These delicious hot chocolate Christmas cookies are chewy and delicious! Topped with sprinkles, crushed candy cane, and marshmallows, everyone will love these hot cocoa cookies!
Hot Chocolate Cookies
Each year, I join some of my blogging friends to do a virtual Christmas Cookie Exchange. This holiday season I wanted to make a delicious, chewy hot cocoa cookie!
I love my chewy double chocolate peppermint cookies, but I really wanted a recipe that produced a less fluffy cookie.
I was creaming of a crinkly top with melted chocolate and marshmallows, hot cocoa in a cookie form!
I decided to try this recipe with melted butter and chocolate as a base – almost like making a brownie.
The results are fantastic! I think you will love these yummy cookies, and don’t forget to head down to the bottom of this post and visit my friend’s Christmas cookie recipes!
Table of contents
Ingredients for the Cookies
- semisweet chocolate chips: the chocolate chips get melted into these cookies with the butter and create a creamy hot cocoa texture! I love using semisweet, but you could use dark chocolate, milk chocolate, or even white chocolate if you wanted!
- butter: Rather than using room temperate butter, you’ll melt this butter down which helps the cookies crinkle on top!
- eggs: You’ll want to use room temperate eggs for this recipe. To quickly get the eggs to room temperature, place then in a bowl of hot water for about 5 minutes.
- pure vanilla extract: The added flavor of vanilla extract always takes recipes to the next level! Try adding a little to your hot cocoa next time!
- brown sugar: The added molasses provides moisture and flavor!
- granulated white sugar: To keep the cookies lighter in texture, I like to add in granulated sugar as well.
- all-purpose flour: A high quality all-purpose flour will be best, I like to sift the dry ingredients in this recipe.
- unsweetened cocoa powder: Adding cocoa powder makes the hot chocolate flavor of these cookies even richer!
- salt: I like to add a nice amount of salt to my dessert recipes to really balance out the flavors.
- baking soda: Make sure the cookies are the perfect texture with added fluffiness from baking soda.
Toppings for the Cookies
You can mix up the toppings with these cookies by adding anything you can dream up that could go on top of hot chocolate! I like adding mini marshmallows, melted chocolate chips, sprinkles, and crushed candy canes!
- mini marshmallows
- semisweet chocolate chips (melted with a little cream mixed in)
- sprinkles
- crushed candy cane
A note on melting the chocolate for the top of the cookies: Melting the chocolate chips over a double boiler will provide you with the best consistency! However, not everyone wants to take the time to do so.
Instead, you can melt the chocolate in the microwave. Just be sure to melt in increments. I like to add a few tablespoons of cream into the mix to get a really creamy and drizzly consistency.
Variations
This recipe can be mixed up in so many ways!
To make this a white hot cocoa cookie, you could use white chocolate chips instead of semisweet!
Try mixing up the toppings with a variation of mixed candies to make it unique to you!
Or, instead of mixing cream into the melted chocolate chips for the tops of the cookies, you could do some Irish Cream for a boozy hot coco cookie!
How to make Hot Coco Cookies
Step 1: Melt the butter and chocolate together to create a deliciously creamy mixture!
I don’t typically melt my butter for cookies, but I wanted these cookies to be crinkly on top!
Stir the butter and semisweet chocolate chips together until they are melted. Be careful not to burn the chocolate!
Step 2: Mix together the eggs (room temperature), sugar, and vanilla on low speed until just combined.
This can be done by hand, in an electric mixer, or with an electric hand mixer.
Do not overmix.
Step 3: Add the melted chocolate and butter to the eggs and sugar. Mix until just combined.
Step 4: Sift together the dry ingredients: cocoa powder, flour, salt, and baking soda. Gradually add into the bowl of wet ingredients, and mix on low until just combined.
Chill for at least 1 hour.
Step 5: Use a cookie scoop to scoop walnut sized balls of dough onto a parchment lined baking sheet.
Bake at 350 F for 7-9 minutes.
DO NOT OVER BAKE! The keys to getting chewy and delicious cookies is to slightly under-bake them, they will continue to bake slightly once removed.
Step 7: Melt the remaining semisweet chocolate chips in 30 second intervals in the microwave.
I like to stir in a few tablespoons of cream to get a drizzly consistency.
Drizzle the cookies with melted chocolate, and top with marshmallows, crushed candy cane, and sprinkles!
Why do eggs need to be room temperature?
You’ll be melting the butter and chocolate chips for this recipe, so to keep the consistency of the melted chocolate even, I suggest using room temperature eggs.
To quickly bring eggs to room temperate, simply place them in a bowl of hot water for about five minutes.
Why should I not over-mix the dough?
Over mixing the flour in dough will leave you with tough cookies that don’t have a great consistency. As a rule of thumb, mix ingredients until just combined in all baked goods (unless otherwise noted in the recipe).
The Recipe
Hot Chocolate Cookies
Ingredients
Cookie Dough
- 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
- 1 stick 1/2 cup butter
- 2 eggs room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup brown sugar lightly packed
- 1/2 cup granulated white sugar
- 1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
Toppings
- mini marshmallows
- 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
- 2-3 tablespoons cream or milk
- sprinkles
- crushed candy cane
Instructions
- Step 1: In a small sauce pot, melt the butter and chocolate together to create a deliciously creamy mixture. Stirring constantly so as to not to burn the chocolate.
- Step 2: In a medium bowl combine the eggs, sugar, and vanilla until just mixed. This can be done by hand, in an electric mixer, or with an electric hand mixer, but do not overmix.
Step 3: Add the melted chocolate and butter to the eggs and sugar. Mix until just combined. - Step 4: Sift together the dry ingredients: cocoa powder, flour, salt, and baking soda. Gradually add into the bowl of wet ingredients, and mix on low until just combined. Chill for at least 1 hour.
- Step 5: Use a cookie scoop to scoop walnut sized balls of dough onto a parchment lined baking sheet.
Bake at 350 F for 7-9 minutes. - Step 7: Remove the cookies from the oven and set aside. Melt the remaining semisweet chocolate chips in 30 second intervals in the microwave, stirring between each interval. Stir in a few tablespoons of cream to get a drizzly consistency.
Drizzle the cookies with melted chocolate, and top with marshmallows, crushed candy cane, and sprinkles!
Yummy and such great tips for someone like me who isn’t the most gifted baker. Merry Christmas!
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