Hot Cocoa Cookies are a must for our yearly Christmas cookie tray and always a favorite. Melt-in-your-mouth chocolate cookies topped with melted marshmallow and chocolate – just like a hot cup of cocoa!
Why You’ll Love Hot Chocolate Cookies
Just about everyone loves hot cocoa and when you turn into a delicious dessert, people love it! The gooey marshmallow top is so yummy and the added sprinkles make them perfect for the Holidays.
- Irresistible Flavor: Hot cocoa cookies offer a rich, chocolaty taste that’s universally loved.
- Easy to Make: Simple recipe means effortless baking – perfect for beginners and busy schedules.
- Comforting Aroma: They fill your home with a warm, cozy smell, creating a delightful atmosphere.
- Versatile: Great for parties, gifts, or a comforting treat on a chilly day.
- Kid-Friendly: Children adore the familiar hot chocolate taste, making these cookies a hit with little ones.
- Satisfying Texture: Soft, chewy, and gooey, these cookies provide a satisfying with every bite.
- Customizable: Add more marshmallows, chocolate chips, or nuts for your own unique twist on this classic treat.
- Holiday Favorite: Perfect for festive occasions, they bring a touch of warmth to any holiday gathering.
What You’ll Need
For the cookies: This is a simple cookies recipe using unsalted butter, semi-sweet chocolate, all purpose flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, salt, brown sugar, eggs, vanilla extract, and marshmallows.
For the chocolate icing: This chocolate frosting recipe takes the cookies over the top using powdered sugar, unsalted butter, cocoa powder, hot water, vanilla, and Christmas sprinkles.
How To Make Hot Cocoa Cookies
Mix the Cookie Dough: Starting with a double broiler, melt the butter and chocolate. Set it aside. In a medium bowl, combine the dry ingredients: flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. Using a stand mixer, beat the sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Add the cooled chocolate. Slowly beat in the flour mixture. Cover and refrigerate for 4 hours.
Bake the Cookies: Using a cookie scoop, scoop some batter and roll it into a ball. Place the cookie dough balls about 2 inches apart. Bake for 10 minutes. While the cookies bake, cut the marshmallows in half. Once done, place half a marshmallow into the center of the cookies and press down. Bake for 2-3 more minutes. Let the cookies cool on a wire rack.
Make the Icing: Mix all of the icing ingredients together in a bowl. If it is too thick, add some hot water to thin it out.
Decorate the cookies: Spoon icing over a few cookies. Add the sprinkles. Spoon icing over a few more cookies and add sprinkles. Do the cookies in batches so that the frosting doesn’t dry before the sprinkles are added.
Once all the cookies have icing and sprinkles ENJOY your Hot Cocoa Cookies!
How To Store:
Store your hot chocolate cookies in an airtight container at room temperature to maintain their freshness. For longer shelf life, you can freeze them in a freezer-safe container or a resealable plastic bag. Be sure to place parchment paper between the layers of cookies to prevent them from sticking together. When ready to enjoy, thaw frozen cookies at room temperature or warm them briefly in the oven for a freshly baked taste.
How can I ensure the cookies stay soft and chewy?
To keep the cookies soft and chewy, avoid overbaking. Take them out of the oven when the edges are set but the centers are still slightly soft. They will continue to firm up as they cool on the baking sheet. Also, storing them in an airtight container helps maintain their chewy texture.
More Christmas Cookie Recipes:
- Easy Rudolph Brownie Cookies
- Christmas Oatmeal Cookies
- Hot Cocoa Cookie Cups
- Peppermint Meltaways
- Air Fryer Christmas Cookies
- Hot Chocolate Cookie Cups
- Christmas Kitchen Sink Cookies
Hot Cocoa Cookies
Ingredients
For the cookies:
- 1/2 Cup unsalted butter
- 1 1/2 Cup semi-sweet chocolate
- 1 1/2 Cup flour
- 1/4 Cup cocoa powder
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 1/4 Cup brown sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 12 large marshmallows cut in half
For the chocolate icing:
- 2 Cup powdered sugar
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter melted
- 1/4 C cocoa powder
- 1/4 Crub hot water
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- Christmas sprinkles
Instructions
For the cookies:
- In a double boiler, melt the butter and chocolate, stirring frequently. Once melted, set aside to cool
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt.
- In a standing mixer, beat the sugar, eggs and vanilla on low speed until combined.
- Add the cooled chocolate and mix until combined
- Gradually add in the flour ingredients and mix until combined
- Scoop the dough (Will be brownie like texture) into a bowl and cover with foil and place into the fridge for 4 hours.
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- Using a small ice cream scoop, scoop some batter into your hands and roll into a ball
- Place cookies about 2 inches apart
- Bake the cookies for about 10 minutes
- While cookies are baking, cut the marshmallows in half
- Once cookies are baked, place a marshmallow into the center of the cookies and lightly press down
- Place cookies back into the oven for another 2-3 minutes
- Place a wire rack over another cookie sheet to allow the icing to drip off
- Once cookies are done baking let cool for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack while you make the icing
For the icing:
- Combine all ingredients into a large mixing bowl and mix until combined
- If the icing is still to thick, add about 3 tbsp of hot water to it to thin it out
- Using a spoon, spoon some icing onto the marshmallow on the cookie
- Repeat step number 3 onto a few more cookies
- Sprinkle a little bit of sprinkles onto the cookies
- Repeat the last two steps onto the remaining cookies. Remember to only put icing onto a few cookies at a time because the icing will dry fast.
- Once all the cookies have icing and sprinkles ENJOY!
Last Step:
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77 comments on “Hot Cocoa Cookies”
I made these last year and the were #1 in our family Christmas Cookie Bake. Â I am going to triple them this year. Â Have you ever frozen them and how did they do if you did? Â Thank you!
Fun, festive, fabulous
Just wanted to say that I’ve been making these cookies for the past 4 years and they are amazing! My second most popular Christmas cookies, after my gingerbread.
These cookies are by far in comparison the best cookies I have ever had. My family was very impressed. I will be keeping this recipe. Thank you for sharing it with us.
These cookies are a new family favorite! My husband and 3 boys can’t get enough of them.
These were a huge hit. Worth the few extra steps. Will make again. I got about 48 with the Pampered Chef scoop.
I have been baking cookies for over 20 years. In all of those years, my husband says these are the BEST cookies I have ever made. Made them for an open house and people were posting on FB that other people needed to come if nothing else but to try one of these cookies! WOW.
I followed this recipe as written. I have a convection oven, and the first pan I baked at 300 instead of the 325 listed. First pan was a disaster, the cookies were not done completely and I had a hard time getting them off the parchment paper. Ultimately what I ended up doing, was baking them in convection mode at exactly 325. The cookies were about the size of a golf ball. After 10 minutes, I put the half marshmallow on top of each cookie and continued baking for exactly 3 minutes. After I took them out of the oven for the last time, I let them sit for about 3 minutes and then slid the parchment paper with the cookies still on it on to my counter and spooned the icing onto each cookie. In the recipe it says to add 3 tablespoons of hot water if the icing got too thick, but it worked better to add just one to two teaspoons of hot water if I needed to thin it, since the heat from the cookies thins the frosting anyway. The cookies are really good and the first batch I made that didn’t turn out is really good with a couple scoops of ice cream so no waste there. I will keep this recipe and made notes for myself for next time.
Everyone loved these!  Next time I’m going to make the base cookie but add some different crumbles on top of the drizzle….I think I’ll try those Andes mints chopped up instead of marshmallows.  You can do so much with this cookie it’s so yummy!
Love the hot cocoa cookies
Can they be frozen ?
Yes! They freeze very well!
Can you freeze them?
Yes! They freeze very well.
Best cookies ever! Very soft brownies like texture. Not over sweet like it looks. Will make again. Will also will use the dough in different ways with nuts.
Can you make the cookie batter the day before baking?Â
I made the dough yesterday and baked them today. They came out perfect!
Is this made with the Hershey’s unsweetened cocoa powder or sweetened? I have unsweetened, and don’t even know if sweetened exists!!! Lol! I just want to be able to make this tomorrow, and all I’d have to buy are marshmallowsÂ
Unsweetened cocoa powder is used for this recipe.
Once mixes it resembled batter? Is that normal? I guess we will see!
These are absolutely delish. One of my all time fav.
FINALLY! One person out of all these comments that has actually made these cookies! At least she said they were delish. I gave it 5 stars because I am assuming they will be.
Can you freeze these?
Suenan deliciosas. Las voy a tratar mañana. Gracias por la receta Â
They look good!
Sound delicious! Can’t wait to try! I try to cut down the sugars and fats in recipes to eat healthier so if you come up with any ideas, that would be great!
Switch out the sugars with Stevia, switch the chocolate chips to sugar free, and if you can find them sugar free marshmallows but marshmallows will be very little sugar so it will just be low sugar cookies instead of sugar free
How many cookies does this recipe make?
It says 24
I actually got 44 out of it, i used a cookie scoop!
They look so good long to try them