Hot Cocoa Cookies
Loaded with chocolate and topped with marshmallows, these Hot Cocoa Cookies
are just like your favorite Winter drink…only in frosted cookie form!
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Can someone tell me where the last 3 months went? I swear it was just July…and now Thanksgiving has come and gone? Wait…Christmas is only 2 weeks away? I’ve got to get my gift-giving situation under control! Growing up in Charleston, SC, I always dreamed of snow. Not only was it fun to ambush my sister and throw snowballs at her troll doll collection, but I also got an unexpected day off of school. In 8-year-old world, that’s pretty much the best thing ever. (Heck, an unexpected day off of work is still pretty much the best thing ever…even in “adult world.”) Granted, I think it snowed one time in Charleston in all of the years we lived there. But it was a darned good snow!
Fast forward about 25 years and 900 miles north, and snow just doesn’t hold the same mystique anymore. Now snow means I have to get out the snow blower. (And until last year, it meant snow shovels…man, am I glad I finally upgraded to that blower!) Our dogs aren’t terribly fond of the snow and ice, either. They spend an average of 8.6 seconds (that’s my scientific estimate) per trip into the backyard. I actually snow-blow them a huge circle in the backyard. It’s not ideal, but it helps keep them from sinking below eye-level in the snow. Sometimes I snow-blow them some extra running paths…which I’m sure makes my yard look like it has alien crop circles. Fun times!
Despite dressing in about 14 layers of clothes when I go out to snow-blow the driveway and backyard, I still come in frozen. I imagine I look something like Lloyd and Harry from Dumb and Dumber after they hit the slopes. That’s when I come in looking for something hot. Coffee, tea, cocoa…it all works. Just something to help me feel my fingers again.
Hot Cocoa Cookies
Speaking of hot cocoa, can I tell you how delicious these cookies are? If you love chocolate, these are the cookies for you! There’s cocoa and melted chocolate in the cookie dough, and then the baked cookies are topped with a bit of chocolate frosting. Chocolate overload! Of course, the marshmallows are a requirement, too. Hot cocoa without marshmallows is a travesty.
What are your plans for the holidays? Are you hitting the road or just staying put? If you have company coming into town, might I suggest meeting them at the door with a plate of these Hot Cocoa Cookies? That’s how you start vacation off the right way. Enjoy!
Did you make a batch of these Hot Cocoa Cookies? Leave a comment, or snap a photo and tag me on Instagram (@Spicedblog). I’d love to see your version!
Hot Cocoa Cookies
Ingredients
- 8 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1¼ cups brown sugar
- 3 large eggs
- ½ Tbsp vanilla extract
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1½ tsp baking powder
- mini-marshmallows for garnishing
For the Chocolate Icing
- 4 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
- ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1½ cups powdered sugar
- 3 Tbsp milk
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, add the butter and chocolate chips. Place over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until fully melted. Remove pan from heat and let cool slightly.
- In a large bowl, add the brown sugar, eggs and vanilla. Whisk together until fully combined. Add the cooled chocolate mixture and stir until well mixed.
- Add the flour, cocoa powder, salt and baking powder. Whisk together gently until fully combined. Cover bowl and refrigerate for 30 minutes, or until dough is stiff but not hard.
- Preheat oven to 325°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Shape about 1½ Tbsp of dough into a round ball and place on baking sheet. Flatten ball slightly with hand. Repeat until all dough has been used, leaving about 2” in between each cookie.
- Bake at 325°F for 13-14 minutes. Remove cookies from oven and let cool.
- Meanwhile, make the Chocolate Icing by combining all ingredients (melted butter, cocoa powder, powdered sugar and milk) in a small bowl. Whisk together until smooth.
- Spoon approximately 1/2 Tbsp of Chocolate Icing onto the top of each cookie. Use an offset spatula to spread the Chocolate Icing into a circle and then place 2-3 mini-marshmallows into the Icing. (Tip: To create a smoother tops on the cookies, dip the offset spatula in a glass of hot water after frosting each cookie.)
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Hahaha dude, I just got my hands on a snow blower as well! My buddy’s parents moved down to Florida so I got the snow blower! So pumped that I can leave the shovels in the garage this year! And my two fave things to eat after snow removal duty? Hot chocolate and cookies… now you can just ship me down some of these bad boys whenever snow is forecasted instead 😉 #wolfpackshovels #wolfpackeats
Haha…that means I need to make a mad dash to the post office today, Chris. They’re calling for some pretty nasty weather up here later today. In fact, I woke up at 5am and drove all the way down to the gym this morning…only to find out that it was closed because the hill leading down to it was too icy. Seriously!?!
Dude…you are totally going to love that snow blower, too. It’ll change your life! You’ll be snow blowing all of your neighbor’s drives. Heck, you might even just get on a roll and make it all the way upstate with that thing. Don’t worry…if you do, then I’ll have some cookies waiting on you. 🙂
Chocolate. Yum.
These look absolutely awesome. If the roads were not a sheet of ice right now, I would go buy some chocolate chips and make these! And butter. Yum.
My dog actually loves the snow. He is a collie, but he thinks he’s a sled dog, and pulls me along when I walk him. I guess HE really walks ME.
Have a good holiday!
I think you totally need to start keeping a stash of chocolate chips on hand! Especially when it’s icy and nasty outside…weather like that just calls for cookies, SueAnn! 🙂
I think your pup is exactly the opposite of our little one. We have to shoo her out the door and make her go into the yard to do her business. Oh, the joys of upstate New York, right??
Haha – my adult self so looks forward to a “Snow day” here in Atlanta too! It’s just plain bliss to lounge around and not do anything and even if I may have to be in a million places – well – oops – I cannot get out of my driveway! Woohoo – I sure am glad I don’t have a snow blower cos then I won’t have that excuse! But, I sure am NOT glad I don’t have some of these in my hands right now! Chocolate is my weakness – and these hot cocoa cookies are almost as blissful as a snow day -to me! But – dude, what’s up with suggesting if I make these. I share them with company??? Heck no! So not gonna happen! In fact, I am thinking if I wake up early and make them before my daughter wakes up – I might be able to hide them from her too…
Hahaha! You are too much, Shashi. I don’t think there is any way in the world that you’re going to hide these cookies from your daughter. As soon as she smells all of the chocolatey goodness coming from the oven, I predict that she’ll be right there at your side. Maybe just tell her you are making the cookies for your coworkers. Then take them outside and eat them all in your car. Haha. I just had the best mental image ever of that scenario. 🙂
Speaking of snow days, I totally woke up at 5am and drove all the way down to the gym this morning…only to find out that they didn’t salt the hill leading down to it. That means, “No gym. You’ll have to go home.” Seriously?!? They’re calling for some icy mess here today…which means I need to hunker down in the kitchen and eat cookies all day.
You have a snow blower? Man, the only way to do it is with a shovel.
Not to mention that is a great workout: you burn a lot of calories, build muscles, and get a sore back.
What more could you possibly want? Hehehehe 😉
Those cookies are the bomb, man. Cocoa, chocolate chips and marshmallows? That’s the way to roll!
#WolfpackEats #WolfpackShovels
I had no idea you loved to shovel so much, Mike. I’ll just make sure to keep my shovel handy for when you come up to shovel my driveway when it snows. I should warn you, though. We leave the house around 5:15 every morning, so I’m going to need that driveway cleared by then. Haha!
These cookies are just insane!! Cocoa and melted chocolate in the cookie dough?!?! And your pictures are so pretty!!
Thank you so much, Tamara! These cookies were pretty darned tasty…now I just wish I had some more of ’em waiting down in the kitchen. 🙂
David, we’ve lived here in Wisconsin (moved here from SEATTLE about a year ago) so we were here last winter. That was my first ever midwest REAL winter and boy was it crazy harsh. I’m originally from Texas and my husband is from CA and we lived in CA for about 12 years before moving to Seattle. . anyway, I had no idea what to expect with the snow and winters here and my husband was super excited to buy a snow blower. Our neighbors were making fun of him because he busted that thing out when there was only like an inch of snow because he wanted to use it so much. Now, he’s not as excited and this is only after ONE winter. HA! 🙂 anyway, had to share. . and LOVE these cookies!!! Brilliant!!! Happy Holidays!!
I’m originally from Texas, too, Alice! What the heck is up with us Texans living up here with all of this white stuff on the ground?? Haha! At first, I was just like your husband…actually, the first snow of the year is still exciting. I got out last week and snowblowed my neighbor’s driveways just because I was having so much fun with the snowblower. Then I got cold, and the snowblower lost its appeal. That’s when I retreated back inside to the cookies and the fireplace! Good luck with the winter over there in Wisconsin!
I laughed out loud visualizing the snow blown circles for the dogs, thats great – like alien crop circles! I swear I would eat these cookies for breakfast like – now! Bring on the chocolate overload.
So we just had our first snow that was big enough to bring out the snowblower. I totally made a racing course for our dogs in the backyard. There was an inner circle and an outer circle…and of course, I had to leave the median up so that they would get their exercise. I’m fairly sure our larger dog just plowed straight through the middle of it all…and our smaller dog didn’t want to have anything at all to do with the cold! Oh well…at least I had fun! 🙂
I’m pinning this because I’m going to eat all of them! Goodness, these look magically good!
Hahaha! Thank you, Pamela! If only someone would invent a way to make cookies magically appear on your desk when you pin them. We should work on inventing that site…I think it would do well. 🙂
I am just loving the look of these cocoa cookies.. and the cute little marshmallows ontop! They definitely have been added to my holiday baking list!
Thank you so much, Thalia! I must admit that these cookies were pretty tasty. (Did you catch the past tense there? Yeah, they are all gone…*cue the Charlie Brown Christmas music* hehe…)
Oh geebuz they are even more beautiful on here than on Facebook. I was only in upstate NY for a Semester and hit the very early stages of the snow but then got photos of what happened post December…..whoa. Respect. Not sure I could handle it all- lucky you have the snow blower!
Funny that you say that, Arman…because I was definitely just in the backyard about 15 minutes ago shoveling a path for the dogs. I might have to pull out the snow blower later, but I had some work to do first. 🙂 If you ever want to come back and experience post-December upstate NY, then I’ll save you a shovel!
Haha, your dogs sound like mine. I think my dog would “hold it” all day rather than step out in the snow. She is a true Texas dog. We shovel her a path to the dog run too. 😀 These cookies look so great! My little girl loves cocoa and I know she will love these. Thanks for a great recipe!
Yup, our little one would rather hold it for 4 days than even step one toe outside in the snow. Our big one is happy as a clam romping through the snow…until he comes in (at which point I call him the “abominable snow beast”) 🙂
Lol sometimes I dream about snow and then I remember just how not awesome it is when you aren’t just looking at it from your window! My mom’s dog has snow booties, which, yes, are different from just his cold weather booties. <–spoiled.
All I can think about is are these cookies going to be in my mailbox in 2 days?!?!!?!? Because if they are I am beyond excited! Love me some hot cocoa and chocolate cookies! Pinned
Oh no! I’m totally going to disappoint you, Lindsey. These cookies were devoured at the curling club! But don’t worry, I sent along my all-time favorite cookies for you. They’ve never been posted here…and I have no clue why. I need to get on that!
As far as snow, you better get ready…I suspect you’ll be seeing a lot of it starting in January! 😉 Oh, and I need to go looking for snow boots for our little one. She would love that…if I could get her to put the darn things on first. Haha!