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Sweet Vanilla Hot Chocolate Molten Cookies. Homemade chocolate cookies that taste just like your favorite mug of creamy vanilla hot chocolate! These cookies, similar to a lava cookie, are made with real vanilla extract, semi-sweet chocolate chips, cocoa powder, and the real secret – big chunks of dark chocolate. A light sprinkle of sea salt after baking makes them perfect. When eaten warm, the puddles of chocolate melt into every inch of the cookie, making each cookie melt in your mouth. So delicious. And not too sweet, but just sweet enough. They’re the perfect holiday cookie to bake, share, and gift this holiday season!
It’s finally here!! It’s time for all the holiday cookies!! And you all, I’ve been baking cookies for days. Between these cookies, the recipe I hope to share on Friday, and then the cookie box, it’s been one sweet cookie after another.
I’m not complaining; it’s been fun, and I’m excited to share each recipe with you all. Since I’m working on getting the cookie box posted relatively soon, I’ve been testing sweet recipes daily and even at night.
I love holiday baking, but it can be a lot of work! These hot cocoa cookies took a few days to perfect, but they were worth it – so excited to share!
The one thing about these cookies versus other hot chocolate cookies is that I nixed the marshmallows. But I promise you will not miss them. These are delicious hot cocoa cookies!
I took the idea from the nightly mugs of hot chocolate I make for Asher this time of year. She has a routine of showing up once it’s dark while my dad and I clean the studio. Her one request is a mug of steamy cocoa. She picks out her favorite Christmas mug, and then I make her the simplest hot cocoa. It’s perfect.
These cookies have everything in them that I use in Asher’s hot chocolate!
Details
Step 1:
Melt together the butter and chocolate chunks; the mixture will be thick.
Step 2: finish the cookie dough in the bowl of a stand mixer
Next, using an electric mixer, whisk the eggs up in a separate bowl with the sugar. This is the secret to the melt-in-your-mouth chocolate cookie. You have to use room-temperature eggs and really whisk them until you see plenty of bubbles on top.
You’ll notice I’m using a lot of vanilla, two tablespoons. The vanilla provides the cookies with a really nice flavor that can stand up to all the chocolate.
Now add the dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, and salt.
Step 3: the chocolate chunks
I use a large 6.3-ounce bar of dark chocolate.
Chop the bar into rather large chunks. The bigger chunks melt into puddles throughout the cookies. So yummy, trust me.
Step 4: freeze
Roll the dough into decently-sized balls. This is a sticky dough, so using a cookie scoop or a smaller ice cream scoop is easiest for this dessert.
Freeze the dough balls on the cookie sheet until firm. Don’t skip this step. You want the dough to be chilled so the cookies will bake nicely. This only requires 15 to 30 minutes in the freezer.
Step 5: bake
Bake until just set. Then a light sprinkle of sea salt (if desired), and you’re good to eat!
Warm hot chocolate cookies for all! And a dip through a little whipped cream is highly recommended – so yummy!
Looking for Christmas cookie recipes? Here are a few ideas:
Chewy Frosted Cinnamon Swirl Snickerdoodles
Easy Slice ‘n’ Bake Vanilla Bean Sugar Cookies
Easy Vanilla Bean Christmas Lights Cookies
Soft Gingerbread Latte Cookies with Brown Butter Icing
Lastly, if you make these Vanilla Hot Chocolate Molten Cookies be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And, of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Vanilla Hot Chocolate Molten Cookies
Servings: 18 cookies
Calories Per Serving: 244 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Watch the How-To Reel
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons salted butter
- 1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 6 ounces dark or semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
- flaky sea salt
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. 2. In the microwave, melt the butter and chocolate chips together. 3. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs and sugar until bubbles form on top, about 2 minute. Add in vanilla and melted chocolate, whisking until the mix looks glossy. Mix in the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt until just combined. Fold in the chocolate chunks. Put the bowl in the freezer, let the dough sit for 30 minutes, until it is scoop-able. The batter should be like a thickened fudge. DO NOT skip this step. It's essential to the recipe.4. Line a small baking sheet or plate with parchment paper (anything that fits in your freezer). Using a 1/4 cup measure cookie scoop, scoop the dough into balls and place on the prepared baking sheet. Freeze for 15-30 minutes, until firm. DO NOT skip this step. It's essential to the recipe.5. Pull the dough balls out of the freezer. Place on the prepared baking sheet. Space the cookies 2 inches apart. Bake for 8-12 minutes or until the cookies start to set around the edges, the centers should be a little doughy. Let cool on the pan. 6. Sprinkle with sea salt. Eat warm or let cool and store in an airtight container for up to 4 days. Hot chocolate with whipped cream is wonderful for dipping (:
Notes
Freezing: the cookie dough balls can be frozen for up to 3 months. When ready, thaw, then bake as directed.
Trouble Rolling the Dough: step 2 of the recipe is important, make sure you are really whisking your eggs and getting a very glossy look. It’s should look like a thick shiny chocolate brownie batter by the time step 2 is complete. If you are still having trouble. Start by adding 1/4 cup additional flour, then add more as needed. Some readers have used up to 1 cup of additional flour, but I have never personally found this needed.
This post was originally published on November 28, 2023
This dough doesn’t work. It’s way too runny. I added flour but that made them bland. The ingredients are expensive so I’d recommend skipping this one.
I made this recipe for a work holiday party they were a hit and the dough worked perfectly after sitting in the fridge. Great cookies!
Thanks Sarah! 🙂 xT
Followed the recipe exactly (except for adding a teaspoon of espresso powder to the melted chocolate and butter) and it came out perfect! Strong chocolate flavor, melted center, very rich but not too sweet. Was a big hit. Will definitely make again!
Thank you so much! Sooo happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe! 🙂 xT
Soooo delicious!!! Perfect texture and very chocolaty! A winner!
Thanks so so much Kate! 🙂 xT
If we were to freeze the dough beforehand, how long would we need to thaw them before baking?
Hi Katie! I would probably let them thaw for about 15-20 mins! xT
These were incredible! I mixed the dough with my stand mixer, added no additional flour, let the mix sit for 5 minutes per Tieghan’s recommendation, and was able to scoop it out with no problem. It was a “wetter” dough ball, not a Nestle chocolate chip cookie dough consistency, but the end result was a delicious, chocolatey gooey-centered cookie. All my guys loved them!
Thanks so much Jenni! xT
I had to add an additional 1 cup of flour to this recipe. The cookies did not turn out like Teagan’s photo but they were delicious.
Thanks for the input Kristi! xT
I made these last weekend. Recipe was easy to follow with great results. I subbed the chocolate bar chunks for chips because that was what I had and it was still great! Will definitely make these in the future.
Thanks sooo much! Love to hear that this recipe was a success! xT
Do you think these could be made with gluten free flour?
Hi there! I haven’t tried that before so can’t say for sure! So sorry! xT
Hi Mara
I used a 1-1 gluten free flour mix and they came out perfect. However I doubled the recipe and only wound up with 18 cookies. Not sure if it was a flour thing or if I over filled my measuring cup when scooping dough out.
Agree with the other comments that 1/2 c flour is absolutely not enough. We added more flour (prob about a cup), froze the dough for 30 min while still in the bowl and THEN was able to scoop it. Without the extra dough it was impossible to scoop. Cookies turned out good after the adjustment. Thanks for the idea!
So delicious! It should be 1.5 cups with 2 T of flour. So chocolatey and even better the next day! A new favorite!
Thank you so so much! xT
I did the recommended 1.5 cups + 2 teaspoons per the comments, let the bowl sit for 10 minutes and then ended up freezing my dough overnight and the consistency came out great. They were on the bitter side and didn’t necessarily taste like vanilla or hot cocoa but we’re definitely chocolately and the chunks melted nicely for the molten effect.
Got to be a typo – not enough flour! I have never had a bad experience with your recipes but did these ‘cookies’ for a dinner party and they were an epic fail. Followed the recipe EXACTLY and I had a brownie type mixture…..I spooned it on to the baking tray and put in the freezer. When I came to cook it was a thin merged pancake looking thing. Very disappointed and I had to quickly think of a way to serve this stuff to my 12 guests. Also quite an expensive trial. I would be glad to hear your comments Tiegan.
I want to make these but reading through the comments, it seems that there a lot of problems with the dough. Tieghan, what are your suggestions to fix this? I’m not going to waste ingredients/money on something that’s a messy disaster.
I just added 1 extra cup of flour, came out perfect!
So definitely a faulty recipe. I get making small tweaks to it. But needing an extra cup of flour is a bad recipe.
Hi Tara! I would add two more tablespoons of flour and make sure you’re freezing the dough long enough! xT
These were really good. Especially a good cookie when you realize you are almost out of flour.
I put the whole bowl in the freezer for ten minutes before attempting to ball the cookies. So glad I did.
Yes, I think that step was missed? There was no way it could be scooped.
Oh that is a good idea!! I also think I needed to leave them in the freezer longer than I did and put them on the sheet the way I will cook them – had a hard time transferring them.
They were a huge hit in my house, but I needed to cook them until they set throughout – had a hard time removing them from the pan (maybe cause I used a Slipat and not parchment). . I’m trying again this weekend cause they were so good and even with all the chocolate they didn’t keep me up at night.