Baby It’s Cold Outside! Hot Chocolate Cookies to Warm You

Hot chocolate calls to mind snowy skating rinks and cool Winter days, long bundled-up walks and evenings by a crackling fire. Rich and sweet, our Hot Chocolate Cookies wrap all those nostalgic memories into a tender scrumptious cookie that just might become your family’s favorite!

Gather Your Tools:

Measuring cups and spoons

Mixing bowls, medium and large

Mixer

Baking pan and cooling rack

Gather Your Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour

2/3 cup unsweetened Dutch process cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed

3/4 cup granulated sugar

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

2 large eggs

1 cup dark chocolate, coarsely chopped, if desired

Finishing sea salt, if desired

Get Ready to Bake:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. In medium mixing bowl, combine flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
3. In large mixing bowl, combine butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar and mix until combined on medium speed.
4. Add vanilla extract and eggs, one at a time, blending until smooth.
5. Add dry ingredients a little at a time and mix until just combined.
6. If desired, stir in semisweet chips and top with finishing sea salt.
7. Line baking pan with parchment paper. Drop cookies by the teaspoonful onto baking sheet, leaving two inches between them.
8. Bake in preheated oven for 8-10 minutes.
9. Remove baking pan to cooling rack. Allow cookies to cool on pan for 1 minute, then remove finished cookies to cooling rack.
10. Store finished cookies in airtight container.

Baker’s Bits: What goes well with hot chocolate? Marshmallows! Try spreading the underside of a cookie with fluffy marshmallow cream, seal with a second cookie, and roll edges in shaved chocolate, crushed peppermint, or even salty peanuts.