Ya’lllll. Tell me it’s Christmas without telling me it’s Christmas. These chocolate cookies are filled with a hot chocolate fudge center that’s made with actual hot chocolate (Swiss Miss) powder. It stays gooey and fudgy in the center (almost like a lava cake?) after baking and of course, it’s topped with marshmallow fluff.
I did also make a version that’s frosted with meringue (homemade fluff) but I think it’s going to need one more round of testing because I wanted the cookie dough to use up the egg yolks left from the meringue so she’s a work in progress.
Back to these. Not much else to say, let’s get to the recipe.
How To Make Hot Chocolate Cookies
I think by now you can see I’m not a fan of ‘simple’. Lately, even my cookie recipes have multiple parts and that’s because there’s just plenty of ‘simple’ recipes out there and I want a cookie that will stand out in the crowd.
A hot chocolate cookie MUST include
The Cookie – obviously lol it’s chocolate. I did use my brown butter base because it just can’t be beat at this point.
Brown Butter – Takes every cookie next level, read up on that post if you’ve never done it!
The Fudge Filling – this is the melty center that I made using actual hot chocolate powder. It’s giving lava cake.
Marshmallow – obviously again. I used marshmallow fluff because it won’t dissolve or brown excessively in the oven like an actual marshmallow. I also think the texture is nicer once it cools completely.
The Fudge Filling
We’re starting here because it needs to freeze while we make the cookie dough.
melt together the butter, chocolate, hot cocoa mix and waterpipe chilled filling into little discs and freeze
The Chocolate Cookie
Nothing new here, just my brown butter cookie base a chocolate cookie. Same as I made for the Tiramisu Cookies.
cook butter while stirring, until milk solids settle and brownwet ingredients for chocolate cookie dough whisked togetherdry ingredients folded into batterscoop out 2 ounces of cookie dough and create a well in the centerplace 2 frozen fudge discs in the well (I know it shows 3 here lol 2-3 is fine, depending on how many you have and their size). wrap the cookie dough around the fudge discs almost all the way around, leaving another well for the marshmallow fluff. spread marshmallow fluff into the opening of the cookie dough finished cookies
How To Store Cookies
I store these airtight at room temperature for a couple of days or in the fridge for up to a week. When i make these for cookie boxes, I store them in a large shallow tray (with a lid) and freeze them as soon as they’ve cooled. Thaw at room temperature before serving or packing up.
It can be difficult to stack these because the marshmallow fluff will stick to the cookie on top so if you want to prevent that, you can put a sheet of parchment between them (it will stick to that too but it won’t make the other cookie dirty on the bottom). Or try torching the marshmallow fluff, that’ll create somewhat of a barrier.
I’ve made these the last three years in my cookie box so I hope you all enjoy these hot chocolate cookies as much as we did.
As always, have a blessed day, happy baking & Merry Christmas!
85gramschocolate chips, I use dark because I don't like it as sweet but milk would taste more "hot chocolatey"
2packetspowdered hot chocolate mix, I used Swiss Miss (don't add the marshmallows)
30mLhot water
Chocolate Cookie Dough
227gramssalted butter, browned to 186
266grams light brown sugar, lightly packed
2largeeggs
1Tbspvanilla bean paste
240gramsall-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
52gramscocoa powder, I use dutch-processed
1Tbspbaking powder
marshmallow fluff for topping
Method
Hot Chocolate Fudge Filling
In a small saucepan, heat the butter just until it's melted. Add the chocolate chips and stir on the lowest heat until the chocolate chips are melted.
56 grams salted butter, 85 grams chocolate chips I use dark because I don't like it as sweet but milk would taste more "hot chocolatey"
Add the hot chocolate powder and water and whisk until it's smooth. Remove from the heat. If it separates at all, add another tablespoon of water and stir aggressively.
2 packets powdered hot chocolate mix I used Swiss Miss (don't add the marshmallows), 30 mL hot water
Allow the mixture to cool (I put the pot in the fridge, you can also empty into something shallow and wide to cool quicker).
Once the mixture is chilled and more firm, either use a tsp or a piping bag to make little rounds. I piped little discs onto a cookie sheet and then freeze them until they're hard.
Chocolate Cookie Dough
In a small pot, over medium heat, cook the butter for 5-10 minutes, stirring intermittently until it begins to bubble and foam.
Then stir continuously until you see the milk solids browning and settling on the bottom. Pour the butter into a bowl and allow it cool for a few minutes. If measured now, 227 grams of butter should now measure 186 grams.
227 grams salted butter browned to 186
Pour the butter into a large bowl and allow the butter to cool for a few minutes before using. Add the sugar and whisk until they're well combined.
266 grams light brown sugar lightly packed
Add the eggs and vanilla and whisk aggressively until the mixture is smooth and lightens in color.
2 large eggs, 1 Tbsp vanilla bean paste
Fold in the flour, cocoa powder and baking powder (I like to sift my cocoa because sometimes it's clumpy) just until the last streak of flour is combined.
240 grams all-purpose flour spooned and leveled, 52 grams cocoa powder I use dutch-processed, 1 Tbsp baking powder
If the dough is too soft, chill it until it's scoop-able. Scoop 16 2-ounce cookies and roll into cookie dough balls.
Press the center of the cookie dough down to create a hole for the fudge filling. Once the fudge filling is frozen, pop them off the parchment sheet (work quickly or they get sticky quick – I only do half a time and freeze again).
Place 2 of the fudge discs in the center hole of the cookie and wrap the cookie around it but don't close it on top, leave another hole for the marshmallow fluff (see photos).
Spread marshmallow fluff into the hole on top of the cookie and then chill the cookie dough balls again. I do about 15-30 minutes in the freezer while the oven preheats.
marshmallow fluff for topping
Preheat oven to 350F/177C (I do 325F (163C) convection because my oven is overly hot on the bottom).
Place the cookies at least two inches apart on a cookie sheet and bake for 8 minutes. Remove from the oven, tap the tray on the counter and use a biscuit cutter or cup to scoot the cookies around making them round again. Return to the oven for another 4ish minutes.
Remove from the oven, give it another quick tap on the counter & scoot them around again so they’re perfectly round. The cookies should be puffed up, the edges set and when you tap it on the counter again, it should deflate slightly.
Notes
*You could also just make this as one dough if you prefer. Just reserve 30 grams (1/4 cup) of flour and the cocoa powder. Split the dough in half, about 16 ounces to each half. Then add the remaining 30 grams (1/4 cup) of flour to one half and the cocoa powder to the other half.
store in the fridge airtight for a few days or freeze for a few weeks.
