Made with gooey marshmallow bits and chocolate, these hot chocolate cookies provide the full flavor of our all-time favorite cozy drink. Soft, chewy, and ready in no time!
With holidays around the corner, you are probably looking for festive cookies to match the mood of the season. These hot cocoa cookies are so tasty that they will surely earn a spot on your must-make holiday desserts.
Why this recipe works
- Made without hot chocolate mix. Unlike most hot chocolate cookie recipes, this one doesn’t call for hot chocolate powder. You can make it with ingredients you already have at home.
- Perfectly gooey. If you are a fan of gooey cookies, you will surely appreciate these ones. Mini marshmallows added to the chocolate cookie dough results in cookies with the perfect texture (like in our marshmallow cookies, too!).
- Little waiting time. You only have to chill the cookie dough for 30 minutes and the cookies bake in just 10 minutes. This means you will have your sweet treat ready in under an hour.
These hot chocolate cookies are such an upgrade from your regular chocolate chip cookies. But they are so easy to make and are so delicious!
Ingredients needed
This recipe calls for basic cookie ingredients that you’ll likely already have on hand. Here is what you’ll need:
- Butter. Room-temperature.
- Sugar. Granulated white or brown sugar.
- Oil. Any neutral-flavored oil will work.
- Water. To add moisture to the dough and make it more elastic.
- Baking soda. To help cookies rise.
- Flour. All-purpose flour. Sifted.
- Cocoa powder. Unsweetened and sifted.
- Salt. To balance all flavors.
- Marshmallows. Use mini marshmallows to be able to mix them into the cookie dough.
- Chocolate chips. To mix into the cookie dough as well as melt and drizzle over the cookies.
Unlike most cookie recipes, these ones don’t need any fancy mixers or kitchen gadgets to prepare! Ready to make some cookies?
Step 1 – Prepare the dough
Cream the butter with oil, sugar, and a tablespoon of water until light and fluffy. Add the remaining water and whisk the mixture until combined.
In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients. Mix the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt until fully combined.
Fold through the mini marshmallows and half of the chocolate chips.
Step 2 – Refrigerate the dough
Cover the dough with food wrap and refrigerate it for 30 minutes. This is done to prevent the cookies from spreading too much in the oven.
While the dough chills, preheat the oven to 200C/400F degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Step 3 – Bake the cookies, decorate, and serve
After 30 minutes, remove the dough from the fridge and roll out 12 balls. Place the cookie dough balls on the baking tray. Leave around 2 inches of space between each of them.
Bake the cookies for 10 minutes. Once baked, remove the cookies from the oven and let them cool. Melt the remaining chocolate chips and drizzle them over the cookies to decorate them.
Yes, you can use how chocolate powder instead of cocoa powder to make cookies. But keep in mind that aside from cocoa powder, the hot chocolate powder also contains sugar. It may also contain dairy powder and some spices, including cinnamon.
Tips to make the best recipe
- Don’t overmix the cookie. Cream the butter and sugar for just a couple of minutes. Mixing the batter longer incorporates too much air into the dough and may cause the cookies to collapse.
- Freeze before baking. If you want thick hot chocolate cookies that won’t spread too much in the oven, freeze the cookie balls for 10 minutes right before you bake them in the oven.
- Reheat the cookies before eating. Eating these cookies warm is a pure pleasure as the marshmallows are gooey and the chocolate chips are melty. Pop these cookies into the microwave for 5 to 15 seconds right before eating them.
- Use any chocolate of your choice. Dark, milk, and semi-sweet chocolate chips will all work well for this recipe. Avoid using milk chocolate if you are trying to keep this recipe dairy-free.
- Make it Mexican. For Mexican hot chocolate cookies, add 1/2 teaspoon of red pepper powder to the dough.
Storage instructions
To store: Place leftover hot chocolate cookies in an airtight container or a zip-top bag. They will stay fresh for up to a week at room temperature and even longer when stored in the fridge.
To freeze: If you have too many leftover cookies (which is highly unlikely if we are being real), freeze them. You can then thaw the cookies in the fridge, heat them up, and enjoy them as if they are freshly baked.
- Peanut butter nutella cookies
- Cream cheese cookies
- Almond butter cookies
- No bake oatmeal cookies
- Ricotta cookies
Frequently asked questions
No, these cookies are not gluten-free. They are made with all-purpose which contains 8 to 11% gluten. You can make these cookies with gluten-free flour too.
You can freeze cookie dough for up to 3 months. Make sure the dough is well-wrapped and protected from freezer burn.
Hot Chocolate Cookies
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup butter
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup all purpose flour sifted
- 1/3 cup cocoa powder
- 1/4 cup mini marshmallows
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips divided
Instructions
- Cream the butter, oil, sugar, and one tablespoon of water until light and fluffy. Add in the remaining water and whisk until combined.
- In a mixing bowl, add the salt, baking soda, flour, and cocoa and mix until combined. Gently add the butter mixture and mix until combined. Fold through half the chocolate chips and mini marshmallows then cover the bowl and refrigerate it for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 200C/400F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Roll out 12 balls of cookie dough and place them onto the lined pan, leaving 2 inches apart from each cookie to allow them to spread.
- Bake the cookies for 10 minutes, before removing them from the oven and letting them cool.
- Melt the remaining chocolate chips and drizzle over the top of each cookie.
Notes
Nutrition
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Yum! You are on quite a roll with simple and no bake. Will probably have to skip the cayenne since I’m a wuss that way 🙂
haha no worries at all, Michele!
Love it, love it, love it! Spicy and chocolaty cookies – I am in!
YESSSS. Sriracha it up!
This recipe is totally my kind of recipe, Arman! I’m all about flourless cookies with some chocolate and some heat. I hope to try this recipe soon and must share it on All Gluten-Free Desserts, too, of course. 😉
Shirley
Please do, Shirley! Enjoy 🙂
These look so good! I love Mexican hot chocolate! 😛
Thank you, Cassie!
I am sort of obsessing over these! And by “sort of” I mean “TOTALLY” because 12 minutes to healthy, spicy-sweet chocolate goodness? My taste buds likey. Pinned!
Thanks champion! 🙂
Look at you go, creative cat! I ate a jalapeño chocolate lava cake once, and that was pretty epic. Dude, I can see it now. Spicy Arman on Toast on a billboard in Times Square.
oh wow jalapeno lava cake?! What is this magic and where can I get some!
Have I ever tried WHAT? Oh, only the best kind of chocolate flavour pairing ever. Given I can’t go without Lindt Chili for a day it’s safe to say I like it. You can’t go wrong there.
It’s such a delicious combination!
Realy creative! These look awesome.
Thank you Lauren!
I either haven’t seen or just didn’t notice the sriracha flavor yet. While I wanna find some to make these cookies (obviously), I fear I should get two cans because one will most definitely disappear before baking commences… #srirachaallthethings
oh man I needed both those cans of goodness- SO GOOD!
Can I have spicy Arman on toast with cookies, maybe with a side of coffee for dunking; the cookies that is.
oooo coffee and chilli? Wonder how that combo would go!
I tried the chocolate-chili combo and was not a fan. I did not like the aftertaste. I am all about chocolate and salt though. That I can do all day!
I love chocolate and salt- One of my all time favourites!
Arman On Toast.
YOU’RE NUTS.
I need these, and I need them now.
I am nuts. Sriracha nuts. 😀
I love these flavors!
Thank you! 🙂
What do Sriracha and Mexico have in common? Nothing- wrong country haha! These look really delicious though and I love the spicy chocolate combo.
The flavours are there so irrespective of the country, these are Mexican Hot Chocolate Cookies 🙂
why haven’t I tried the mexican chocolate combo before? How creative using the sriracha almonds for this! 🙂
Thank you! 🙂