Hazelnut Hot Cocoa Cookies

Last year, before we had even started Clarks Condensed, I participated in a fun cookie swap — I was matched up with a few people I didn’t know, I sent them cookies, and then I got some in return! It was so much fun.

This year, I was even more excited that I was eligible to participate in the Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap. I saw different bloggers participating in it last year and I couldn’t wait for my chance! Everyone that participated donated $4 to Cookies for Kid’s Cancer, which is awesome cause, and I was more than happy to donate to.

I was sent cookies from three very lovely ladies — Becky from So Very Blessed (Dark Chocolate Orange-Cranberry Cookies), Melissa Barbakoff from The Baked Equation (Dark Chocolate Sugar Cookies), and Emily Bruno from Sweet Bellaroos (Peanut Butter M&M Cookies.) It was so fun to receive all the packages and see what delicious treats were sent to us!

If you’re a food blogger who missed out on this year, be sure to sign up for email notifications here so you can join in the fun next year!

So, for the cookies I made…I thought for weeks about what kind of cookies to make, and I finally decided to make hot cocoa cookies. I thought this was a really unique idea…but in the days and weeks after I made the first batch, I saw about a million hot cocoa cookie recipes out there. But that’s okay…because these are super delicious, too 🙂

If I’m being honest, the first batch was a disaster. They turned into a gooey mess all across my cookie sheet, and turned into more of a cookie brittle…which,  honestly, tasted pretty good, but there was no way I could send it! So, back to the drawing board I went. This time, the cookies turned out great…BUT you have to not overcook them. If you do, they’ll be kind of hard, and not as delicious. I found that 8-9 minutes was the perfect amount of time to make them perfect, and chewy.

Especially when dipped in hot cocoa!

I used peppermint extract, which gave them a nice, delicious flavor, and the hazelnut hot cocoa…oh man, SO good. You can really use any flavor, but I highly recommend Stephen’s Hazelnut Hot Cocoa. I think it really made these cookies just a titch better than they would have with just plain hot chocolate! And finally, these would not have been the same without the milk chocolate chips. But, isn’t everything better with chocolate chips?!

Continue to Content

Hazelnut Hot Cocoa Cookies

Yield: 20 cookies

Print

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup hazelnut hot cocoa
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon peppermint extract
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 3/4 cup flour
• 1 cup milk chocolate chips

Instructions

1. Cream butter and sugar until smooth, and then add hot cocoa. Mix well.
2. Add eggs and peppermint to the mixture, and beat again.
3. Add salt, baking soda, and flour and mix until everything is combined.
4. Add chocolate chips and mix one more time
5. Let cookie dough chill about 30 minutes in the refrigerator.
6. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
7. On a greased cookie sheet, place tablespoons full of cookie dough about 1 1/2 inches apart.
8. Bake for 8-9 minutes. Cookies will still appear soft when taken out of the oven. Let cool for about 5 minutes on the pan, and then transfer to cooling rack.