Hot Cocoa Cookies

A crispy crackly cookie on the outside with a marshmallow center that is filled with cocoa, sugar and all the makings for a perfect hot chocolate drink. In cookie form though.

I am a sucker for anything hot chocolate. I love out new recipes, remaking old ones, incorporating them into my baking and using the flavors to inspire to make new desserts. These Hot Cocoa Cookies are Hot Chocolate in a solid cookie form. They are packed with all the right flavors but the textures of the cookie and the melting marshmallow add for a very satisfying feeling with each bite.

This cookie dough is honestly the simplest one you can make. It has a few ingredients and everything gets mixed together to form a ball of dough. Which is then stuffed with a giant marshmallow, that is rolled in granulated sugar and baked until it has spread and the marshmallow has melted.

Let us look at the ingredients for the cookie real quick, we need: castor sugar, brown sugar and granulated sugar (you can’t skip the granulated sugar as it is needed to roll the dough in before baking), cocoa powder (the best you can find), giant marshmallows (the campfire toasting kind), flour, baking powder, oil, butter, cornflour and egg. I like using a pinch of sea salt flakes on the top. To make these cookie eggless you can use 2 flaxseed eggs instead. Any vegan butter works well here so turn these into dairy free treats in no time.

There is really no rocket science to this cookie. If I have to mention any pressure points it would be to ensure that you weigh your ingredients out accurately. Another important point would be to wrapping the marshmallows with the cookie dough well before rolling in granulated sugar – this is to ensure that the cookie bakes at the same time the marshmallow does. The last point to keep in mind is, never over bake the cookie. The cookie will be soft when you take it out of the oven however it will firm up as it cools down. Be patient.

I like using a flat spatula to transfer the cookie from the baking tray to the wire rack. Cooling the cookies on a wire rack is essential as the marshmallow shouldn’t dry out with the excessive heat. Once they are baked the cookies last in the fridge for up to a week at room temperature in an air tight container. The raw cookie dough balls with the marshmallows can be stored in the freezer for up to 1 month, let them thaw for 30 mins before baking, roll in the granulated sugar and bake as usual.

Dunk these in milk, coffee or even hot chocolate and let it warm you up this winter. If there are any cookies I can a handful in one go, it would have to be these babies. You can watch how I made it on the ninja bake along here. Happy Baking Ninjas!