But the truth is that you can whip these up in no time. We are all busy during the holidays and anything that makes life easier is okay in my book.
The key to this recipe is using Refrigerated Cookie Dough. In my case I used Holiday Chip but Nestle also has a seasonal Hot Cocoa flavor that would be perfect for this recipe.
The only other ingredients you need for this recipe is a box of instant chocolate pudding and heavy whipping cream.
Making the cookie cups is no sweat.
Break the cookies apart and smash them down a little to flatten them out.
Next press the dough into a small muffin tin. (You could make larger cups with a full size muffin pan and two blocks of dough, but this recipe is so rich, that may be too large of a portion for many people.) I sprayed my muffin tins with the non-stick cooking spray that also contains flour. That works best for cookies in my experience.
Bake the dough according to package instructions.
The dough will puff up and fill the muffing tin, so while they are still hot and soft you can use the back of a spoon or melon baller to create the indentation in the cup.
I’ve heard lots of people have trouble getting their cups out of the pan, but I didn’t have trouble, probably due to the non-stick spray. I just put a drying rack over the cups and flip the pan over.They fall right out.While they are cooling, it is time to prepare the chocolate mousse filling. Typically chocolate mousse takes hours to make, but if you use instant chocolate pudding mix, you can speed up the process. Just prepare the pudding per package instructions.Next, whip 1 cup of heavy cream until stiff peaks form.
To give the mousse the light airy texture, you need to carefully fold the aerated whipped cream, into the semi-solid chocolate pudding.
You don’t want to overmix or the mousse will not be fluffy Here is my final mouse, which I added to a zip top bag to make it easier to fill the cups. Just cut the corner off the bag and you have an instant piping bag! Follow up with some more whipped cream (either home made or from a can)Add some course sugar and a straw to make it pretty.And there you have it! The perfect chocolate-lovers bite-sized dessert:
Frozen Hot Chocolate Cookie Cups
Cookie Cups:1(18 oz) Pkg Refrigerated Cookie Dough
Baked according to package instructions
Mousse Filling:
1 (3.5 oz) Chocolate Instant Pudding
Prepared according to packaged instructions
1 cup heavy whipping cream
Press cookie dough into small muffin tin, and bake according to package instructions
Remove from oven and create small well in soft dough using a spoon
Allow to cool
Prepare pudding according to package insturctions, set aside
Whip 1 cup heavy whipping cream until stiff peaks form
Fold whipped cream into pudding and pipe into cookie cups
Top with whipped cream and sanding sugar.