Description
Peanut Butter Cup Hot Chocolate Cookie Cups are a festive and fun holiday treat combining soft sugar cookie dough baked into mini cups filled with Reese’s peanut butter cups, adorned with candy cane handles, white icing 'whipped cream', marshmallow bits, and holiday sprinkles. Perfect for holiday gatherings and gifting.
Ingredients
Scale
Cookie Cups
- 24 store-bought sugar cookie dough pieces (24 pull-apart cookies)
- 24 miniature Reese’s peanut butter cups, unwrapped
Decorations
- 11 ounce package white chocolate chips
- 24 mini candy canes
- 1 tub store-bought white icing
- Marshmallow bits (miniature, not marshmallows)
- Holiday sprinkles
Instructions
- Preheat and prepare muffin pan: Preheat the oven to 350°F and spray a mini muffin pan with non-stick spray thoroughly.
- Shape cookie cups: Unwrap the sugar cookie dough and break into individual pieces. Place each piece into a mini muffin cup. Use a small square of wax paper or your fingers to press gently in the center of each dough piece to create a shallow reservoir for the filling.
- Bake cookie cups: Bake the cookie dough cups for 13 minutes or until they are lightly golden around the edges but still soft enough to maintain shape.
- Prepare candy cane handles and decorations: While cookies bake, unwrap miniature Reese’s cups. Using a serrated knife, carefully cut the hook (handle) off each mini candy cane to create the 'handle' for the cookie cup mug. Keep the straight peppermint stick pieces aside as stir sticks. Fill a piping bag with store-bought white icing and set aside. Have marshmallow bits and holiday sprinkles ready for decorating.
- Assemble cookie cups: Remove baked cookie cups from the oven and while still warm, press one miniature Reese’s cup into the center of each cookie cup. Insert a candy cane handle angled into the edge of each cookie cup. Allow them to cool for at least 20 minutes to set properly.
- Melt white chocolate for 'glue': Melt 1 tablespoon of white chocolate chips carefully until smooth. Use this melted chocolate as glue to attach the candy cane handles securely to the cookie cups. Allow the assembly to dry for at least 10 minutes.
- Decorate cookie cups: Using the piping bag, pipe a small dollop of white icing on top of each Reese’s cup to mimic whipped cream. Sprinkle holiday sprinkles and marshmallow bits on top to finish the look.
- Serve and enjoy: Arrange cookie cups on a festive platter and serve immediately or store properly for later enjoyment.
Notes
- Store cookie cups in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week; refrigeration is not recommended as it dries out the cookies.
- Do not overbake the cookie dough to keep the cups soft and not dry.
- Creating the indentation in the cookie dough helps form a symmetrical cup but is optional; alternatively, use a small cup or wooden spoon end for shaping.
- Use a serrated knife to cleanly cut the candy cane hooks to avoid breaking the candy canes.
- Ensure candy cane handles are dry after attaching before handling to prevent breaking.
- Use mini marshmallow bits instead of mini marshmallows for decoration; they are usually found near hot chocolate products.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie cup
- Calories: 200 kcal
- Sugar: 15 g
- Sodium: 100 mg
- Fat: 12 g
- Saturated Fat: 6 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 5 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 20 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 3 g
- Cholesterol: 10 mg
