What’s better than a steaming cup of rich hot cocoa on a chilly Winter’s day? Hard to beat, but a Hot Cocoa Cookie Cup might just do it! These fun and decadent little cookie cups have all the elements of Hot Cocoa in cookie form and are a hit with adults and kids alike! They start with a rich and chewy dark chocolate cookie that’s baked into a cup shape with the help of a mini muffin tin, then cooled and filled with a soft rich chocolate ganache. The filling gets topped with a big old marshmallow, of course, (because it wouldn’t be hot cocoa without it) then drizzled with more chocolate ganache and finished off with sprinkles on top.
Delicious and decadent enough for adults yet full of kid friendly yumminess, this is the perfect cookie to satisfy those Wintertime hot cocoa cravings. And of course it goes perfectly with a cup of the real thing too!
Makes: 24 cookie cups with a 24 count mini muffin tin
Active Time: Approximately 40 minutes
Inactive Baking/Cooling Time: Approximately 20-30 minutes
Ingredients:
For chocolate cookie dough:
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened to
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup dark cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons espresso powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
For Chocolate Ganache:
- 1 cup good quality semisweet or dark chocolate chips or chopped baking chocolate (I like Ghiradelli or Trader Joe’s Large Chocolate Bars)
- 2/3 cup heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla or other preferred extract or 1 tablespoon liqueur of your choice (I like to use Kahlua!)
- 12 large marshmallows cut in half
Directions:
Make cookie dough:
Preheat oven to 350°F.
In a large bowl using a hand-held mixer or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter for 1 minute on medium speed until completely smooth and creamy. Add the granulated sugar and brown sugar and beat on medium high speed until fluffy and light in color. Beat in egg, vanilla and peppermint extracts on high speed. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.
In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, espresso powder, and salt together until combined. On low speed, slowly mix into the wet ingredients until combined. Stir in the white chocolate chips. Cover dough and chill.
Remove cookie dough from the refrigerator and allow to sit at room temperature for a few minutes until it’s easier to handle.
Break off pieces of dough and roll into approximately 1 inch balls. Press each ball into the bottom and up the sides of a non-stick mini muffin tin to form a cup.
Place in preheated oven and bake approximately 10 minutes.
Remove and press inside of cups down gently with a wooden dowel or back of a wooden spoon to reform the centers as they will have puffed up during baking. Let cool.
While cookie cups are baking make chocolate ganache:
Place chocolate chips or chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl and set aside.
Measure cream and pour into a small sauce pot.
Heat cream over medium heat until small bubbles appear around the edge of the pan and below the surface milk. You want to scald the milk but do not let it come to a boil or it will burn the chocolate.
Pour hot milk over the chocolate in the bowl making sure the chocolate is evenly covered.
Let stand about a minute, placing a lid over the top of the bowl of desired. You want to make sure the chocolate melts sufficiently before you start stirring so that you don’t end up with tiny unmelted pieces in your ganache.
Once chocolate has had a chance to sit under the cream and get melty, start stirring with whisk and continue stirring until mixture is smooth, dark, and shiny. Be gentle and don’t stir longer than you need to bring it together. This usually takes just a couple of minutes. Let the mixture sit a few minutes while the cookie cups are cooling. Don’t let it sit for hours as it will harden too much to pour into the cookie cups. You want it to be thickened and cooled slightly, yet still pourable.
Once cooled, remove cookie cups from the muffin tins carefully, running a butter knife gently around the inside edge of the cookies if needed to assist in separating top edges from the pan. Place on a piece of parchment or a platter.
Spoon a small amount of ganache into the base of each cookie cup-approximately 1 tablespoon or so. Place the halved jumbo marshmallow on top the ganache inside the cups and press down slightly. Drizzle the remaining ganache over the top of each cookie cup and top with sprinkles.
You can store these in a tightly sealed container at room temperature or in the fridge for 2 or 3 days. If keeping in the fridge be sure to let sit out at room temp to soften slightly before you serve them.
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