Hot Chocolate Cookie Cups
You'll love these adorable & festive Hot Chocolate Cookie Cups with a sugar cookie cup base, Reese's miniature peanut butter cup inside, frosting for the 'whipped cream', and cute garnishes of sprinkles and mini candy canes that make the mug and straw. Simple to make with convenient store-bought items.
Servings 24
Calories 208kcal
Ingredients
Hot Chocolate Mugs
- 1 package (16 oz) Ready To Bake Sugar Cookie Dough (24 ct.)
- 24 Miniature Reese's Peanut Butter Cups (individually wrapped in gold foil)
Hot Chocolate Cookie Cup Garnishes
- 1 tub (16 oz) vanilla frosting
- 24 mini peppermint candy canes
- 1/4 cup white chocolate chips
- marshmallow bites
- Christmas sprinkles
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350° F. Prepare a 24-cup miniature muffin pan by spraying each cup with cooking spray.
- Unwrap the sugar cookie dough and press one portion into each miniature muffin cup. * The dough comes pre-portioned into 24 pieces, so you will use one per mini muffin cup.
- Take a small square of wax paper, or parchment paper, and place it on top of each mini muffin cup and press your finger into the middle of the sugar cookie dough to create an indent. Repeat with all 24 mini muffin cups. * The wax paper just makes it easier to press your finger into the dough. The dough is sticky.
- Bake for 11-14 minutes or until the edges of each cookie cup are very lightly golden brown. Make sure you don't overbake them because they will continue to cook and set up while they cool in the warm pan.
- While the cookie cups are baking prepare the decorations for the hot chocolate cookie cup mugs. - Unwrap 24 miniature Reese's peanut butter cups. - Use a serrated knife to carefully cut each mini candy cane into two pieces. One piece is just the hook part of the candy cane (used for the mug handle) while the other piece is the straight portion of the candy cane (used for the stir stick). - Place the vanilla frosting into a piping bag with a small tip. Or, you can put the frosting inside a Ziploc bag and cut a small piece off the bottom corner of the bag with scissors.
Assemble Hot Chocolate Cookie Cups
- Remove the mini cookie cups from the oven and press a Reese's peanut butter cup into each cookie cup. Take the straight piece of the candy cane and insert it at an angle, near the edge, of each cookie cup. * You may have to wait a few minutes for the Reese's to melt slightly so it's easier to push the candy cane piece into it.
- Let the cookie cups cool at room temperature, inside the warm mini muffin pan, for 20 minutes before removing them from the pan onto a cooling rack or cookie sheet for decorating.
- Melt the white chocolate chips in the microwave according to package directions. It's usually at 50% power for about 30 seconds.
- Use the melted white chocolate to 'glue' the mug handle onto the side of each cookie cup. Once you have attachment them all, allow the cookie cups to cool for 10 minutes for the white chocolate to set and harden.* The mug handle is the curved portion of the candy cane that you cut earlier.
- Pipe on a dollop of the frosting to make the 'whipped cream' in the center of each hot chocolate cookie cup. Sprinkle on some Christmas sprinkles and marshmallow bits for decoration.
- Serve on your favorite Holiday platter and enjoy!
Notes
Tip : You might not use all of the frosting and melted white chocolate chips when making these.
Recipe Tips -
- Wax Paper : Be sure and use the wax paper to press an indent into each miniature cookie cup before baking. The dough is really sticky and the wax paper makes it so much easier to create that hole or deep indent that we need.
- Candy Cane Mug Handles : These are very fragile and can break easily so make sure that you allow them to completely dry before handling the hot chocolate cups. Also, if you're having trouble with the mug handle part, simply leave it off the cookie cups. It will still be an adorable hot chocolate cookie cup even without that extra mug handle.
- Whipped Cream Garnish - The frosting acts as the whipped cream for these hot chocolate cookie mugs and you can decorate it with anything you want! You can even use some crushed up candy canes to sprinkle on over the frosting along with the sprinkles. Or try using two different kinds of Christmas sprinkles for a fun look. For another variation on the whipped cream try using a spray can of whipped cream to make the 'whipped cream' topping for these cookie cups.
- Miniature Reese's Cup - Use a white chocolate miniature Reese's cup for a 'white hot chocolate cookie cup'. You can also use the dark chocolate miniature Reese's cups or try using the pretzel variation or the Reese's Pieces variation. Any miniature Reese's peanut butter cup will work awesome in this recipe. Just make sure they are the ones that are individually wrapped in the foil.
- 'Whipped Cream' - The vanilla frosting is used as the 'whipped cream' for the hot chocolate mugs. Instead, you can use a spray can of whipped cream for the same effect.
- Mini Marshmallow Bits - These can be hard to find sometimes. If you can't find them, simply omit them entirely, and instead just use the sprinkles to decorate the hot cocoa 'mugs'.
- Cookie Dough - Try using any variety of store-bought, refrigerated cookie dough that you want. Chocolate chip, Christmas funfetti, Buddy the Elf cookie dough, peanut butter cookie dough, etc. Just make sure that you are using the flat, square-shaped package that comes with the 24 pre-portioned and ready to use cookie dough squares.
- Candy Cane - Use any mini candy cane that you want. If you are having trouble getting the mug handle part to adhere to the cookie cup, just leave it off. Instead, just use the straight part of the candy cane as the stir stick. You will still be able to tell that it's a hot chocolate cookie mug even without that handle.
Nutrition
Calories: 208kcal | Carbohydrates: 29g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 3mg | Sodium: 116mg | Potassium: 64mg | Fiber: 0.4g | Sugar: 23g | Vitamin A: 11IU | Vitamin C: 0.03mg | Calcium: 11mg | Iron: 0.5mg