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a plate of hot cocoa cookies with melted chocolate and sprinkles
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4 from 5 votes

Hot Cocoa Cookies

These hot cocoa cookies are made with a rich and chocolatey cookie up, stuffed with a toasty marshmallow and topped with chocolate sauce and sprinkles. They're a festive Christmas cookie that can be made gluten free.
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time15 minutes
Total Time35 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Diet: Gluten Free
Keyword: chocolate, christmas, cookies, gluten free
Servings: 24 cookies

Equipment

  • Mini Muffin Tins
  • Electric mixer or stand mixer

Ingredients

For the cookies:

  • 1 cup all-purpose flour (or 1:1 gluten-free flour)
  • 1/2 cup natural cocoa powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature (vegan butter works for dairy-free option)
  • 1/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup light brown sugar packed
  • 1 large egg
  • 2 tablespoons milk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 14 jumbo marshmallows cut in half

For the chocolate topping:

  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter melted (or vegan butter)
  • 2 tablespoons natural cocoa powder
  • 2 tablespoons hot water
  • 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • Christmas sprinkles to top

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 375°F. Grease one 24-count mini muffin tin (or 2 12-count mini muffin tins) with non stick spray and set aside.
  • Whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt and set aside.
  • In a large bowl with a stand mixer or electric mixer, beat the butter and sugars together until light and fluffy, at least 3 minutes. Add the egg, milk and vanilla and beat until combined. Turn the mixer on low and add half of the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and beat slowly until flour is partially incorporated. Turn the mixer up to medium-high and beat until flour is completely incorporated. Add the remaining flour and repeat the process until dough is completely combined and the dough starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl. It will be slightly wet and sticky.
  • Use a heaping teaspoon to shape the dough in one inch balls and place one in each muffin cup. The dough will be a little wet and may get on your fingers and hands as you're rolling. You can put a little cocoa powder on your fingers and hands to prevent this. Bake the dough in the preheated oven for 8-10 minutes or until the cookies puff up and set.
  • When the time is up, remove the cookies from the oven and immediately use the back of a teaspoon to press a whole into the center of each cookie.
  • Switch the oven to broil then place half of the large marshmallow cut side down inside the hole of the cookies. Broil the cookies on high for 1-3 minutes until the marshmallows are puffy and golden brown on the top. Keep an eye on them the whole time because they can burn quickly. The marshmallows will puff really high, but will come back down once they’re removed from the oven. Allow to cool for 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
  • While they’re cooling, make the chocolate ganache. Place a piece of parchment paper under the cooling rack with the cookies to catch any extra chocolate ganache that drips off. Mix all of the chocolate topping ingredients together in a medium bowl. Working quickly, use a spoon to partially cover the tops of the cookies with ganache and top with assorted sprinkles.

Notes

Make ahead:
Fridge: Follow the directions to make the dough then wrap it in plastic wrap and place in the fridge for up to 3 days before rolling and baking. You could also roll into balls then chill.
Freezer: Roll the dough into balls and place on a baking sheet. Place the baking sheet in the freezer for 15-20 minutes until the dough is frozen then transfer the dough balls to a plastic bag or air tight container. Bake from frozen, just add an extra minute or two of cookie time.

Nutrition

Serving: 1cookie | Calories: 127kcal | Carbohydrates: 19.6g | Protein: 1.6g | Fat: 5.4g | Cholesterol: 21.2mg | Sodium: 110mg | Fiber: 0.8g | Sugar: 13.2g