Hot Chocolate Cookies

Soft, chewy hot chocolate cookies made with hot cocoa mix, chocolate chips, and lots of marshmallow fluff.

Why they work

These cookies are everything you could want in a cozy chocolate cookie recipe. They're soft and delightfully chewy made with real hot cocoa powder. We finish them off with a swirl of marshmallow for some gooey delicious fun.

These cookies have a delicious true hot chocolate taste thanks to using actual hot cocoa mix in them. Of course, cocoa mix tastes like chocolate, but it has that nostalgia creamy chocolatiness that we remember from our childhoods when we would come inside after a day of playing in the snow and warm up.

My favorite part is the marshmallow. I love stuffing my cookies with marshmallow like in my s'mores cookies. I recently discovered the amazingness of marshmallow fluff in cookies though. If you haven't tried my fluffernutter cookies, you've got to give them a go! With marshmallow fluff, you don't have to worry about filling a cookie and can instead swirl the marshmallow around.

Be a good cookie

I’m so excited to participate in this Valentine’s event again! This is the fifth year for our event and we want to continue to make a difference in the fight against pediatric cancer. Cancer is the #1 cause of death of children by disease in the U.S. There are 40,000 U.S. children actively battling cancer right now.

The National Cancer Institute’s budget for childhood cancer is less than 4%. It’s such a small number and that’s why I got involved. And with the ongoing pandemic, children are still being diagnosed with cancer. It’s imperative that we raise awareness and continue to raise funds to fund the ongoing pediatric cancer research! Help us make a difference by donating to Cookies for Kids' Cancer!

Our goal is to raise at least $3000. Because these three companies: OXO, Mediavine amd Dixie Crystals have each pledged to match our donations raised through this campaign up to $3000! That means when we raise $1, it turns into $4!

Thank you to so many of you who have already donated, please help us reach our goal so we can get the full matching donations and help us make an even huge difference! Donate here today.

Ingredients

A few key ingredients go into these amazing treats. We won't go over every ingredient here (don't worry, the full list is in the recipe card below), but I wanted to touch on some of the important ones.

Sugar - We use a mix of brown and granulated sugar. It is important to get the right texture and flavor in the cookies. The brown sugar adds chewiness and deepens the depth of the chocolate flavor. The granulated sugar adds more needed sweetness, but allows us to not let the molasses become too strong. I recommend light brown sugar, but these cookies are amazing with dark brown sugar as well.
Hot chocolate mix - This gives our cookies that authentic hot chocolate taste. I highly recommend Ghiradelli or Rodelle hot cocoa mix, but Swiss Miss also works. It is important to use the regular kind and not the sugar-free version.
Cocoa powder - You should use your favorite cocoa powder. Natural cocoa powder works the best, but I've used Dutch processed cocoa powder in this recipe with great results.
Cornstarch - So, cornstarch is the secret for soft, chewy cookies. The cornstarch helps make the cookies thicken and puff and make them perfect. Don't skip this step, if possible.
Marshmallow fluff - Marshmallow fluff is found at most grocery stores. It's made the same way as marshmallows, but a few things are changed to keep it gooey and spreadable. A little goes a long way. I also love adding some extra to the top just to make the cookies look even better.

Method

Whisk the dry ingredients together.
Cream the wet ingredients together.
Combine the wet and dry ingredients.
Swirl in the marshmallow fluff.
Portion out the dough
Chill.
Bake.
Devour!

I used my recipe for Levain-bakery style giant double chocolate cookies as the basis for this cookie. We omitted the nuts because they aren't needed here. We also switched up the sugars to reduce the overall quantity because we are adding hot chocolate mix that already has sugar, plus added brown sugar to increase the chewiness. We then added hot cocoa mix and marshmallow fluff.

Tips

Perhaps the most important tip is that a little goes a long way with the marshmallow fluff. This means we don't need a ton of marshmallow fluff and we don't need to mix it in a lot either. We just need a small amount of marshmallow fluff to swirl evenly throughout the dough.

If you want more marshmallow or just want to get a certain aesthetic, you can add a drizzle of the fluff on top of the hot chocolate cookies.

Chilling is essential for the cookies. My preferred method is to portion out the dough and leaving them in the freezer for about 30 - 45 minutes, and taking it out only when the oven is preheated and ready to bake.

By portioning out the dough before we chill, it makes it easier to handle and shortens the amount of time we need for the cookies to chill.

When portioning out the dough, make sure the bottom of each cookie doesn't have a ton of fluff. This makes it easier to transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool.

F.A.Q.s

My cookies spread too much and look like blobs!

The problem is probably too much marshmallow fluff. Make sure the fluff is spread evenly in the dough without huge sections of fluff in any one spot. If you feel the cookies need more fluff, I recommend adding a bit to the top of the cookies after you've portioned them out.

Do I have to use hot chocolate mix?

No! You can use all cocoa powder instead. If you skip the hot chocolate mix, then add another ¼ cup of brown sugar.

Can I replace the cocoa powder with hot cocoa mix?

No. The hot cocoa mix does not have enough chocolate flavor to properly flavor the cookies on their own. Hot cocoa mix also has sugar of its own, so you would have to decrease the amount of sugar which can change the overall texture and flavor of the cookies.

Can I use regular marshmallows?

Yes! You can skip the fluff and instead wrap a large marshmallow with the cookie dough, leaving the top of the marshmallow slightly exposed.