26 hot cocoa recipes

Cincinnati's iconic chili simmers with warm spices like cinnamon, allspice, and cocoa powder, creating a Greek-influenced meat sauce perfect for ladling over spaghetti.

Chocolate cocoa waffles fold beaten egg whites into a cocoa batter for crisp-edged, fluffy dessert waffles. Serve hot with whipped cream and berries for after-dinner indulgence.

Coffee bean brownies: thin sheet-pan brownies with Kahlua and strong brewed coffee in the batter, topped with warm fudgy cocoa frosting poured onto the hot tray. Makes 36.

Hot fudge pudding cake that creates its own chocolate sauce as it bakes. A cocoa and honey batter topped with brown sugar and cocoa, then doused with hot water. Magic happens in the oven.

Chewy molasses cookies loaded with warming ginger and cinnamon spice, perfect for holiday cookie swaps or cozy winter afternoons with hot cocoa.

Chocolate pan cake pours hot cocoa-butter liquid into a buttermilk batter, bakes in a 13x9 pan, and gets a warm cocoa glaze poured over while still hot. Southern Texas sheet cake classic.

Hot fudge cake that bakes its own chocolate sauce underneath. A cocoa batter with a sugar-cocoa-water mixture poured on top creates a self-saucing pudding cake in 40 minutes.

Hot fudge pudding cake that makes its own chocolate sauce as it bakes. Bisquick, cocoa, sugar, and hot water create a cakey top over a pool of gooey fudge. No eggs, no butter needed.

Hot fudge pudding cake that bakes its own chocolate sauce underneath. A vintage one-pan dessert where cocoa batter and a sugar-cocoa sauce magically separate in the oven.

Crunchy twice-baked biscotti loaded with chopped Heath bars, pecans, and butterscotch extract. Makes 36 to 48 cookies that are built for dunking in coffee, tea, or hot cocoa.

Self-saucing hot fudge pudding cake with a cocoa batter that creates its own chocolate sauce as it bakes. Warm, gooey, and made from pantry staples.

Coconut-rolled vanilla ice cream balls floating in hot cocoa spiked with cream of coconut and optional dark rum. Topped with chocolate sauce and a cherry. A showstopper hot chocolate dessert for 8.

Texas-style chocolate sheet cake with buttermilk, cocoa, and a hot fudge icing poured over the warm cake. A 30-minute one-bowl chocolate sheet cake that feeds a crowd at potlucks and church suppers.

Chocolate buttermilk sheet cake with rich cocoa icing poured on while still hot. A classic potluck crowd-pleaser that bakes in under 25 minutes and feeds a big group.

A self-saucing brownie pudding cake that creates its own hot chocolate sauce as it bakes. Cocoa batter topped with brown sugar and hot water transforms into cake on top, gooey pudding underneath. Serve warm with ice cream.

Three layers of deep chocolate cake get brushed with vanilla sugar glaze while hot, then stacked with mocha buttercream icing spiked with coffee and cocoa.