These marshmallow-surprise hot cocoa cookies start with a soft and chewy chocolate cookie made even richer from a helping of hot cocoa mix. Topped with a gooey marshmallow smothered in melted chocolate, they’re like a marshmallow-filled hot chocolate bomb, in cookie form!
One reader, Veronica, commented: “These might be tied for first place for my all-time favorite cookie recipe (the other being your salted dark chocolate cookies!). I love anything marshmallow, and these came out SO good—rich and chocolatey with the marshmallow still soft and chewy in the middle. I made a single batch to test it out—I’ll definitely be making another batch for the holidays! ★★★★★“
My children love those hot chocolate bombs you see in the grocery stores around the holidays, a melt-away chocolate shell filled with marshmallows and hot cocoa mix, which transforms a mug of hot milk into sweet hot chocolate with marshmallows before their eyes. Because is there really anything more delightful than a surprise-inside chocolatey treat?
Today’s cookies are like the chewable equivalent of that experience. Now you can have your hot chocolate… and eat it, too!
Why You’ll Love These Cookies:
- Hot cocoa flavor in the extra chewy cookies
- Rich and chocolatey in every bite
- Cookies stay soft for days
- Gooey marshmallow hidden under a layer of melted chocolate
- Like the cookie equivalent of a mug of hot cocoa, or a hot chocolate bomb!
There are a few different parts to these fun cookies, so let me break it down first:
- Make the cookie dough and chill.
- Shape and bake the cookies.
- Place half a marshmallow on each cookie and return to the oven for 2 minutes.
- Melt chocolate and spoon over the marshmallow.
Start With the Hot Cocoa Cookie Dough
Have you ever used hot cocoa powder in cookie dough? I have a recipe in my book, Sally’s Cookie Addiction, for hot cocoa cookies. Today’s recipe isn’t quite the same, because I wanted to create an almost brownie-like cookie. The dough is similar to what I use when I make these Andes mint chocolate cookies, and overall, is pretty similar to my chocolate crinkle cookies, too.
Here’s what you need:
Unsweetened natural cocoa powder is ideal and if you’re interested in learning more, here’s my page all about Dutch-Process vs Natural Cocoa Powder. Cocoa is a very drying ingredient, so don’t leave out the 2 teaspoons of milk in the recipe. Any milk, dairy or nondairy, is fine.
For the hot cocoa mix: You can use pretty much any kind, but take a lesson from me and avoid the kind with mini marshmallows in the mix. Make sure you’re using the dry mix, and not liquid hot cocoa; the mix acts as a dry ingredient in the dough.
Success Tip: Chill The Cookie Dough
I’m a broken record again today repeating that you must chill this cookie dough for at least 2 hours (and up to 3 days). Make the dough, place it in the refrigerator, and go about your day. Or if you’re whipping up a few different kinds of cookies for your holiday platters, use the time to make a no-chill recipe like shortbread cookies or spritz cookies.
The dough is pretty sticky right after it comes together. After refrigerating, though, the dough firms up and is much easier to handle and shape.
Roll the dough into balls. Each dough ball should be a heaping Tablespoon of dough, about 25-26g. Arrange on lined baking sheets:
Add the Marshmallow
Bake the cookies for 10 minutes, then remove them from the oven and lightly press half a marshmallow into the top of each cookie. (Tip: Using kitchen shears is the easiest way to cut sticky marshmallows in half.)
Return the cookies to the oven for another 2 minutes, just enough time to slightly melt the marshmallow. When you remove the marshmallow-topped cookies from the oven, lightly press the tops of the marshmallows down with the back of a spoon to flatten them out a bit.
Chocolate Topping
While the cookies cool, melt the chocolate for topping. For melting chocolate, I always recommend using pure chocolate baking bars, typically found in the baking aisle in 4-ounce (113g) bars, such as Ghirardelli or Baker’s brands. You can use semi-sweet, bittersweet, or milk chocolate. I don’t recommend using chocolate chips because they contain stabilizers, which prevent them from melting into the correct consistency. (Save them for a batch of chocolate chip cookies!)
Spoon the melted chocolate over the tops of the cookies, to cover the marshmallows. The melted chocolate will set in about 30-60 minutes, and then you can stack, store, and transport them.
If you really want to go overboard with dessert (don’t we all?), serve the cookies with homemade slow cooker hot chocolate. Cheers!
P.S. You can do the same exact thing (marshmallow and chocolate topping) on these peanut butter cookies for a peanut butter s’mores-style cookie.
This recipe is part of my annual cookie countdown called Sally’s Cookie Palooza. It’s the biggest, most delicious event of the year! Browse dozens of cookie recipes over on the Sally’s Cookie Palooza page.
Marshmallow-Surprise Hot Cocoa Cookies
- Prep Time: 2 hours, 40 minutes (includes chilling)
- Cook Time: 12 minutes
- Total Time: 3 hours
- Yield: 20–22 cookies
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
These marshmallow-surprise hot cocoa cookies start with a soft chocolate cookie made even richer from a helping of hot cocoa mix. Be sure to use dry hot cocoa powder, and not a liquid beverage. Top with a marshmallow and melted chocolate. Don’t forget to refrigerate the cookie dough for at least 2 hours.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (8 Tbsp; 113g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup (100g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 and 1/2 cups (188g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1/3 cup (27g) natural unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/4 cup (40g) dry hot cocoa mix
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons (10ml) milk (any kind, dairy or nondairy, is fine)
Topping
- 10–11 large marshmallows, cut in half
- 8 ounces (226g) semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped (see Note)
Instructions
- In a large bowl using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar together on medium high speed until fluffy and light in color, about 3 minutes. (Here’s a helpful tutorial if you need guidance on how to cream butter and sugar.) Add the egg and vanilla extract, and then beat on high speed until combined. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, cocoa powder, hot cocoa mix, baking soda, and salt together until combined. Add the dry ingredients to the bowl with the wet ingredients. Beat on low until combined. The cookie dough will be quite thick. Finally, beat in the milk. The cookie dough will be thick and sticky.
- Cover dough tightly and chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours and up to 3 days. Chilling is imperative for this sticky cookie dough.
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside.
- Remove cookie dough from the refrigerator. Scoop and roll dough, a heaping 1 Tablespoon (about 25-26g) each, into balls. Arrange 2–3 inches apart on the baking sheets.
- Bake the cookies for just 10 minutes. Remove the cookies from the oven and lightly press a marshmallow half into the tops of each cookie, cut side down. Return them to the oven and bake for 2 more minutes. Remove from the oven and, using the back of a spoon, gently press down on the marshmallow to slightly flatten it out.
- Cool cookies on the baking sheet for 10 minutes, and then transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Melt the chocolate: You can melt the chocolate in a double boiler or the microwave. If using the microwave, place the chopped chocolate in a medium heat-proof bowl. Microwave for 20-second increments, stirring after each increment until completely melted and smooth. Spoon melted chocolate over each cooled marshmallow-topped cookie. (When covering with melted chocolate, I usually put the cookies back on a baking sheet, or you can just keep them on the wire rack.) Chocolate sets at room temperature in 30-60 minutes. Once chocolate has set, you can stack, store, transport, and gift the cookies.
- Cover leftover cookies tightly and store at room temperature for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: You can make the cookie dough and chill it in the refrigerator for up to 3 days (step 3). Unbaked cookie dough balls freeze well for up to 3 months. Read my tips and tricks on how to freeze cookie dough. Baked and cooled cookies freeze well for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature. Keep in mind that after thawing, the chocolate may look streaky on top, or have condensation on the surface. Still fine to eat!
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Glass Mixing Bowl | Whisk | Baking Sheets | Silicone Baking Mats or Parchment Sheets | Kitchen Shears | Cooling Rack | Double Boiler (optional for melting chocolate)
- Larger Batch: The recipe is easy to double in 1 mixing bowl without overwhelming your mixer. Simply double all of the cookie dough ingredients. Extend the cookie dough chilling time to at least 3 hours.
- Natural Cocoa Powder: Do you know the difference between natural cocoa powder and dutch-process cocoa powder? Use natural cocoa powder in this dough. Unsweetened cocoa powder weighs less than dry hot cocoa mix, so that is why you see the weights so different.
- Hot Cocoa Mix: Be sure to use the dry hot cocoa mix, and not liquid hot cocoa. 1/4 cup (about 40g) is usually 1 standard packet. I usually use milk chocolate, but any kind works. Avoid the hot cocoa mix that has the little marshmallows in it. If you do not have hot cocoa mix, skip it entirely and increase the cocoa powder to 1/2 cup (45g).
- Chocolate: The best chocolate for melting and drizzling is the “baking chocolate” bars found in the baking aisle of the grocery store. I typically use Baker’s or Ghirardelli brands, either semi-sweet, bittersweet, or milk chocolate if you can find it. They are usually sold as 4-ounce bars, so you’ll need 2 for this recipe. Do not use chocolate chips because they contain stabilizers, which prevent them from melting into the correct consistency.
- Be sure to check out my top 5 cookie baking tips AND these are my 10 must-have cookie baking tools.
Reader Comments and Reviews
I have made these cookies a few times and they’re a huge hit! I was wondering if you had any tips on how to prevent them from spreading too thin as they bake in the oven?
Hi Maddie, we’re sorry to hear that your cookies over-spread! There are a lot of factors that could cause this. It may be that you need to add an extra Tbsp or 2 of flour to the dough next time. Here are our best tips to prevent cookie spreading–this should help for next time. Thank you for giving this recipe a try!
I have bookmarked this recipe for quite some time now and had the chance to try it a few days ago. My husband and daughter loved them.
I made these to go with her slow cooker hot chocolate and oh my everyone at the party loved them! Thanks for these amazing recipes!
I am going to be making my cookies tomorrow looking forward to it. I’ll comment if it’s nice
Thank you for posting this recipe. It turned out great! I used Hershey special dark chocolate and packets of Swiss Miss dark hot chocolate because that is what I had on hand. It was a Dutch processed cocoa so I omitted the baking soda and added two teaspoons of baking powder instead. The cookies have a rich chocolatey flavor that works well with the sweetness of the marshmallow. The dough was very thick so I rolled it into balls for baking. The recipe is a keeper.
Is there anything I can do if I only have Dutch process cocoa powder? I am about to bake these and just noticed that in the notes 🙁
Hi Alicia! Since this recipe uses baking soda you want a natural cocoa powder. You could try using baking powder instead with Dutch processed cocoa powder, but switching between the two would take some recipe testing for us to be confident in the amount of baking powder you would need, and the flavor of dutch/alkalized cocoa is different from natural. If you’re interested in more about the differences between the two, you might find this post helpful: Dutch-process Vs Natural Cocoa Powder.
Would small/ mini marshmallows work?
Hi Julie, some readers have reported success with using 3-4 mini marshmallows instead. Enjoy!
These cookies are AMAZING. SO GOOD! I make your chocolate chip cookies (also amazing), and people are constantly requesting them. I decided to mix it it up and make these, and everyone lost their minds over them!!!!
They are super easy to make, except for chopping the chocolate (a job I’ve always hated). Is there an easy, less messy shortcut for finely chopped chocolate?
Hi Donna, we’re so glad they were a hit! We haven’t found a workaround for chopping chocolate, but let us know if you discover any good tips/tricks.
my mom would freeze the chocolate then put it in a freezer ziploc and beat it with a mallet or rolling pin and it would basically shatter. you can always run it over with a knife after if you really wanted but getting a big chunk of chocolate in the middle of a cookie was a nice surprise tbh
I make these every year but usually don’t freeze dough balls. Other recipes of yours indicate if you need to add baking time or have them warm up on counter for awhile before baking, but I don’t see that for this one. Gonna wing it today, but maybe you could add that to directions please!!
Hi Kelly, you can bake this dough right from frozen (no need to thaw first) and bake time should be about the same—maybe just a minute or so longer. Keep a close eye on them!
These were amazing!! Fairly simple to make and my whole family loved them.
I happened to find a lonely pouch of Ghirardelli peppermint hot cocoa in my pantry, no marshmallows. I wonder… can I use this for the recipe? Thanks!
Absolutely!
I didn’t realize the cocoa I used was Dutch process and not natural (I didn’t realize there was a difference until now honestly) my dough is chilling now. Will this impact the cookies much?
Hi Laura! Since this recipe uses baking soda you want a natural cocoa powder, but we would definitely still bake the cookies – they may turn out just fine.
I made these for the first time for my cookie trays this year. The recipe is straightforward and I had no difficulty making them. Do not be psyched out by the marshmallow. I used 4 mini marshmallows and they worked just as well! Many compliments as Sally’s recipes typically get.
The cookies taste absolutely delicious and were a breeze to make with Sally’s detailed instructions. However, the instructions do not include steps for tempering the chocolate, which results in a bloom forming within a couple of days. The bloom doesn’t change the taste at all, but it sure makes them look far less appetizing… Someone who doesn’t know what a chocolate bloom is could easily mistake it for mold! This would be a 5-star recipe if the chocolate topping was properly tempered and the cookies kept their beautiful look.
If I double or triple the recipe, do I double/triple the leavening agent (baking soda in this case)?
Hi Roberta! Cookie recipes usually double or triple well (as long as your mixer can handle the volume) by multiplying the ingredients.
Another amazing recipe by Sally. I made these cookies tonight and follow her recipe exactly. The cookies came out amazing. The marshmallows are gooey and pull apart nicely when you bite into the cookie. Love and will make again!!
I made these tonight for the first time and added a bit of peppermint extract to the chocolate topping. I like the chewy chocolate cookie and they taste so festive. Can’t wait to give them as gifts to neighbors and my son’s teacher ❤️
I hope this isn’t written and I missed this….what kind of hot cocoa mix to use? Some already have milk powder in them and you just add water and some you make by adding milk. Does it matter which kind in this recipe? Which did you use to develop? Thank you!
Hi Sue, You can use pretty much any kind, just avoid the kind with mini marshmallows in the mix. Hope you enjoy the cookies!
So easy and perfect for our church bake sale!
Always appreciate your notes and special tips, Sally.
So easy and perfect for our church bake sale!
Always appreciate your notes and special tips, Sally.
Hello! Can this recipe be doubled or do you recommend making two batches?
Hi Michi, you can double this recipe, yes.
Hi Lexi, I just re-read the recipe and of course you state that ther ecipe can be doubled. DUH! Sorry for not reading! 😉
If you like chocolate these cookies are for you. They remind me of mallomars from when I was a kid. Followed directions (I never stray much from Sally) but I used vegan marshmallows. I feel like they take longer to soften so I cut them in thirds. This worked perfectly. We added some holiday sprinkles from Trader Joe’s and I’m bringing them to a cookie swap. Fun cookie.
Thanks Sally, another amazing cookie recipe! I do have 1 question, no matter how long I refrigerate dough I think they spread a little to much. After I roll them, I place them back in the fridge for 20-30 minutes before baking. It seems to be the theme for all my cookies this year. They still taste fantastic!!
Hi Tanya, there are many factors that can cause over-spreading, so it’s hard to know exactly what’s the culprit in your case, but chilling them after rolling is definitely the right thing to do to help prevent it. You could also try adding an extra Tbsp or 2 of flour to your doughs, if you’re finding that this is an issue every time. It could be that the particular brand of flour and/or butter you use has slightly different properties than the ones we use to test these cookies. For example, King Arthur Flour has a slightly higher protein content than other brands, and some butter has a slightly higher butterfat percentage… as much as we test and re-test our recipes, there’s no guarantee they can be perfectly replicated in someone else’s kitchen with different brands of ingredients and a different oven! This post with tips to prevent cookies from over-spreading will be helpful to review, too. Glad you still love these cookies!
Holy cow these are good. Followed the recipe precisely and could not be more pleased with the results. (I used Starbucks cocoa mix and Hershey’s cocoa powder.) So rich, chocolatey, and chewy with the marshmallow surprise. Thank you, Sally!
Do the marshmallows get hard after baking everything and putting the chocolate on it or did they stay soft?
Such a popular cookie that I ran out of them in an hour! I made and chilled the dough one day and baked the next day. I cut the dough into 24 cubes and rolled them into dough balls. I smashed up candy canes and sprinkled them on the marshmallows after baking. Then for 1/2 of the cookies, I used melted Ghirardelli peppermint chocolate for the icing. Total awesomeness. I’ll make this cookie again and again. Thank you!!
I have made these a couple of times now, and they turn out well each time. An instant holiday baking classic. The first time I made them, I didnt’ have enough chocolate to full cover the marshmallows so I just did a drizzle and it was quite pretty, with the marshmallow still peeking through. Also fun to add lots of festive sprinkles!
Can these cookies be frozen after they are baked?
Hi Connie, Baked and cooled cookies freeze well for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature. Keep in mind that after thawing, the chocolate may look streaky on top, or have condensation on the surface. Still fine to eat!
These cookies makes me believe I can actually bake cookies. They came out fantastic! I’m an avid bread/pastry baker but for some reason I can never get a great cookie – until these! They came out exactly like the picture and tastes delicious. Will be making again!
I have loved every recipe I’ve made; I’m a precise baker – always by weight. While these cookies taste good; they fell flat (aka no rise) I used natural cocoa, followed instructions exactly but they were just flat and chewy 🙁