These cookies taste like a mug of hot chocolate, because they are made the same way. Real hot cocoa mix goes into the dough along with cocoa powder, so the chocolate flavour is deep and a little milky, not just dark and bitter. The cookies bake thick and soft, like little brownies, and while they are still warm a marshmallow half is pressed into the middle of each one. It puffs up and turns gooey in the last two minutes of baking. A drizzle of melted chocolate and a pinch of crushed candy cane finish them off. They look like Christmas in a cookie, and they are made for a cookie box or a cold evening with a hot drink.
Hot Chocolate Cookies with Marshmallow and Chocolate Drizzle
Thick, soft hot chocolate cookies with a gooey marshmallow in the middle, chocolate drizzle and crushed candy cane on top.
Ingredients
Method
- Heat the oven to 175°C (350°F). Line two baking trays with baking paper.
- Beat the softened butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes.
- Beat in the egg and vanilla. In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, cocoa powder, hot cocoa mix, bicarbonate of soda, and salt.
- Add the dry mixture to the butter mixture and mix on low speed until just combined. The dough will be soft and thick.
- Roll the dough into balls about 4 cm wide and place them about 5 cm apart on the trays. Press each ball down very slightly.
- Bake one tray at a time for 8 minutes, until the edges are set but the centres still look soft. Take the tray out and press a marshmallow half, cut side down, gently into the centre of each cookie.
- Put the tray back in the oven for 2 to 3 minutes more, until the marshmallows puff up and go soft and gooey. Do not bake longer, or the marshmallows will melt and slide off.
- Cool the cookies on the tray for 10 minutes, then move them to a rack. Drizzle the melted chocolate over the tops and sprinkle with crushed candy cane while the chocolate is still wet.
Ingredients
- 115 g unsalted butter, softened
- 100 g granulated sugar
- 100 g light brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 200 g plain flour
- 30 g unsweetened cocoa powder — use unsweetened cocoa powder as the base, so the cookies are rich without turning too sweet
- 3 tablespoons hot cocoa mix — plain hot cocoa mix goes into the dough for the milky hot chocolate flavour; if your mix is very sweet, use 2 tablespoons and cut the granulated sugar to 80 g
- 1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 10 large marshmallows, cut in half — press them in after the first bake, not before, or they will melt away
- 60 g dark chocolate, melted, for the drizzle
- 2 tablespoons crushed candy cane, for sprinkling on top
Method
- Heat the oven to 175°C (350°F). Line two baking trays with baking paper.
- Beat the softened butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes.
- Beat in the egg and vanilla. In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, cocoa powder, hot cocoa mix, bicarbonate of soda, and salt.
- Add the dry mixture to the butter mixture and mix on low speed until just combined. The dough will be soft and thick.
- Roll the dough into balls about 4 cm wide and place them about 5 cm apart on the trays. Press each ball down very slightly.
- Bake one tray at a time for 8 minutes, until the edges are set but the centres still look soft. Take the tray out and press a marshmallow half, cut side down, gently into the centre of each cookie.
- Put the tray back in the oven for 2 to 3 minutes more, until the marshmallows puff up and go soft and gooey. Do not bake longer, or the marshmallows will melt and slide off.
- Cool the cookies on the tray for 10 minutes, then move them to a rack. Drizzle the melted chocolate over the tops and sprinkle with crushed candy cane while the chocolate is still wet.
Mistakes, Substitutions, Serving and Storage
- Common mistakes: pressing the marshmallows in before baking, so they melt away; baking the marshmallows for too long after pressing them in, so they collapse; using only sweetened cocoa mix and no unsweetened cocoa powder, so the cookies turn too sweet.
- Substitutions: use mini marshmallows instead of halved large ones, pressing 3 or 4 into each cookie; leave out the candy cane if you prefer a plain finish; use milk chocolate for the drizzle if you like it sweeter.
- Serving ideas: serve warm with a mug of hot chocolate, milk, or coffee, or pack them into a tin as a Christmas gift. They sit well on a holiday cookie tray next to other cookies.
- Storage and reheating: store in an airtight tin at room temperature for up to 3 days. The marshmallows will firm up as they sit, so warm a cookie in the microwave for 8 to 10 seconds to make it gooey again. Do not freeze the finished cookies.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Why put hot cocoa mix in the dough? Cocoa powder alone tastes dark and bitter. Hot cocoa mix adds the milky, sweet flavour of a real mug of hot chocolate, so the cookie tastes like the drink.
- When do I add the marshmallows? After the first 8 minutes of baking, not before. If they go in from the start, they melt and disappear. Pressed in halfway, they puff up and stay soft and gooey.
- Why did my marshmallows melt away? They were baked for too long after being pressed in. Two to three minutes is enough. Take the tray out as soon as they puff up.
- Can I make the dough ahead? Yes. Chill the dough balls in the fridge for up to 2 days, or freeze them for up to 1 month and bake from frozen, adding 1 to 2 minutes to the first bake before pressing in the marshmallows.
