Peppermint Hot Cocoa Cookie Bars

This year my school did a Secret Santa Gift Exchange with one catch. The gifts had to be $3.
What in the world do you get for $3!??

I decided that the best thing I could get were cookie ingredients and a cute cookie tin! I have some scrumptious cookie recipes and who doesn't love a homemade gift?

These Hot Cocoa Cookies have been a Christmas Cookie staple in my house for years now. I change up a few small things to make it different each year and it's always delicious!

Peppermint Hot Cocoa Cookie Bars
theFoodette

1 stick + 2tbs unsalted butter

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla (use coffee extract to make mocha cookies)

1 egg

2 pkgs Starbucks Salted Caramel Hot Cocoa mix

1 & 1/2 cups All Purpose Flour

1/2 tsp salt + more for the top

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 cups Peppermint Chips (find near the chocolate chips)

1/2 cup Kraft Mallow Bits

Peppermint Vanilla Bean Sugar for sprinkling on the top (Found here)

Preheat oven to 350*

Grease a 15x9 inch jelly roll pan, or line with parchment paper. I use my Magic Brownie Pan and love it!

In your standmixer or large bowl, beat butter and sugar until it increases in volume and becomes a creamy color- about 4 minutes.

Add vanilla and egg to butter/sugar mixture and combine.

In a separate bowl, combine cocoa mix, flour, baking powder, and baking soda.

Add this dry mixture to the wet mixture 1/4 cup at a time, mixing completely, scraping the bottom of the bowl as you go.

Fold in the peppermint chips and mallow bits. Your dough may be a bit thick at this point, that's GOOD!

Chill the dough in the fridge for at least 20 minutes.

Spread dough out evenly into your pan and press down. Sprinkle the top with the Peppermint Vanilla Bean Sugar.

Bake 12-15 minutes.

Let cool.

You may also like:

Salted Caramel Hot Cocoa Cookies

Raspberry Hot Cocoa Cookies

Creamy Cool Hot Cocoa Dip