American

Peppermint Hot Cocoa Cookies From Tia Mowry

by:
November 27, 2020
2
4 Ratings
Peppermint Hot Cocoa Cookies From Tia Mowry
Photo by JAMES RANSOM. FOOD STYLIST: ANNA BILLINGSKOG. PROP STYLIST: AMANDA WIDIS.
  • Prep time 20 minutes
  • Cook time 12 minutes
  • makes 30 cookies
Author Notes

“I absolutely love the holidays and creating family traditions around them. I’m usually a big fan of making brownies for the season, but I wanted to switch it up this year and create a new tradition with my family. These peppermint hot cocoa cookies were inspired by my son Cree, who, like many kids, loves chocolate, cookies, and candy—so I put all three in one treat! And these are so easy, your little ones can help you make them, like Cree and I did together.

"I can’t wait to get in the kitchen this season to make these with my babies in our matching Christmas pajamas! And bonus: These cookies store and ship well, so we can send batches to our loved ones wherever they may be.

"Shipping cookies in a sturdy tin not only protects your cookies from crushing, but is an easy and festive way to present them as a gift. Wrap the cookies in plastic wrap or a resealable bag then wrap in a colored tissue paper. This stops the cookies from shifting around during their journey.” —Tia Mowry

—Food52

Test Kitchen Notes

These cookies are part of Recipes to Give & Share, a collection of perfectly packable holiday treats that we're sending to our loved ones this year. —The Editors

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • For cookie dough
  • 1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
  • 1/2 cup bittersweet chocolate chips
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 3 large eggs, at room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • For topping
  • 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
  • 1/2 cup bittersweet chocolate chips
  • 60 mini marshmallows
  • 1 cup crushed peppermint candies
Directions
  1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking mat.
  2. Place a saucepan filled with 2 inches of water over medium heat. Place heatproof bowl over saucepan, to create a double boiler. Add butter, sugar, 1 cup of semisweet chocolate chips, and ½ cup of bittersweet chocolate chips. Stir until melted and smooth.
  3. Remove from heat. Whisk in eggs and vanilla extract until fully incorporated. Using a rubber spatula, gently stir in the flour, salt, and cocoa, until just incorporated. Stir in remaining chocolate chips. Chill the dough for at least an hour before getting ready to portion it.
  4. Portion out one-tablespoon portions of dough and place onto a parchment-lined baking sheet, about 2 inches apart from one another. Flatten cookie dough, place 2 marshmallows in the center. Cover marshmallows with cookie dough and roll back into a ball. Slightly press down with fingertips. Let the dough chill again for another 30 minutes before baking off. (You can also fully freeze the portioned dough at this stage and bake the cookies when you're ready.)
  5. Bake for 9 to 12 minutes, until centers of cookies are still slightly soft. As soon as the cookies come out of the oven, lightly press crushed peppermint candies on top of the cookies and let them cool.
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  • oldgreenfarm
    oldgreenfarm
  • Terri Reynolds Allen
    Terri Reynolds Allen
  • Brinda Ayer
    Brinda Ayer
  • Tristan Anthony
    Tristan Anthony

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9 Reviews

oldgreenfarm
oldgreenfarm December 14, 2020
Recommendation: Make Dorie Greenspan's flawless World Peace Cookies and sink in some crushed peppermints while still soft. Skip the marshmallows.
 
karenwinslow1@yahoo.com
[email protected] December 15, 2020
Thank you for the suggestion . . . I will!
 
oldgreenfarm
oldgreenfarm December 15, 2020
Thanks for your reply, and happy holidays to you and yours Karen!
 
karenwinslow1@yahoo.com
[email protected] December 15, 2020
Hope you have a magical holiday!❄️❄️❄️
 
karenwinslow1@yahoo.com
[email protected] December 11, 2020
I agree the recipe needs to be rewritten to have the directions clarified. Listing the balance of the chocolate chips and the mini marshmallows as decorations is misleading. I viewed them as a selection of decorations that I could choose from, so chose not to get the mini marshmallows. Whereas, both the marshmallows and balance of the chocolate chips are meant to be included in the batter and tucked into the cookie prior to baking. The chocolate chips are not listed as a total in the primary ingredients, so it wasn't clear that there would be a need for additional chocolate chips to be added in later. Given this the recipe ingredients should read 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips, 1 cup bittersweet chocolate chips and 60 mini marshmallows. To my mind, the only decoration would be the candy canes.
The recipe seems a bit dry and dense ... I love the idea, but wonder if there is something missing from the overall recipe or a way to improve it.
 
Terri R.
Terri R. December 8, 2020
This recipe is a mess. It neglected to mention the dough must be chilled before baking. The peppermint topping melts into a mess. The flavors are good, but the recipe doesn't work and certainly does not look like the photo. Try again!
 
Brinda A.
Brinda A. December 9, 2020
Hi Terri, thanks so much for the feedback—we've retested the recipe with a special eye towards the feedback listed by the community here (thank you all!) and are confident it should work more reliably now.

Thanks!
 
siobhan
siobhan December 7, 2020
This was featured in Apple News and I do not recommend it at all. A sign of a bad recipe is when the instructions are incomplete. Noticed the instructions do not use the sugar, nor salt. Then, baking after adding the crushed candy cane does not work - they melt! Food52, you should delete or update. Thanks.
 
Tristan A.
Tristan A. December 7, 2020
it’s actually not totally their fault. they just copied and pasted what is on Tia Mowerys Quick Fix YT channel. it’s a year old and i don’t see a single comment talking about this glaring issue. the average home cook should be able to remedy this easily. just cream the sugar with the butter and salt, and add candy canes near the end when the dough is soft so they stick. i’ve never done candy canes in the oven for 12 min, so i can’t say whether it’s long enough to melt. anyway i honestly hope it was just an oversight during the filming, cuz otherwise i doubt the whole thing :/ Been watching tons of sister sister lately, so i was excited to see this, but now i’m kinda disappointed.