Small Batch Hot Cocoa Brownie Cookies

Yield: 6 hot cocoa brownie cookies // Total Time: 25 min. // Disclaimer: This post includes affiliate links. //

Fudge brownie cookies filled with chocolate chips and swirled with a generous amount of marshmallow creme.

Small batch hot cocoa brownie cookies

It’s holiday cookie time and what’s more fitting for the cold holiday season than hot cocoa cookies? More specifically, hot cocoa brownie cookies! These are super fudgy and swirled with a very generous amount of marshmallow creme. Small batch as usual so you can expect to get 6 medium-sized cookies out of this recipe! Below you’ll find all the tips and tricks you’ll need to make these delicious small batch hot cocoa brownie cookies.

Recipe tips

Weigh your ingredients

• Weighing your ingredients is important for getting the recipe perfect and getting consistent results. Not weighing your ingredients can lead to adding too much or too little of an ingredient and can easily throw off a recipe. If you haven’t already, I highly recommend purchasing a kitchen scale. This one is super cheap and worked well for me when I was starting out!

Mix the dough carefully

• When adding in the flour, only fold the mixture just until no flour streaks remain. Overmixing the dough leads to more gluten formation, which can make the cookies super tough and chewy.

Underbake for perfect cookies

• Cookies continue baking after they have been taken out of the oven. If you used a 3 tbsp. cookie scoop & use an oven thermometer, these will be ready to take out at the 10 minute mark!

Get those perfectly crackled brownie tops

• The secret to getting those perfectly crackled tops is actually quite simple! All you need to do is whisk together the eggs and sugar to get them nice, light and fluffy prior to adding them to the rest of the brownie batter. Whipping up the eggs and sugar brings more air into the batter, which after baking collapses, forming that perfectly crackled top.

Make your chocolate more chocolatey

• Did you know there’s a way to get even more chocolate flavor out of your cocoa powder? This little trick is my favorite way to add more flavor to my chocolate recipes! The trick is to “bloom” your cocoa. Blooming the cocoa means you mix it with a hot liquid and let it sit before adding it to your baked goods. Doing so releases the cocoa powder particles from a very thin membrane on them, exposing cocoa solids and bringing out more flavor. In this recipe, we do that by mixing the cocoa with the hot butter and chocolate mixture. If you want to know more about cocoa powder and the different types available, you can read my blog post all about it here.

Cookie scooting

• The secret to perfectly round cookies? It’s cookie scooting! Right when the cookies come out of the oven, take a bowl, cup, or biscuit cutter that is just slightly larger than your cookies and place it over one of the cookies. Gently swirl the bowl around the cookie to make the cookie perfectly round (and slightly thicker). And that’s all there is to it!

Ingredients and substitutions

Semi sweet chocolate chips: We will use these to melt into the dough for the brownie base. You can certainly use a semi sweet chocolate baking bar, just note that the crackled top will not be as prevalent and the cookies will most likely spread to be more thin. We’ll use a bit of chocolate chips to melt in the batter and a bit as a mix-in.

Unsalted butter: for tenderizing the cookies. You can use salted butter in it’s place, just be sure to omit the added salt.

Granulated sugar: for texture, helping form that crackled top & locking in moisture.

Egg white: for moisture and for binding the dough together. The egg white and sugar will interact to help form the crackled top as well!

Natural unsweetened cocoa powder: for that classic hot cocoa flavor.

All purpose flour: for structure and chewiness.

Baking powder: for making the cookies rise and be thick!

Baking soda: reacts with the brown sugar to help the cookies rise.

Salt: helps to bring out and balance the sweetness of the cookies.

Marshmallow creme: for marshmallow goodness in every bite!

How to: small batch hot cocoa brownie cookies

Here are the steps to follow to make these cookies. You can find the complete recipe (which is printable!) at the end of this blog post.

1. Melt the butter and chocolate. In a small microwave-safe bowl, melt together the butter and chocolate in 30-second intervals, stirring after each interval. Mix together until smooth, then immediately mix in the cocoa powder and set aside.

2. Whip up the egg white and sugar. This step is super important in getting that classic and desirable brownie crinkle top. It seems excessive, but you’re going to need to beat the egg white and sugar together vigorously for 2 minutes until the mixture is light and fluffy.

3. Mix together. Add the melted butter mixture to the whipped egg and mix until combined.

4. Add in the dry ingredients. Add in your flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Use a rubber spatula to fold the ingredients until only a few flour streaks remain, then gently mix in the chocolate chips.

5. Fold in the marshmallow. Heat the marshmallow creme in 10-second intervals until it loosens up. Add it into your brownie cookie batter, then gently fold it around into the batter, making sure you leave big streaks of marshmallow in the dough

6. Bake. Use a medium sized cookie scoop (~3 tbsp.) to dish out the cookies evenly spaced apart on a lined baking tray. Melt some more marshmallow creme to drizzle over the cookie dough, then bake.

7. Get perfect cookies. Once the cookies come out of the oven, I recommend “scooting” them. This just means take a bowl, cup, or biscuit cutter that is slightly larger than the cookie, place it on top of the cookie, and swirl the bowl around to make the cookie a little more round.

8. Serve and enjoy! Enjoy on their own or with a nice mug of hot chocolate!

Small batch hot cocoa brownie cookies Q & A

Can I double this recipe?

• Of course! Obviously they will not be small batch anymore but small batch isn’t always what we need! I even more strongly recommend measuring by weight if you are going to double the recipe for the best results.

Can I make these cookies ahead of time?

• You certainly *could* make the dough ahead of time, but I wouldn’t really recommend it. I’ve found that when you chill the dough, you don’t get that crackled top anymore.

How should I store these cookies?

• These cookies will taste the best on the day that they are baked, but can be kept in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Why do you measure in grams?

My recipes are all written in grams because it is the most accurate way to bake. When you use a kitchen scale, you ensure that your baked goods turn out as close to the written recipe as possible. Plus, the cleanup is way easier when using a scale! I will provide standard cup measurements but please note that I have not tested the recipe using cup measurements and therefore can not guarantee your recipe will come out how mine did. Here is my favorite kitchen scale, and here’s an article about why I use a kitchen scale, and why you should too!

A note on oven temperature

Ovens vary and fluctuate in temperature. For example, I always have to set my oven to 330°F if I want it to bake at 350°F. If you love to bake like I do, I highly recommend getting an oven thermometer. They are super helpful for letting you know when your oven might be lying to you! I use this one.

Tools and ingredients

You can find all my favorite tools and ingredients that I use on my Amazon Storefront page, here!