookies at holiday time – don’t miss our sugar cookie recipe and sugar cookie icing to go with them!
What’s in this Hot Cocoa Cookies Recipe?
Here’s what you’ll need for these chewy chocolate cookies. You can find the exact measurements in the recipe card below.
- Dry ingredients: Flour, unsweetened cocoa powder, brown sugar, baking powder, and salt.
- Wet ingredients: Unsalted butter, eggs, and vanilla.
- Chocolate: Semi-sweet chocolate, chopped.
- Marshmallows: Large marshmallows, cut in half crosswise/horizontally.
- For the icing: Unsalted butter, unsweetened cocoa powder, powdered sugar, and vanilla.
Recipe Variations
- Try different flavored chocolate. The semi-sweet chocolate can be replaced with milk or dark chocolate.
- Change up the marshmallows. You can place 3 mini marshmallows on each cookie instead of using large ones, if preferred.
- Use different sprinkles. Use nonpareils or sprinkles and change the colors to suite different holidays.
- Omit the icing. We think the chocolate icing is, well, the icing on the cake for these cookies. But you can simply leave it off, if preferred.
Tips for Success
- Use a tablespoon-sized cookie scoop to form the dough, which will make it easier and help with uniformity, so all the cookies bake the same.
- Chill the dough – chilling the dough prior to forming the cookies really helps prevent them from spreading too much while baking. If you’re in a time crunch you could bake the cookies without chilling the dough…they will still taste delicious, just be aware the cookies will spread and be thinner.
- Let the icing set and dry – Allow the icing to dry completely before serving.
Proper Storage
- Storing leftovers: Allow cookies to cool completely and then any leftovers can be stored in an air-tight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. Keep them in a single layer or they’ll stick to one another.
- To make the dough ahead of time: You could also make the dough and keep it tightly covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 days and then bake. (If chilling for more than 3 hours, set it sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes before forming the cookie balls.) You could also freeze the dough for up to 2 months.
More Holiday Cookies:
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Hot Cocoa Cookies
Hot Cocoa Cookies are the best combination of a soft, chewy chocolate cookie, a brownie, and hot cocoa with marshmallows. They are such a classic Christmas cookie favorite and perfect dessert all winter long!
Servings: 24 cookies
Ingredients
For the Cookies
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter , cut into small cubes
- 1 & 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate , chopped
- 1 & 1/2 cups all-purpose flour , spooned and leveled
- 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 & 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 & 1/4 cups brown sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1 & 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
- 12 large marshmallows , cut in half crosswise/horizontally
For the Chocolate Icing
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter , melted
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 tablespoons hot water
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
- assorted sprinkles
Instructions
- Place the butter and chopped chocolate in a heat safe bowl, and microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring frequently until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth. Let cool for 15 minutes.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt.
- In a large bowl with an electric mixer, beat the sugar, eggs and vanilla on low speed until smooth. Mix in the cooled chocolate mixture just until blended. Add the flour mixture in 2 batches, mixing until just combined. (The dough will be thick and sticky like brownie texture.)
- Cover and refrigerate the dough for at least 1 hour. (Note: If you chill for more than 4 hours, allow the dough to sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes before shaping.)
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Form tablespoon-sized balls of the chilled dough with a cookie scoop and drop them 2-inches apart on the prepared baking sheets.
- Bake the cookies for about 10-12 minutes until they're crackled on top.
- Remove cookies from the oven and gently press one marshmallow half (cut side down) onto the top of each cookie in the center.
- Place cookies back into the oven until the marshmallows start to soften, about 3 minutes.
- Remove from oven and let cool for about 5 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Prepare the icing: Whisk all the icing ingredients together in a medium bowl. Place wire cooling rack (with cookies on it) over a baking sheet (to catch any excess icing). Spoon a small amount of icing onto the top of each marshmallow, and use the back of the spoon to spread it a bit. After icing just a couple cookies, top with sprinkles before the icing dries.
- Allow icing to set and dry completely, 30-60 minutes, before serving.
- Enjoy with a glass of milk or hot cocoa!
Nutrition
Calories: 221kcal | Carbohydrates: 32g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 37mg | Sodium: 42mg | Potassium: 142mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 22g | Vitamin A: 187IU | Calcium: 35mg | Iron: 1mg
These were the hit of our Christmas party, thank you!
I made these last year for a cookie exchange and everyone loved them so much I’m making then again this year!
I made this a gluten free cookie using a 1 to 1 gluten free flour. They are fabulous!
Loved this recipe— wondering if they can be frozen
I just made these last weekend as a test run to see if they were good enough to make for a family Christmas event. I took them to school, and all my teachers and friends loved them! One teacher even asked if she could pay me to make a batch just for her, and one of my friends who swore he wouldn’t like them asked for a second cookie! Absolutely a 10 out of 10, so happy I made these!
I’ve made these several times for different get-togethers with different groups of people and they are a hit every single time. The most complimented dessert I’ve ever made. They are seriously so delicious. We never have leftovers to take home. And my husband who isn’t a chocolate cookie person specifically requests that I make them, which is a major win. They’re taste like a soft, chewy brownie with old-school chocokate icing but with the pleasant surprise of a gooey marshmallow inside. My mouth is watering just typing this!
This was really a fun recipe! We made it following the directions and my family loved it. Adding it to my recipes! Thanks Amy!
We make these every year now! Delicious!
These are GREAT
WOW! These are amazing. I saved this recipe to make sure I can find it for future reference. The instructions were perfect and they were the hit on my holiday cookie tray! Had several people ask for the recipe.
Made this with 2 younger grandkids. They loved it. Tasted great! Thank you! Have to make more soon now for a party invite!
I’ve made this several times for the guys in my husbands unit and they rave about it. They’re addicting so i’m happy to get them out of my house! Such a great cookie! One of my most requested cookie
Love this recipe and was wondering once they are cooked can they be frozen. Thanks