I’m sharing one of my all time favorite cookies with you today, my hot chocolate cookies. When I first made these hot cocoa cookies, adding hot cocoa mix to a cookie seemed like it would taste good. But I didn’t quite expect for them to be SO delicious. These Hot Chocolate Cookies have since become one of the most popular cookie recipes on Love From The Oven. Hot Chocolate Cookies are perfect Christmas cookies and are great cookie for cookie exchanges.
Hot Chocolate Cookies
Really truly, these hot chocolate cookies are incredible. The flavor that the hot cocoa contributes is pretty amazing, they do not taste like “another chocolate cookie” if you will, they taste like a cup of hot chocolate.
Let’s face it, most of us have had all the “standard” cookies such as chocolate chip cookies, peanut butter cookies, snickerdoodles, oatmeal cookies, double chocolate chip cookies and cut out sugar cookies. So these bring a new and fun flavor to those holiday cookie platters.
Since I first made these cookies hot chocolate cookies, Kraft Kitchens have tested the recipe. Both Swiss Miss and Kraft Jet Puffed have shared the recipe on their packaging. Seriously, they are that good.
Marshmallows In Cookies
Keeping it easy is important to me, and these hot chocolate cookies are as easy to make as your standard chocolate chip cookie, so nothing fancy needed here.
Mallow Bits
I do recommend that you use the Mallow Bits in place of regular mini-marshmallows, as the mini marshmallows can create quite a mess. You should be able to find these freeze dried marshmallows in your grocery store, either by the marshmallows or near where they keep hot chocolate.
2021 Update: Find Mallow Bits or similar dehydrated marshmallows at Target, Amazon and Walmart. Also check your local grocery store.
2020 Update: I’m not sure if Kraft is no longer making Mallow Bits, but I have a hard time finding them online, though some of my local stores still carry them. Here is what appears to be almost identical freeze dried hot chocolate marshmallows.
There also are many colored freeze dried marshmallows on the market. Another great option is the Swiss Miss Marshmallow Lover’s Cocoa, which actually includes packets of marshmallows along with the cocoa.
Chilling Dough + Mallow Bits
A note on these, I’ve found that when chilling the dough for 30 minutes, sometimes it can cause the Mallow Bits to melt into the cookie when baking.
It’s not consistent, and I think it’s dependent on how fresh/dry the Mallow Bits are (it happens to me more when I’ve purchased from Amazon). One way to completely avoid this problem is to mix the Mallow Bits in AFTER you chill the dough.
If you are looking for a different cookie to bring to a cookie exchange or to bake for the holidays, I’d highly recommend these hot chocolate cookies. While the recipe calls for regular hot cocoa, for a twist I used a dark chocolate hot cocoa mix with this batch. I love to serve them with a mug of Peppermint Hot Chocolate!
There are so many new flavors of hot cocoas out there, feel free to get a little creative with these! One thing to note: do not use sugar free hot cocoa mix. They won’t turn out as well I’m afraid.
Check out all of the cookie recipes on this site. Don’t miss all of the recipes for Christmas Cookies here on Love From The Oven! Also grab a copy of my free Favorite Cookies e-Book Cookbook, it has all my favorite cookie recipes in a convenient cookbook download.
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More Cookies To Try
Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies
The Best Peanut Butter Cookie Recipe
Brown Butter Sea Salt Chocolate Chip Cookies
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My Favorite Cookie Tools
- Silicone Baking Mat
- Cookie Scoops
- Cookie Spatula
- Wire Cooling Racks
- My Free Favorite Cookies E-Cookbook
Hot Chocolate Cookie Recipe
Hot Chocolate Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter (softened)
- 1 cup sugar
- 2/3 cup brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 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 teaspoon baking powder
- 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
- Beat butter and sugars in large bowl with standing mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla; mix well.
- In a separate bowl combine dry ingredients. Gradually beat dry ingredients into butter mixture until blended. Stir in chocolate chips and Mallow Bits*. Cover and chill for at least 30 minutes and up to 24 hours.
- When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Drop 2 tablespoons dough, 2 inches apart, onto baking sheets lined with silicone baking mats or parchment paper. Bake 9 to 11 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cool on baking sheets 5 minutes; remove to wire racks and cool.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
The nutrition facts provided are calculated using a third-party tool and are estimates only. Actual nutritional content may vary based on the ingredients and brands you use, as well as portion sizes. For accurate results, please consult a registered dietitian or nutritionist.
I can’t wait for you to try these cookies! They’d be the perfect addition to a hot cocoa bar. Check out my post all about how to set up a hot cocoa bar, such a fun (and super easy) thing to do when it’s chilly outside! Also, start your day with my Hot Chocolate Pancakes!
White Chocolate Snickerdoodles
Chocolate Holiday Chip Cookies
How To Paint Sugar Sugar Cookies
Holiday Cookie Decorating Tips
Originally published October 2017
Meet Christi, Love From The Oven
I’m Christi I love sharing easy & delicious recipes that your family & friends will love. I’m a mom, baker, cookbook author and lover of sprinkles.
What kind of chocolate chips, semi-sweet or milk?
And for those that are looking, I found the mallow bits at Super Target and Meijer.
Honestly it’s a matter of taste. I personally strongly dislike milk chocolate, so I always go with semi-sweet or dark chocolate – but that’s simply my personal preference.
My daughter made these and they were delicious and fluffy. I’ve tried them twice, following the recipe to a t, and they were as flat as crepes. I even bought new baking powder for the second batch thinking maybe that was just old. I can’t figure out what I’m doing wrong and what she did differently?!?
Hi Meg, do you have an oven thermometer? If not you might want to pick one up, they are just a few dollars and usually available at the grocery store. One of the first signs that the thermostat was out in my oven years ago was very flat cookies. I didn’t really notice it with anything else I made, but my cookies kept failing. Recipes I used for years were flat. Turns out my oven temp was running both hot and cold, just enough to make that difference.
Aside from that maybe see if you can watch/help as your daughter makes them and see what she does differently.
Can these cookies be frozen either before baking or after baking to be stored?
Sure, either one works!
Absolutely delicious recipe. I even used 2 cups of gluten free flour, and no garnish or chocolate chips cause I had none. For my second batch, I rolled them in cinnamon sugar but I overcooked them as I got a bit too lazy to watch over them. They’re still perfect for dunking in coffee! Thank you for this lovely recipe that makes use of hot chocolate mix that I keep buying but have not found a single one that I liked!
I love this recipe since my mother has given my children many boxes of hot chocolate and they don’t drink it. They do love these cookies in spite of that! The hot chocolate with marshmallows works well; to boost the marshmallow aspect, I cut large marshmallows in half and place them on the cookie while they are hot out of the oven and sitting on the pan to set. They melt a bit on top of the cookie without making a mess and look like they are sitting on top of a mug of hot chocolate. I wonder if I had a torch if that would add another dimension to the taste of the cookie and make it look like you’re eating something close to a s’more?
I love this recipe since my mother has given my children many boxes of hot chocolate and they don’t drink it. They do love these cookies in spite of that! The hot chocolate with marshmallows works well; to boost the marshmallow aspect, I cut large marshmallows in half and place them on the cookie while they are hot out of the oven and sitting on the pan to set. They melt a bit on top of the cookie without making a mess and look like they are sitting on top of a mug of hot chocolate. I wonder if I had a torch if that would add another dimension to the taste of the cookie and make it look like you’re eating something close to a s’more?
If you do not have the mallow bits, as the author said, do not mix mini marshmallows into the dough. HOWEVER, as the cookies come out of the oven, you can poke one or two mini marshmallows into each one as sort of a garnish. It is not the same as getting the bits, but it is not a bad compromise. Do not try baking the marshmallows, but using them after baking seems to be fine.
Where can I buy mini marshmallow bits at?
Where can you buy mini marshmallow bits at?
I have an entire paragraph in this post providing the info, with links, updated the past two years. I can’t add links here in the comments, but if you reread the post, you’ll find them. Here is the text, but again, the comment area doesn’t let me add the links, so you need to find those in the post above.
Mallow Bits
I do recommend that you use the Mallow Bits in place of regular mini-marshmallows, as the mini marshmallows can create quite a mess. You should be able to find these freeze dried marshmallows in your grocery store, either by the marshmallows or near where they keep hot chocolate.
2021 Update: Find Mallow Bits or similar dehydrated marshmallows at Target, Amazon and Walmart. Also check your local grocery store.
2020 Update: I’m not sure if Kraft is no longer making Mallow Bits, but I have a hard time finding them online, though some of my local stores still carry them. Here is what appears to be almost identical freeze dried hot chocolate marshmallows.
There also are many colored freeze dried marshmallows on the market. Another great option is the Swiss Miss Marshmallow Lover’s Cocoa, which actually includes packets of marshmallows along with the cocoa.
Mine were flat also. They looked brownish gray probably because I used rainbow marshmellows. They were delicious though.
Make sure to chill the dough, that helps with the spreading. And yes, the rainbow marshmallows will do that to the color. Somehow all those pretty color leave a not so pretty shade. If you want to use the rainbow marshmallows, I’d recommend using a dark hot cocoa and adding a tablespoon of dark cocoa powder itself to the recipe. This will help overpower that murky gray color from the marshmallows.