Weekends are special in my house. For a brief period, my family and I toss schedules aside, forget about looming deadlines, and enjoy each other's company. One of our favorite ways to spend cold blustery nights is watching movies and munching on treats.
 

I've found (through trial and error) that you don't have to break the bank to have a small party for your spouse and kids. A veggie or fruit tray is always a great choice, and a bag of unpopped popcorn is almost always available for under a dollar.

    But last night, with the holiday season underway, we opted for the sweeter side of the snack spectrum. I thought, however, we’d be out of luck. There’s been a large holiday celebration in my town, and I’d had no desire to play bumper cars with tourists on the road. As a result, "Old Mother Hubbard’s dog would've been hard pressed to find much of anything in my pantry.

     After a brief search, I found several packages of hot chocolate, the ingredients for cookies, and a plan began to push through the cobwebs in my brain.  What goes better with a holiday movie than hot chocolate, especially if it's in a cookie?

Below is my recipe for Mexican Hot Chocolate Cookies.


Mexican Hot Chocolate Cookies
Makes 1 dozen

1 stick margarine, softened
¼ cup coconut palm sugar
¼ cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1 ¼ cup flour
½ tsp. baking soda
3 pkgs. (.71 oz.) Nestle™ instant cocoa mix
1 T. Nestle™ cocoa powder
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. chili powder
½ cup Nestle™ semi-sweet chocolate chips
Approximately 40 mini marshmallows
 
Heat oven to 350°F.
Combine margarine, sugars, egg, and vanilla in a large bowl and beat until creamy.
Add flour, baking soda, cocoa mix, cinnamon, chili powder, and chocolate chips to the wet mixture and stir until well combined.
Using a 2-Tablespoon cookie scoop, drop the dough on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Flatten each dough ball slightly.
Bake for 8 to 9 minutes or until set. Remove from oven.
Top each cookie with mini marshmallows (I use 3 on each cookie). Bake for 1 to 2 minutes until marshmallow just begins to puff. Immediately remove cookies to cooling racks. Cool complete