Rich brownie cookies swirled with generous streaks of marshmallow fluff make these hot chocolate cookies the ultimate winter treat.
If there's anything this cold season needs, it's a treat that warms you from the inside out.
For me, that usually entails a hot cup of homemade cocoa (from scratch, with real chocolate because we treat ourselves) and all the marshmallows. And sometimes whipped cream.
And this year, I wanted to bring that warm-me-up, rich chocolaty flavor to my Christmas cookie platter.
Entering from stage left: The most decadent marshmallow-swirled, brownie crinkled top fudgy chocolate cookies.
Here's how to make these cookies
First, melt your chocolate and butter.
In a bowl over a pot of boiling water, melt the chocolate and butter, stirring occasionally until smooth.
Turn off the burner and leave the bowl over the pot of water to keep it warm while you make the rest of the batter.
If you don't want to use the double boiler method, you can also heat the chocolate and butter in the microwave staring with 30 seconds and then using 10-15 second increments until the mixture stirs smooth.
I personally don't love this method because it can quickly overcook your chocolate and also leaves it to begin setting while you make the rest of the batter.
Second, make the brownie cookie batter.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, whip the eggs and sugars (both brown and granulated) on high for 5 minutes.
A note on whipping time: Please, please, pleeeeeease whip the eggs and sugar for the full 5 minutes. The whipping is what gives these brownie cookies their signature shiny crinkled top, so shortening your time means risking a flatten, smooth-topped cookie.
With the mixer on the lowest speed, pour the chocolate into the eggs/sugar and mix until just combined.
Add the flour, salt, baking powder and vanilla and fold until everything is combined and lump free.
Finally, add the marshmallow fluff and bake.
Microwave the marshmallow fluff for 10-20 seconds or until warm and thinned.
Spoon a few tablespoons into the batter and lightly swirl. You don't need to swirl it into all of the batter as we'll be adding more as we go.
Using a three-tablespoon cookie scoop, scoop your batter onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet leaving about 2" between each cookie.
If you didn't end up with as much marshmallow fluff as you'd like in any of the cookies, you can add a few small dollops to the top and swirl them in with a toothpick or butter knife.
Quick tip: Try to scoop the batter so that the marshmallow fluff is at the bottom of the scoop. This will ensure you get a nice visible swirl that will toast and that will keep it from sticking to the parchment which could potentially tear the cookie when it's moved.
Continue adding a few tablespoons of marshmallow fluff at a time and swirling as needed.
Bake at 350F for 11 minutes. Allow to cool completely on the baking sheet before moving them to a cooling rack.
Expert tips
- Use 60% cacao or higher bittersweet chocolate: Chocolate with a high cacao will give these cookies a rich, chocolaty flavor and result in a smoother melt. Because we're adding sugar, we don't need to worry about the chocolate being bitter.
- Bringing cold eggs to room temperature quickly: If you need to bring your eggs to room temperature quickly for this recipe, fill a bowl with hot water from your tap and place the eggs in it for about 5 minutes.
- Whip the eggs/sugar for the full 5 minutes: This is the step that gives the cookies their crinkled brownie appearance so be sure to whip for the full 5 minutes.
- Scooping: Try to scoop the batter so that the marshmallow fluff is at the bottom of the scoop. This will ensure you get a nice visible swirl that will toast and that will keep it from sticking to the parchment which could potentially tear the cookie when it's moved.
- Fold in the dry ingredients: Once you whip the eggs and sugar, you want to minimize the amount of work the batter experiences so the eggs don't deflate.
- Storage: These cookies can be kept in an air tight container at room temperature for up to a week or frozen (I like to individually wrap mine in plastic wrap) for up to 6 months.
Recipe
Hot Chocolate Cookies
Rich brownie cookies swirled with generous streaks of marshmallow fluff make these hot chocolate cookies the ultimate winter treat.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 11 minutes
- Total Time: 21 minutes
- Yield: 12-14 cookies 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 5oz bittersweet chocolate, 60-66% cacao
- 5 tbsp unsalted butter
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup light brown sugar
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- ⅔ cup all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ cup marshmallow fluff
Instructions
- In a bowl over a pot of boiling water, melt the chocolate and butter until smooth.
- Turn off burner and leave the bowl over the water to keep warm.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the eggs, granulated sugar and brown sugar for 5 minutes.
- Turn the mixer to the lowest setting and slowly pour in the chocolate butter.
- Mix until just combined.
- Fold in the flour, salt, baking powder and vanilla extract.
- In a small bowl, microwave the marshmallow fluff for 10-20 seconds until warmed and thinned.
- Add a few tablespoons of marshmallow fluff to the batter and gently swirl.
- Use a cookie scoop to scoop three tablespoon dollops onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet leaving two inches of room between each cookie.
- Continue adding marshmallow fluff as need to create generous streaks.
- Bake at 350F for 11 minutes.
Notes
-
- Use 60% cacao or higher bittersweet chocolate: Chocolate with a high cacao will give these cookies a rich, chocolaty flavor and result in a smoother melt. Because we're adding sugar, we don't need to worry about the chocolate being bitter.
-
- Bringing cold eggs to room temperature quickly: If you need to bring your eggs to room temperature quickly for this recipe, fill a bowl with hot water from your tap and place the eggs in it for about 5 minutes.
-
- Whip the eggs/sugar for the full 5 minutes: This is the step that gives the cookies their crinkled brownie appearance so be sure to whip for the full 5 minutes.
-
- Scooping: Try to scoop the batter so that the marshmallow fluff is at the bottom of the scoop. This will ensure you get a nice visible swirl that will toast and that will keep it from sticking to the parchment which could potentially tear the cookie when it's moved.
-
- Fold in the dry ingredients: Once you whip the eggs and sugar, you want to minimize the amount of work the batter experiences so the eggs don't deflate.
-
- Storage: These cookies can be kept in an air tight container at room temperature for up to a week or frozen (I like to individually wrap mine in plastic wrap) for up to 6 months.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 192
- Sugar: 20.9g
- Sodium: 95mg
- Fat: 7.9g
- Saturated Fat: 4.9g
- Carbohydrates: 28.7g
- Fiber: 0.5g
- Protein: 2.3g
- Cholesterol: 40mg
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