If you love a nice mug of hot cocoa, then you are going to absolutely adore these Hot Cocoa Cookies. Made with hot cocoa mix, they truly taste like hot chocolate!
With the addition of dehydrated mini marshmallows, you have all the flavor of hot chocolate in these delicious hot cocoa cookies! These make the perfect addition to your Christmas Cookie baking and holiday cookie exchanges!
On a recent trip to Target a new product jumped into my cart…
(2020 – Update: Unfortunately it seems Mallow Bits are very hard to find in stores year. Any freeze dried marshmallows will work. They are easy to find online, though in store can be a bit harder. Check by your hot chocolate area. Also, some brands such as ChocoMaker are now selling what appear to be identical marshmallows as sprinkles, so check the sprinkle isle.
2017 – Fun update, a few months after I shared this post back in 2012, the folks at Kraft reached out to me, and a few months later after much testing on in the Kraft Kitchens, this cookie recipe appeared on the actual Jet-Puffed Mallow Bits container, as well as some of the Swiss Miss Cocoa containers. You can still find it there today!)
Kraft Marshmallow “Mallow Bits”. Clearly I had to buy some. They were available in both vanilla and peppermint, and were on the end of an isle, where all the products you can’t find seem to reside.
While I’m sure they would be great to eat out of the container for lunch, I decided I would work them into a recipe. Hot chocolate cookies sounded like fun.
Hot Cocoa Cookies
The Mallow Bits can be a bit (no pun intended) hard to find. Check both the marshmallow area and the hot cocoa/coffee isle. More often than not I find them with the hot cocoa.
But if you can’t find those, or you like to have things in mass quantities, there is always Amazon. You can get a pack of the Mallow Bits or a different brand of dehydrated marshmallows.
I have to admit, I wasn’t expecting anything spectacular from these cookies.
I mean the only difference from a regular cookie is swapping the cocoa powder for hot chocolate mix – no biggie.
Well surprise surprise, these were GREAT.
Both my daughter and a friend of ours agreed – while they knew they’d be good, they ended up being much better than expected. Woohoo! Here’s how to make them… 
RECIPE FOR COOKIES MADE WITH HOT CHOCOLATE MIX
Hot Cocoa Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter softened
- 1 cup sugar
- 2/3 cup brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 3 1/4 cups flour
- 4 packages Hot Chocolate Mix not sugar free - or 3/4 cups
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 cup chocolate chips
- 1 cup Marshmallow Bits*
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a mixing bowl, mix butter until light and fluffy. Add in sugars and mix until well combined. Add eggs and vanilla, mixing until just combined.
- Combine dry ingredients in a bowl and stir to combine. Add to wet ingredients and stir to combine.
- Scoop onto baking sheets lined with silicone baking mats or parchment paper, approximately 2-3 tablespoons of dough per scoop, and bake for approximately 9-11 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool at least ten minutes prior to transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Disclaimer
Nutrition information is estimated as a courtesy. If using for medical purposes, please verify information using your own nutritional calculator. Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Carrie says
Followed recipe to a T . My cookies went completely flat! I’d post a picture if I could.
Christi Johnstone says
You likely want to double check your hot cocoa mix and make sure it comes out to 3/4 of a cup. With so many products containing less in the packages, that can throw off a recipe. Also if you do not have an oven thermometer, it’s a great thing to pick up at the store for around $5. My first indication my last oven was off was cookies going flat. I didn’t notice an issue with most recipe, but cookies all kept going flat. After getting an oven thermometer I realized that my oven was swinging almost 20 degrees in both directions, which will absolutely impact cookies. Hope that helps!
Anonymous says
This recipe actually sucks. I followed all the steps and got all the right ingredients and my cookies completely melted into a super thin layer of burnt crispy charcoal. Very disappointed.
Christi Johnstone says
That’s a shame. Kraft Kitchens tested it extensively and liked it enough to put it on the container of their Mallow Bits, and have kept it there for the past 7+ years. Additionally it’s been wildly popular with readers with thousands of them not just making the recipe, but also sharing photos of it. I’d maybe double check your measuring, ingredients and oven temperature. An oven that is having thermostat issues can absolutely flatten cookies – I’ve had it happen myself. An inexpensive oven thermometer (can find at the grocery store) can be an indispensable tool in the kitchen. It certainly sounds like something is off, because when made as written, and baked accordingly, that won’t be the result. I don’t think they’d be “crispy charcoal” even if baked twice as long as indicated. Make sure you aren’t broiling your cookies! 🙂
regan says
I made this with my mom and it was so good! i recommend this any day
11 year old girl says
My dough was a little dry so, I added a splash of milk and, I also used normal mini marshmallows. They smelled SO GOOD! The hot chocolate flavor came through into the cookies really well! I will make these again!!!!
Camille says
These cookies are easily one of my absolute favorite! They’re fairly simply but so yummy! I swapped the butter for canola oil 1:1. Instead of regular chocolate chips, I tried these with white chocolate and they were still amazing. I omit the Mallow Bits and add a few mini marshmallows to the tops of the cookies when they’re almost done baking to get them a little gooey, but not too much. Perfect! Thanks for the incredible recipe!
Nnely says
Apologies, it is JET-PUFF brand, I just looked at the bottle but remembered all the blue on the bottle.
Nnely says
I randomly found some in Publix. I was in baking or hot chocolate section. It was the jif brand for less than $1.50 where I live. On the top shelf. In a cylinder plastic bottle.
julianna says
yes, normal marshmallows work!
John says
Amazon stores have them
Taylor says
I can’t find dehydrated marshmallows near me at all and if I order them, they won’t be here for another week and we’re making Christmas cookies Friday. Can I just use mini marshmallows? I know it won’t be the same, but I’m wondering if they would work too