I joined Pinterest several months back, at the recommendation of my friend Kerry from work. At present, my “baking” board has 246 pins…and it gets bigger every day. I also have boards that celebrate lemons, gardens, eco-friendly housekeeping practices, good advice, and movie villains, but more often than not, I pin things that involve butter and sugar.

Kerry is also active on Pinterest, and she recently confessed that she pins recipes in the hope that I’ll see them and bake them. This is one of those examples, as she requested hot cocoa cookies for our holiday party at the office today. The recipe below is actually an adaptation of a recipe that I found on another food blog and combined with my own chocolate drizzle instead of the recipe’s original chocolate icing. The end result is a rich treat that tastes remarkably like a cup of hot cocoa. Next time, I might try a peppermint drizzle, or even a caramel one.

Ingredients

For the cookies

• 8 tablespoons butter
• 1 12-ounce package semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/4 cups packed light brown sugar
• 3 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 15 large marshmallows, cut in half crosswise

For the chocolate drizzle

• 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 tablespoon shortening

Preparation

In a medium saucepan, melt butter and chocolate chips. Set aside and allow to cool slightly.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

In a mixing bowl, combine brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla and beat until well-blended. Add cooled chocolate and beat until combined.

With the mixer running on low, slowly add flour/cocoa mixture until a smooth dough forms. Cover dough with plastic wrap and chill for 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line several baking sheets with parchment paper.

Using a 2-inch cookie scoop, scoop out dough (dough will be very stiff at this point) and roll into balls. Place about 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets, and flatten slightly with the palm of your hand. My recipe above yielded 30 balls of dough, but if yours varies, simply adjust the quantity of marshmallows for topping.

Bake for 12 minutes, then remove from oven and quickly top each cookie with one half of a marshmallow. Return to the oven and bake 3 minutes more; remove from oven once again and gently press the marshmallow down to flatten it just slightly. Allow to cool for 5 minutes on baking sheets, then place on a wire rack to cool completely.

Once cookies are completely cool, place waxed paper beneath the cooling racks to catch any drip from the chocolate drizzle. To prepare the drizzle, combine 1/2 cup chocolate chips with 1 tablespoon shortening in a small saucepan and melt over low heat, stirring constantly until smooth. Drizzle over cookies and allow to harden before serving.