Description
Delightfully rich and chewy Hot Chocolate Cookies bursting with chocolate chips and mini marshmallow bits, perfect for cozy moments and chocolate lovers. These cookies feature a unique twist using hot cocoa mix for a deep, chocolatey flavor and a touch of nostalgia.
Ingredients
Scale
Wet Ingredients
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 1 cup sugar
- 2/3 cup brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Dry Ingredients
- 3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 4 packages hot cocoa mix (approximately 3/4 cups) — NOT sugar-free versions
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
Add-ins
- 1 cup chocolate chips
- 1 cup Mallow Bits (mini marshmallows do not work the same and can be sticky)
Instructions
- Mix Butter and Sugars: In a large bowl, beat the softened butter, sugar, and brown sugar with a standing mixer until the mixture is light and fluffy, ensuring a smooth base for your cookie dough.
- Add Eggs and Vanilla: Incorporate the eggs and vanilla extract into the butter mixture, mixing thoroughly until well combined.
- Combine Dry Ingredients: In a separate bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, hot cocoa mix, salt, baking soda, and baking powder to evenly distribute the leavening agents and cocoa flavors.
- Blend Dry Ingredients into Wet: Gradually add the dry ingredients into the butter and sugar mixture, beating until the dough is just blended to avoid overmixing.
- Stir in Chocolate Chips and Mallow Bits: Fold in the chocolate chips and Mallow Bits carefully to ensure they are evenly spread throughout the dough.
- Chill the Dough: Cover the dough and refrigerate it for at least 30 minutes and up to 24 hours. Chilling improves the flavor and texture.
- Preheat Oven: When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C) and prepare baking sheets by lining them with silicone baking mats or parchment paper.
- Portion Dough: Drop 2 tablespoons of dough per cookie onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing the cookies about 2 inches apart to allow for spreading.
- Bake Cookies: Bake the cookies for 9 to 11 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned but the centers remain soft.
- Cool Cookies: Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes before transferring them to wire racks to cool completely.
Notes
- This cookie dough is intentionally somewhat dry and thick. Don’t add extra liquid if it looks dry; the final cookie will have the perfect texture.
- For flatter cookies, reduce the flour to 3 cups; for taller, more compact cookies use the full 3 1/4 cups and chill dough longer.
- Measure flour by stirring it first, then spoon it into your measuring cup and level it off — never scoop directly with the cup to avoid dense cookies.
- Use plain hot cocoa mix like Swiss Miss; flavored or sugar-free mixes can alter results. Dark Chocolate Swiss Miss is a favorite for extra richness.
- If you want darker cookies due to changes in cocoa mix formulas, add a tablespoon of dark cocoa powder to the dry ingredients.
- Mallow Bits can be hard to find; a good alternative is to use hot cocoa mixes that include marshmallows.
- To prevent marshmallow bits from melting too much during baking, try adding Mallow Bits after chilling by pressing them onto the dough scoops.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 140
- Sugar: 12g
- Sodium: 110mg
- Fat: 7g
- Saturated Fat: 4g
- Unsaturated Fat: 3g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 19g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 2g
- Cholesterol: 25mg
