Hot Chocolate Cookie Cups are bite-sized sugar cookie shells filled with rich hot cocoa ganache and topped with marshmallow bits, creating a fun, festive twist on classic hot chocolate!

Hot chocolate is cozy, but as a dessert—like, Hot Chocolate Puppy Chow or Hot Chocolate Dip—it becomes richer, more indulgent, and perfect for celebrations or special occasions!

Why you’ll love this recipe:

If you’re looking for a fun holiday dessert that’s adorable, delicious, and ridiculously easy to make, these Hot Chocolate Cookie Cups are about to become your new seasonal favorite. Made with store-bought sugar cookie dough, a silky hot cocoa ganache, and topped with cute marshmallow bits, they’re the perfect bite-sized twist on a classic cup of hot cocoa.

Imagine warm sugar cookies, creamy chocolate ganache infused with real hot cocoa, and tiny marshmallows in every bite. These cookie cups capture all the flavors of your favorite winter drink but with a rich, dessert-worthy upgrade. They’re soft, chocolatey, and irresistibly sweet—everything a holiday treat should be!

Ingredients you’ll need:

Sugar cookie dough- store-bought
Heavy whipping cream
Hot cocoa mix
Semi-sweet chocolate chips
Marshmallow bits
Mini candy canes- optional

If you want a festive holiday dessert that’s simple to make yet tastes like pure winter magic, these Hot Chocolate Cookie Cups are the perfect choice. They begin with convenient store-bought sugar cookie dough, which means there’s no mixing, measuring, or worrying about whether your dough will turn out right. You just add the dough into a mini muffin tin, bake, press, and you’ve got perfectly shaped little cookie cups ready to be filled. It’s one of those rare recipes that looks impressive but requires almost no effort.

What really sets these treats apart is the hot cocoa ganache. Instead of a plain chocolate filling, this ganache is made with real hot cocoa mix, giving it that classic hot chocolate flavor everyone loves during the holidays. When the warm cream hits the chocolate chips and cocoa mix, it melts into a silky, spoon-worthy ganache that tastes exactly like a drinkable hot cocoa—only thicker, richer, and even more indulgent. Using real hot cocoa makes the flavor familiar and nostalgic, like sipping a cozy mug by the fireplace.

Pairing that luscious hot cocoa ganache with the soft, buttery sugar cookie cups is pure dessert perfection. The store-bought dough bakes into golden, chewy cookie shells with virtually no work involved. There’s no need to prep ingredients or wait for dough to chill. This recipe is fast, foolproof, and beginner-friendly, making it ideal for busy holiday schedules or last-minute baking sessions!

How to make the best Hot Chocolate Cookie Cups:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F and spray a 24-cup mini muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray.
Grab your sugar cookie dough and slice it into 24 equal squares (just follow the perforated lines), then drop one square of cookie dough into each mini muffin tin cavity.
Bake for 15-17 minutes, then immediately use a tart tamper or the handle of a spatula to press down in the center of each cookie to create a well and set aside to cool.
Pour the heavy whipping cream into a microwave safe bowl and microwave until hot but not boiling (1-2 minutes).
Whisk in the hot cocoa mix, then pour in the chocolate chips and let sit for 2 minutes to let the hot cream melt the chocolate.
Stir until the chocolate chips are melted and the ganache is smooth, then transfer the hot cocoa ganache into a piping bag or Ziploc bag, cut off one end, and generously fill each cookie cup.
Top each cookie cup with marshmallow bits then optionally add a candy cane “straw” by breaking off the curved part of each mini candy cane.

If you’re searching for a festive dessert that’s fun, easy, and guaranteed to impress, these Hot Chocolate Cookie Cups are exactly what you need. They start with simple store-bought sugar cookie dough and are filled with a rich hot cocoa ganache, then topped with adorable, slightly crunchy marshmallow bits. They’re cozy, chocolatey, and everything you want in a winter treat—just in bite-sized, hand-held form.

They’re also incredibly easy to make, which is a huge bonus during the busy holiday season. Because you’re using pre-made sugar cookie dough, there’s no mixing bowls, chilling, or rolling to deal with. After adding the dough into a mini muffin tin and baking it, all you have to do is fill the cups with a simple hot cocoa ganache made from chocolate chips, heavy cream, and your favorite hot cocoa mix. The whole process takes only a few minutes, but the finished treats look like something you’d see at a bakery!

These cookie cups are also incredibly fun during the holiday season. Topped with marshmallow bits, they look like tiny edible cups of hot chocolate, which makes them a hit at Christmas parties, cookie exchanges, and festive gatherings. Kids love helping press the cookie cups and sprinkling on the marshmallows, while adults appreciate how nostalgic and comforting they taste. They’re warm, cozy, and downright charming—everything a winter dessert should be.

My top tips:

GREASE YOUR PAN: Grease your mini muffin tin liberally with non-stick cooking spray before adding the squares of cookie dough. It’s no fun to make a dessert just for it to get stuck in the pan!
COOKIE DOUGH: Using store-bought sugar cookie dough is a huge time saver here! I recommend buying the package of sugar cookie dough that comes with 24 pre-portioned squares so that all you need to do is cut along the perforated lines, then place one piece of cookie dough into each mini muffin tin cavity.
CREATING THE WELLS: You’ll want to press down the centers of each cookie cup while the cookies are still warm from the oven. I just used the rounded end of a spatula handle I had, but if you own a tart tamper, that would be even more efficient!
COOLING: It’s important to let the cookie cups cool completely before filling them with ganache. If you fill warm cookies, the cookies will likely absorb the filling and become soggy.
GANACHE: You want to avoid boiling the boil cream for ganache because overheating can scorch the cream, denature proteins, and cause the ganache to split, becoming grainy, oily, or separated. Simply make sure it is hot enough to melt the chocolate, then let your stirring do the rest of the work!
PIPING BAG: Transferring the hot cocoa ganache into a piping bag helps control how much filling you’re piping into the cookie cups and in turn, keeps them nice and neat. You can also use a Ziploc bag here.
DECORATING: You’ll want to use marshmallow bits here, not regular mini marshmallows. Marshmallow bits are smaller, and stay fresh for longer once exposed to air. It’s completely optional, but adding a candy cane straw or festive sprinkles in addition to the marshmallow bits is never a bad idea either!
REMOVING FROM THE PAN: I don’t recommend removing these cookie cups from the muffin tin until they are fully cooled. If the edges of the cookies seem to be stuck to the pan, run a butter knife around the edges to loosen each cup.
STORING: Transfer any leftover cookie cups into an airtight container and store at room temperature for up to 5 days or in the fridge for up to a week!

Looking for more cookie cup recipes? Check these out!

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