Hot Cocoa Cookies

The weather outside is frightful. 

Not delightful.

Not even a bit.

I feel like I'm living in a tundra.  I mean, I know I'm definitely not living in the Florida Keys by any stretch, but still.  I thought Mother Nature would, at least, ease herself into winter,  Unfortunately, she'd rather tease us with sun and sixty-degree weather before blowing us away with snow and wind.  Not to mention the fact that the shortened days make me feel like a vampire, constantly living in the black of 
night. 

Don't get me wrong:  I love wintertime.  Snow.  Boots.  Scarves,  Hot food.  Hot drinks.  Cuddling to stay warm.  All things that top my list of favorite things.  But storms?  Eh, not so much.  Even hearing words like "whiteout" and "wind chill factor" make me cringe.  I want the perfect Christmas-time snowfall that can be pleasantly enjoyed either in or near a warm and cozy home.  Preferably, one with a stoked fire.

One thing I do crave during stormy weather is my mom's hot chocolate.  Made from scratch, it's something that really only makes an appearance when we remember to make it.  It's not a tradition, but thinking about it now, it probably should be.  It's more of a notion we come across whenever we got snowed in and had nothing today.  Especially when the power went out, and our only cooking surface was a woodstove.  After a few hours of boredom, we'd get hungry and race through all of the perishable foods.  It was in that moment we'd request hot chocolate to wash our dinner down with.  I can still remember the jumbo marshmallows we dunked in our mugs since we never thought to buy a bag of miniatures.  Once the power came back on, it was all over until the next major storm hit.

When I saw these cookies, they instantly brought to mind those memories of my childhood.  After I finsihed baking, I went to do a little taste-testing.  Obviously.  I felt like I was a kid again, home on a school day and stuck inside while the snow pelted the side of my house ferociously. 

And, I'm not ashamed to say that I washed these cookies down with a mug of my mom's delicious hot cocoa! 

Double the chocolate.  Double the marshmallowy goodness.

These will definitely scare away the wintertime blues for a little while!

Hot Cocoa Cookies

(adapted from Everyday with Rachael Ray via Pip & Ebby)

2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 stick butter

1 1/2 cups flour

1/4 cup instant hot cocoa mix (can also use cocoa powder)

1 cup sugar

1 tsp baking powder

3 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp salt

2 chocolate candy barsJumbo marshmallows

Microwave butter and chocolate chips together until smooth.  

Combine the flour, cocoa, sugar, baking powder and salt in a bowl.  Add eggs, one at a time, and mix with a beater.  Add the melted chocolate mixture and beat on medium until smooth.

Refrigerate the dough for at least two hours.

Preheat oven 350F.

Use an ice cream scoop to separate dough into balls.  Roll dough into 1" balls.  Place on a greased cookie sheet and flatten into thick discs.  

Bake 10 minutes.

Remove from oven and place 1 chocolate candy bar square on top of each cookie.  Place a 1/2 jumbo marshmallow on top of the cookie.  Return to oven and bake an additional 5 minutes.

Cool completely before serving.




Listening to:   Fiona Apple - Criminal