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Toasted Marshmallow Hot Chocolate Bars. These bars will leave you whispering, OH YUMMMM! They’re homemade molten cookie bars made with butter, chocolate, sugar, eggs, vanilla, flour, and cocoa powder. Plus, a secret ingredient that really makes these hot chocolate bars better than the rest: a touch of hazelnut liqueur. Toasted marshmallows are sandwiched in between these yummy bars. They’re gooey, chocolatey, and the perfect hot cocoa bar to warm up with this winter! They literally melt in your mouth!
It’s hot chocolate season! I shared my Polar Express Hot Chocolate last Friday, and today, we’ve got the gooiest, molten hot chocolate bars made even better with toasted marshmallows.
To be honest, I don’t love to use marshmallows. I find that they can be too sweet for my liking. That said, when used in the right way, I think they can be delectable. And when you toast them up – REALLY toast them until they’re almost burnt, that’s when they are best.
I’ve had this recipe planned for months. When the idea for a toasted marshmallow hot cocoa cookie bar came to mind, I couldn’t forget about it—so much so that I told my mom. She said, “Oh, you must save those for Christmas; they sound magically delicious.”
Mom and I tend to think a lot about Christmas. When I have a festive holiday idea, I always save it for the month of December. So I’ve been waiting to share these, and finally, the time is here!
These are some of my best crinkly, crackly molten bars. Inspired a bit by my Crinkle Top Brownies, Hot Chocolate Cookies, and Toasted Marshmallow Treats. I took three recipes and made them into one delicious molten bar. These are so good!
You can eat them warm and gooey or let them cool, cut them, and package them up for gifting!
Here are the details
Ingredients
- salted butter
- semi-sweet chocolate chips
- granulated sugar
- hazelnut liqueur
- Vanilla extract
- eggs
- flour
- cocoa powder
- sea salt
- marshmallows
- chocolate chunks
Special Tools
Zero! Just a whisk, a couple of bowls, and a square brownie pan.
Steps
Step 1: bring the eggs to room temperature
Using room-temperature eggs will give your bars a nice crackly, crinkled top. To quickly bring them to room temperature, you can submerge them in hot water for 5 minutes. This works well! I do this often.
Step 2: Melt the chocolate
Next, melt the chocolate and butter together. Use the microwave or the stove-top. I don’t have a microwave, so I slowly melt the chocolate on the stove.
Once melted, mix in the sugar, hazelnut liqueur (my favorite these days), and vanilla.
Step 3: whisk the eggs
Now, in a separate bowl, give the eggs a really good whisking. Whisk them for at least a minute until bubbles appear. This creates air in the eggs, which will help you get a beautiful, shiny, molten bar.
You want the shine and the crinkles, so whisk those eggs.
Step 4: add the dry ingredients
Whisk the eggs into the chocolate. Add the flour, cocoa, and salt. Mix in the remaining chocolate chips.
Spread half the batter into your parchment-lined brownie pan.
Step 5: baking
Bake the bars for 20 minutes, and pull the pan out. Switch your oven to broil. Arrange a couple of handfuls of marshmallows over the pre-baked bars. Broil the marshmallows until they’re very toasty. I like them closer to burnt best, but you do you here.
Please watch the bars closely. The broiler can work quicker than you’d think.
Once the marshmallows are toasty, pull the pan out and return the oven to baking temp.
Spread the remaining batter over the toasted marshmallow. It’s OK if the batter doesn’t cover all of the marshmallows. Add the chocolate chunks.
Now bake for 20 minutes. The bars will come out of the oven with bubbly marshmallows peeking through. They’re going to look DELICIOUS.
Let the bars hang in the pan until cool, then lift them out and cut. They’ll be gooey and messy, but that’s what makes them so good. Just embrace the mess. These are so delectable. Just perfectly set on the edges, but the gooiest in the center with just the right amount of chew, sweetness, and rich flavors.
A Fun Gifting Idea
Once the bars are totally set, you can easily package them for holiday gifting!
If you want to go a step further, package the bars up, then print the recipe out onto a cute card and gift the recipe with the bars. You could even add a cute Christmas mug as well! That would be so festive and adorable!
Tis the season!
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 Toasted Marshmallow Hot Chocolate Bars, 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!
Toasted Marshmallow Hot Chocolate Bars
Servings: 16 bars
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
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1. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line a 9×9 inch pan with parchment paper.2. In the microwave, melt together the butter and 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips until melted and smooth. Stir in the sugar, hazelnut liqueur (if using), and vanilla. 3. In a bowl, whisk the eggs for 1 minute until bubbly on top. Stir the eggs into the chocolate mix. Add the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. Stir until just combined. Stir in the remaining 1/2 cup chocolate chips.4. Spread half the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 20 minutes, then remove from the oven. Switch the oven to broil. Arrange the marshmallows over the pre-baked bars. Broil for 1-3 minutes until the marshmallows are toasted to your liking. Return the oven to 350° F.5. Spread the remaining batter over the marshmallows, covering them as best you can. It’s OK if the batter doesn’t cover all the marshmallows. Press the chocolate chunks into the bars. Return the bars to the oven. Bake another 20 minutes until the top is set, but the marshmallows are wiggly underneath.6. Let the bars hang 20 minutes in the pan, then use the parchment paper to lift them out. You can let them chill or cut into them. If they’re warm, they will be messier, but so DELISH! Once cool you can cut and package them for gifting!
