Hot Chocolate Cookies

When the cold weather is in full swing, hot chocolate is one of my favorite comfort drinks. I knew I had to recreate it as a delicious cookie, and this recipe is 100% satisfying and everything I wanted in a hot chocolate cookie.

I made these as HUGE bakery-style cookies, but they are easy to adapt to more standard-sized cookies if that's what you like better. Either way, I know you're going to love them.

🥘 Ingredients

• Milk - You can use any variety of milk you like (whole, skim, or even dairy-free). This is used to make the hot chocolate. You could even use water, but the flavor won't be as rich.
• Hot Chocolate Mix - You can find containers of hot chocolate mix near the individual, bagged variety that comes in a box.
• Butter - Let your butter warm to room temperature so that it can easily cream together with the sugars.
• Sugars - For these cookies, I used a combination of both brown and white sugar. I used light brown sugar, but dark brown sugar would work, too.
• Egg - Eggs act as a binder for all of your other ingredients.
• Vanilla - Pure vanilla extract will give you the best flavor.
• Baking Soda - A small amount of baking soda to help the cookies rise.
• Cornstarch - Cornstarch makes cookies ultra-tender.
• Cream of Tartar - Cream of tartar prevents sugar from crystalizing, which makes them wonderfully chewy instead of crispy.
• Salt - A little bit of salt helps to cut the sweetness.
• Flour - All-purpose flour will make up the bulk of these cookies.
• Unsweetened Dark Cocoa Powder - I used Hershey's dark cocoa powder. Regular cocoa power will work, but the cookies won't be quite as rich in chocolate flavor.
• Mini Chocolate Chips - Semi-sweet mini chocolate chips to enhance the chocolate in these cookies. Regular chocolate chips could be used, too.
• Mini Dried Marshmallow Bits - You can find these near the regular marshmallows. Fun fact, if you put normal mini marshmallows in your cookies they will melt in the oven. This is why we are using the dried bits.

👩‍🍳 How To Make Hot Chocolate Cookies

These hot cocoa cookies are easy to make but taste like they're fresh from the bakery. You will need your stand mixer, baking sheets, measuring utensils, and a kitchen scale or cookie scoop.

This recipe makes 10 4.5-ounce cookies or 45 standard 1-ounce cookies.

Make the Hot Chocolate

Step 1: Prepare the milk. Add ¾ cup (177 milliliters) of milk to a microwave-safe bowl (photo 1).

Step 2: Microwave. Heat in the microwave for 1 minute and 45 seconds.

Step 3: Mix and cool. Stir in ¼ cup (30 grams) of hot chocolate mix (photo 2) and then place the bowl into the fridge to chill while you prepare the cookies.

Prepare the Cookie Dough

Step 4: Cream the butter. Using your stand mixer, beat 1 cup (227 grams) of butter until smooth and light in color (photo 3).

Step 5: Mix in the sugars. Add 1 cup (220 grams) of light brown sugar and ½ cup (100 grams) of sugar (photo 4) and mix again until thoroughly combined.

Step 6: Add egg and vanilla. Mix in 1 large egg and ½ tablespoon of vanilla extract (photo 5). Then add the cold hot chocolate (photo 6) and mix well.

Step 7: Add dry ingredients. Place a sieve over the mixing bowl and sift 3½ cups (437.5 grams) of all-purpose flour, ½ cup (43 grams) of unsweetened dark cocoa powder, 1 tablespoon of cornstarch, ½ teaspoon of baking soda, ½ teaspoon of salt, and ¼ teaspoon of cream of tartar into the bowl with the wet ingredients (photo 7). Mix on low speed until just combined.

Step 8: Mix in chocolate chips. Gently fold in ¾ cup (135 grams) of mini chocolate chips using a silicone spatula (photos 8, 9).

Chill, Portion & Bake

Step 9: Chill. Transfer the bowl to the fridge to chill for at least 30 minutes.

Step 10: Preheat. Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C/Gas Mark 4) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.

Step 11: Portion. Use a scale to portion the cookie dough into 4.5-ounce balls, spacing them apart on the baking sheets by several inches.

Step 12: Add the topping. Top with more chocolate chips and some of the ½ cup (37.5 grams) of mini dried marshmallow bits (photo 10).

Step 13: Bake. Bake in the oven at 350°F (175°C/Gas Mark 4) for 13-15 minutes, or until no longer shiny.

Step 14: Cool. Remove from the oven and let the cookies cool on the baking sheet (photo 11) for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire cooling rack to finish cooling.

💭 Angela's Pro Tips & Recipe Notes

• Make your preferred size. I made these into BIG 4.5-ounce, bakery-style cookies. Of course, you can also make these as standard-sized 1.5 tablespoons (1-ounce portions) cookies. Once portioned, bake for 9-10 minutes. 
• Try baking rings. For perfectly round cookies, you can bake them in 4-inch cookie rings on your baking sheet. These rings are also used to bake English muffins or cook eggs in a pan, so they're very versatile and I recommend trying some.
• Chill overnight if you like. The dough only needs about 30 minutes to chill, but the dough can be refrigerated overnight (24 hours at most).

🥡 Storing

Keep your baked hot chocolate cookies in an airtight container for 4-5 days at room temperature.

Freezing

Once baked, you can also freeze your cookies. Let them cool completely before wrapping them tightly and placing them into an airtight container to freeze for up to 3 months.

The unbaked dough can be frozen as well. Portion it into balls and place them on a baking sheet.

Pop the sheet into the freezer for about 1 hour, or until frozen. Then, transfer the frozen balls to a storage bag or container to freeze for up to 3-6 months. 

Check out my posts on how to freeze baked cookies and freezing cookie dough to learn more.

📖 Recipe Card