you're making mealtime meaningful.
Winter’s biting chill is staved away thanks to a cup of hot cocoa. Piping hot and adorned with a variety of holiday toppings, it’s the perfect drink to begin or wind down a day. Here the festive drink gets a dessert makeover in the form of decadent chewy Hot Cocoa Brownies.
When we think of hot cocoa mix, we generally think of making a drink and not baking with it, but it’s a great addition to baked goods! Here, the hot cocoa acts like the cocoa powder in the batter, giving it a mild but deeply satisfying chocolaty taste! After heating up the butter and sugar, chocolate gets added and melted, giving the brownie batter an extra boost of chocolate flavor.
A small handful of dry ingredients gets added to the batter, preceded by the eggs and vanilla.
Pour the brownie batter into the prepared pan and bake it for about twenty-five minutes. Pull the brownies out of the oven and set marshmallows on top. A classic large marshmallow cut in half is the perfect size.
Bake the brownies for two to three more minutes, and then use a spoon to flatten the marshmallows onto the brownie. Put the brownies back into the oven to give them a chance to get golden.
Let the brownies cool completely before slicing up and serving!
The result? It’s like the winter season is in a bite! The brownie is chewy, rich, and fudgey, but has more of a pleasant mellow chocolaty flavor that makes it easy to eat square after square!
Marshmallows on the top drive home that delightful hot cocoa feeling to the brownies, making them taste super special.
It’s a great treat to have with a cold glass of milk, or better yet, it’d pair perfectly with a mug of hot cocoa!
Hot Cocoa Brownies
Yield(s): Makes about 16 brownies
15m prep time
30m cook time
you're making mealtime meaningful.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup hot cocoa mix
- 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 8 large marshmallows, cut in half
Preparation
- Preheat oven to 350°F and spray a 9x9 baking pan with baking spray and line it with parchment paper, set aside.
- In a microwave-safe bowl, melt butter and sugar in 30-second intervals until the butter is melted and the mixture is looking hot and bubbling slightly around the sides. It’ll probably take 3 to 4 30-second intervals to get to this stage (depends on how cold the butter is).
- Once the butter-sugar mixture is bubbling, whisk in the chocolate chips.
- Add in the flour, hot cocoa mix, and salt, whisking to combine.
- Whisk eggs in one at a time followed by the vanilla.
- Pour brownie batter into the prepared pan and bake for 25 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and place marshmallows in a grid-like pattern over the brownies and return the brownies to the oven to bake for an additional 2 to 3 minutes or until the marshmallows are warmed up and a bit golden on top.
- Pull the brownies out of the oven. Using the back of a spoon and press the marshmallows down a bit. Return to the oven to bake for another 2 to 3 minutes or until completely golden.
- Let brownies cool completely before removing from the pan and cutting.
Recipe adapted from Crumb Blog and Broma Bakery.