Plus as a bonus recipe, we even included a Hot Cocoa Cake made from scratch for the holiday Christmas dessert table you may also like!
These Hot Cocoa Cookies are as much fun to make and decorate as they are to eat.
The cookies looked so pretty frosted with white or chocolate ganache icing with some colorful sprinkles to match the holiday theme.
These chocolate cocoa cookies stay soft and chewy and keep for a few days stored in an airtight container or you can easily freeze them.
If you're a hot cocoa fan try our delicious Amaretto Hot Cocoa to go along with these marvelous chocolate hot cocoa cookies.
These chocolate cookies are super easy to make with just a few steps all chocolate cookie lovers and hot cocoa lovers will enjoy them throughout the holiday season.
For a festive Christmas cookie just frost and decorate them with colorful holiday-themed sprinkles, cane canes crushed, and mini marshmallows on top.
The cookies are great to bake for that last-minute party your invited to and perfect for bringing to a cookie exchange.
Scroll down to the recipe card and don't forget to try our Hot Cocoa Cake below and read my tips, and topping suggestions.
Step By Step Hot Cocoa Cookies
- prepare a baking sheet and heat the oven to 350 degrees
- cream the butter and sugar then fold in the eggs and vanilla
- next blend the dry ingredients into this mixture
- fold in the chocolate chips
- bake and top while hot a large marshmallow, or mini marshmallows or cool and add a drizzle with ganache and topping garnish suggestions
Other Mix-In Suggestions:
- peanut butter chips
- mint chocolate chips
- toffee chips
- substitute chopped pretzels for nuts
- dd dried fruits like cranberries
- for Christmas, colors add chopped maraschino cherries and white chocolate chips
- white, milk, and dark chocolate chunks
- chopped peanut butter cups or another chopped candy you prefer
- mint-filled chocolate candies chopped
- chopped unwrapped caramels, pistachios, pecans, macadamia nuts, coconut
- pumpkin seeds for nut allergies
- cookies cant be left plain, rolled in cinnamon sugar, powdered sugar, or frosted
- add coconut and chocolate chips
- add a cherry to the center and cover in melted chocolate instead of marshmallows on top
Ingredients You Will Need (scroll down for exact measurements)
- unsweetened cocoa powder
- eggs
- butter
- baking soda
- flour
- vanilla
- brown sugar
- see the recipe card for complete ingredients and measurements
- Optional:
- cinnamon sugar, white or chocolate ganache, mini chocolate chips, mini marshmallows, or assorted flavored chocolate chips, coconut, any kind of nuts, and colorful sprinkles to match the holiday theme
Tips
- flatten cookies slightly after rolling them into balls or using a cookie scoop
- store these in airtight containers for up to two days or freeze them
- cool completely before adding ganache
- if topping with mini marshmallows gently press them onto the hot cookies after baking
- use a lined cookie sheet or Silpat mat
- cookies can be rolled in cinnamon sugar before baking as a different flavored hot cocoa cookie
- add some cinnamon to the ganache if preferred
- sprinkle with holiday-themed candies
- these cookies freeze in an airtight container unfrosted for up to 3 months thaw and frost
Pin for Later
Try Some Other Cookie Recipes
Banana Chocolate Chip Biscotti
Chocolate Spice Cookies
13 Holiday Christmas Treats
Fun Hot Cocoa Toppings
Whatever you like in your hot cocoa you can improvise and add to the top of these cookies.
One other suggestion we like is to use whole large marshmallows and press them into the top of the cookie fresh out of the oven then place it bake in the oven for 1 minute just till it sets.
The are so many possibilities for toppings, just make them festive, cheery, and fun for the Christmas holiday cookie exchange or holiday cookie tray.
Hot Cocoa Cookies
Yield: 24
Prep time: 5 MinCook time: 12 MinTotal time: 17 Min
Hot Cocoa cookies are chewy chocolate cookie with various toppings just like sipping on a cup of hot cocoa in a cookie form!
Ingredients
- Hot Cocoa Cookie Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 1 1/2 cups brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract (if you would like another extract orange. mint or almond can be added)
- 2 cups flour
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips
- Garnish 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips for garnishing and 1/2 cup mini marshmallows or 1 big marshmallow, holiday sprinkles
- Optional garnish cookie topping ideas: before baking, crushed candy canes, before baking sprinkle with cinnamon sugar mixture
- For another optional garnish after baking and cooling: add a drizzle of white icing, or a drizzle of chocolate ganache then add mini chocolate chips and marshmallows on top
Instructions
- Hot Cocoa Cookie Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper or grease it with cooking oil spray.
- In a large bowl cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy around 3 minutes.
- Add the eggs, and vanilla and blend evenly.
- Stir in the flour, unsweetened cocoa, baking soda, and salt.
- Evenly blend together just until combined.
- Using a cookie scoop form small round balls then flatten them slightly on the prepared baking sheet.
- Note: you can top cookies with mini chocolate chips, or crushed candy canes, sprinkle with cinnamon sugar, or see other options below.
- Bake at 350 degrees for around 10-11 minutes.
- Cookies can be frosted first with ganache then add marshmallows just add the marshmallows without frosting
- Note: Right after the cookies are removed from the oven top them with a few mini marshmallows on top so they adhere to the cookie or press in one large marshmallow.
- Another option: when cooled drizzle with white or chocolate ganache and top with marshmallows and mini chocolate chips. holiday sprinkles, sanding sugar, etc.
- Ganache frosting for Cookies Recipe:
- 1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chopped
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream or milk
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- Melt chocolate in the microwave in 1-minute intervals.
- Stir and repeat until melted. Add the rest of the ingredients and beat till smooth and spreadable. Note: Another option is to substitute white chocolate melted instead of semi-sweet chocolate.
- Hot Cocoa Pudding Cake Recipe
- 3 cups flour
- 3/4 cup butter
- 3/4 cup oil
- 4 1/2 ounce squares of bittersweet chocolate chopped
- 3 cups sugar
- 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 3 eggs
- 3/4 cup buttermilk
- 2 tablespoons vanilla
- 2 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 batch of chocolate pudding any box kind you like to package instructions cooled (or use your favorite instant pudding)
- Garnish:
- Whipping cream sweetened with 1 tablespoon sugar and whipped
- Cocoa powder put through a fine mesh sieve
- Cookie cutter in the shape of a tree
- Sliced almonds tinted green using two drops of green food coloring a 1 teaspoon water soaked and blotted dry
- dried cranberries for the lights on the tree
- assorted sugar decorations for the tree ( I used Wiltons)
- Hot fudge in a jar
- Rolo wrapped candy for the base of the christmas tree
- Cake Instructions:
- In a large saucepan add the butter, oil, and chocolate with 1 cup water, and heat until melted set aside and cool.
- In a large bowl whisk together flour, sugar, and cocoa powder.
- Pour the mixture of chocolate mixture into the sugar mixture and whisk together.
- Add all the remaining ingredients to the bowl whisking in the eggs in one at a time just until all blended.
- Pour into heavily greased pans of your choice, I used a 13x9 pan and left the cake in the pan.
- Bake at 350 preheated oven until the middle springs back or use the toothpick method for around 30 minutes.
- Cool completely on a wire rack if using two 9-inch rounds or another cake pan that you will need to remove the cakes from.
- In the meantime tint the sliced almonds.
- Make the whipped cream and store it in the refrigerator until ready to use.
- Put pudding on top of the cooled cake,( if you are using two rounds then it goes in between the layers.)
- Frost with whipped cream.
- Center the cookie cutter in the middle, add the sliced tinted green almonds and trim with dried cranberries and assorted sugar decorations.
- Drizzle the top with a hot fudge topping and dust with cocoa powder. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Notes
Tips
- flatten cookies slightly after rolling them into balls or using a cookie scoop
- store these in airtight containers for up to two days or freeze them
- cool completely before adding ganache
- if topping with mini marshmallows gently press them onto the hot cookies after baking
- use a lined cookie sheet or Silpat mat
- cookies can be rolled in cinnamon sugar before baking as a different flavored hot cocoa cookie
- add some cinnamon to the ganache if preferred
- sprinkle with holiday-themed candies
- these cookies freeze in an airtight container unfrosted for up to 3 months thaw and frost
Pin for Later
Here are more of our favorite cookie recipes:
Cucidati Fig Sicilian Cookies
24 One-Stop Cookie Shop
Fried Bow Tie Cookies
25 Holiday Cookies
Disclosure: This recipe was originally shared in 2014. It was edited and re-published in 2022.