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Easy hot cocoa dip is the ultimate holiday treat! Made with a handful of ingredients, it’s rich, creamy, and perfectly sweet – plus it’s easy to scale up or down for any number of holiday guests. Serve this no-bake hot chocolate dip with graham crackers, waffle cone cookies, or your favorite fresh fruits. You’ll definitely end up on the “nice” list!

A woman's hand holding a waffle cookie being used to scoop hot cocoa dip out a large bowl.

🍫 What Makes This Recipe So Good

  • Need something festive and sweet for your end-of-the-year office party, potluck, or holiday dinner? This incredible hot cocoa dip is guaranteed to be a hit! There’s no cooking or baking required, either, so it may just be the easiest dish you make this season.
  • I’m not sure what I love most about this dessert dip. It’s velvety smooth but also light and fluffy, thanks to the incomparable blend of marshmallow creme, heavy cream, and Cool Whip. Your favorite hot chocolate mix makes it rich and decadent, and you can dress it up with any toppings or mix-ins you like.
  • You can honestly serve hot cocoa dip with just about anything! My personal fave option is Trader Joe’s Belgian butter waffle cookies. They’re thin and crisp so they play off the creamy texture of the dip really well, and the buttery waffle cone flavor makes you feel like you’re eating a bowl of ice cream. Graham crackers, animal crackers, vanilla wafers, rolled wafers, pretzel crisps, fresh strawberries – they all bring something different (and delicious) to the table!

👩🏼‍🍳 Chef’s Tips

  • When it’s time to add the Cool Whip, gently fold it in, and stop once it’s incorporated. If you overdo it, or if you’re too rough with it, it’ll deflate. The hot cocoa dip will still taste great, don’t get me wrong. It just won’t have that super light and fluffy consistency we want it to have.
  • If you’re prepping for a Christmas party, a holiday dinner, or just a fun winter movie night, you can totally mix up your hot cocoa dip in advance! Once everything’s mixed together, refrigerate the dip in an airtight container up to 24 hours. It’ll firm up as it gets colder, so be sure to let it sit out on the counter for 30 minutes or so before you add the toppings and serve it.
  • Cool Whip is sold frozen, but you obviously need it to be defrosted before you use it in your dessert dip. The best way to defrost Cool Whip is to move it from the freezer to the fridge at least 24 hours ahead of time. If you forget to put it in the fridge the night before, you can place the tub in a large bowl of cold water on the counter. Don’t try to microwave it. Don’t place it in hot water. Any amount of heat will make the Cool Whip watery and you do NOT want that!
Top-down photo of hot cocoa dip in a large white bowl. The dip is topped with mini marshmallows, holiday sprinkles, and mini chocolate chips.

🍪 More Delicious Holiday Treats You’ll Love

Recipe By: Cheryl Malik

Hot Cocoa Dip

Prep 15 minutes
Cook 0 minutes
Total 15 minutes
Hot cocoa dip is creamy, fluffy, and absolutely delicious! It's super easy to make, and such a fun treat you can dress up for the holidays or enjoy "plain" any time at all.
12 servings

Equipment

  • large mixing bowl or stand mixer bowl
  • Hand mixer or stand mixer
  • whisk attachments for hand mixer or whisk attachment for stand mixer
  • Silicone spatula
  • serving bowl or airtight container

Ingredients

For the Hot Cocoa Dip

  • 1 cup dry hot cocoa mix any brand, any flavor; see Notes
  • ½ cup cold heavy whipping cream
  • 1 7-ounce jar marshmallow creme
  • 1 8-ounce tub Cool Whip defrosted
  • 1 cup mini marshmallows
  • ¼ cup mini chocolate chips

Suggested Toppings (All Optional)

  • holiday sprinkles of choice
  • mini marshmallows
  • mini chocolate chips

Serving Suggestions (All Optional)

  • Belgian butter waffle cookies
  • graham crackers
  • rolled wafers
  • fresh strawberries
  • pretzel crisps

Instructions

  • Add 1 cup dry hot cocoa mix and ½ cup cold heavy whipping cream to large mixing bowl. Using hand mixer (or stand mixer) with whisk attachment, mix ingredients together on low speed 15 to 20 seconds, then increase speed to medium. Continue mixing until cocoa mix and heavy cream are fully combined, then set mixer aside.
  • Add 1 7-ounce jar marshmallow creme to mixing bowl. Gently fold marshmallow creme into cocoa mixture using silicone spatula.
  • Once marshmallow creme is just incorporated, add 1 8-ounce tub Cool Whip. Gently fold in Cool Whip until just incorporated.
  • Once Cool Whip is just incorporated, add 1 cup mini marshmallows and ¼ cup mini chocolate chips to mixing bowl. Fold in marshmallows and chocolate chips until just incorporated.
  • If Serving Immediately: Transfer mixture to serving bowl and top hot cocoa dip with holiday sprinkles of choice, mini marshmallows, and mini chocolate chips if desired.
  • If Making in Advance: Transfer mixture to airtight container and refrigerate until ready to serve (no more than 24 hours). 30 minutes prior to serving, remove dip from refrigerator and set out at room temperature to soften. Transfer softened dip mixture to serving bowl then top with holiday sprinkles of choice, mini marshmallows, and mini chocolate chips if desired.
  • Serve immediately with Belgian butter waffle cookies, graham crackers, rolled wafers, fresh strawberries, and/or pretzel crisps.
  • Hot Cocoa Mix: You’ll want to use hot cocoa/chocolate powder, like what’s in Swiss Miss packets, but you can buy it in individual packets or in a large container. Use the dry powder – don’t actually make hot chocolate! You can use any brand and any flavor of hot cocoa powder, just make sure you measure it out to 1 cup!
  • Storage: Refrigerate leftover hot cocoa dip in an airtight container up to 3 days. Set dip out at room temperature 30 minutes prior to serving and stir as needed.
 

Other Topping Suggestions

  • Crumbled Oreo cookies
  • Crushed candy cane pieces
  • Chocolate shavings
  • Mint chocolate chips
  • White chocolate chips
  • Graham cracker crumbs

Approximate Information for One Serving

Serving Size: 1 serving hot cocoa dip only (not including toppings)Calories: 240calProtein: 1gFat: 9gSaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 13mgSodium: 82mgPotassium: 141mgTotal Carbs: 39gFiber: 1gSugar: 30gNet Carbs: 38gVitamin A: 146IUVitamin C: 0.1mgCalcium: 30mgIron: 0.4mg
Nutrition Disclaimers
Number of total servings shown is approximate. Actual number of servings will depend on your preferred portion sizes.
Nutritional values shown are general guidelines and reflect information for 1 serving using the ingredients listed, not including any optional ingredients. Actual macros may vary slightly depending on specific brands and types of ingredients used.
To determine the weight of one serving, prepare the recipe as instructed. Weigh the finished recipe, then divide the weight of the finished recipe (not including the weight of the container the food is in) by the desired number of servings. Result will be the weight of one serving.

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