I've had a lot of good ideas, but this has to rank REAL high up there. Hot chocolate + cookies + marshmallows + chocolate chips = YES, PLEASE.
Just ask Mila. I believe she's had about 20 of them.
The idea was born from a quick run through Target. There are Hot Cocoa M&Ms and Hot Cocoa Hershey Kisses and they're both really good ideas. They are worthy all on their own, but they are even better when incorporated into something.
Let's go ahead and talk about the Kisses first, mmkay? These look just like the Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies we all know and love, but they taste like a good cup of hot cocoa. Which, more really good drinks need to figure out how to become food. Because YES.
Hot Chocolate Kiss Cookies
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup light brown sugar
3 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
4 packages hot chocolate mix
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup milk chocolate chips
1 cup dehydrated marshmallows (like the ones in hot chocolate mix)
1 package Hershey Hot Cocoa Kisses
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a few cookie sheets with parchment paper.
2. In a large mixing bowl, mix together the butter and sugars at low/medium speed until creamy. Add teh eggs and vanilla and mix some more.
3. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients - flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and hot chocolate mix.
4. Add the dry ingredients to the stuff in Step 2 and mix at low speed until well combined. Stir in the chocolate chips and marshmallows.
5. Break off a small piece of cookie dough and roll it into a ball. The ball should be about 3/4" across. Roll the happy little ball in some granulated sugar then place on the parchment paper. By the way, 4-year old kids are AWESOME at coating little cookie balls in sugar.
6. Once you have a cookie sheet filled with little balls, bake at 350 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes.
7. As soon as you remove the cookies from the oven, top with a Hershey Kiss. You could use any Hershey Kiss, but I'm team Hot Cocoa over here because they have a little marshmallow center. It's the best.
8. Wait about a minute and then move the hot cookies to a cooling rack. The Hot Cocoa Kisses are a little more melty than the originals, so it may be worth moving them to a fridge or freezer to help set the Kiss quickly. (I didn't bother. Mine are a little flat. I DON'T CARE. The other way to avoid it would be to freeze the Kisses ahead of time, but who has time for that?)