Hostess Cupcake Cookies
Hostess Cupcake Cookies are made with a rich chocolate cookie topped with a thick marshmallow meringue frosting, smooth chocolate ganache and the iconic white chocolate swirls you recognize from these favorite childhood Hostess treats!
If you’re a fan of Crumbl cookies, then you’ll recognize these as their chocolate mallow cupcake cookies — more affectionately known as hostess cupcake cookies! A few other recent Crumbl favorites I’ve created are the Crumbl Cornbread Cookies, Crumbl Biscoff Butter Cookies, and Boston Cream Pie Cookies. Or, if you love the combination of marshmallows and chocolate, make sure to check out my Marshmallow Brownies!
Why This Recipe Works
- Perfect whipped marshmallow meringue frosting. I’m serious friends! This frosting is perfection. It doesn’t weep; it holds its shape; it tastes amazing; and it has a crazy amazing texture!
- Looks like a Hostess cupcake. This hostess cupcake cookies recipe is a trip down memory lane because they look just like the hostess treat from years ago! This cookie version incorporates everything from the hostess cupcakes like the chocolate flavor, the mallow filling and the chocolate frosting in rich, homemade way!
- Smooth chocolate ganache topping. The ganache sets beautifully, but still after it has been in the fridge, you can bite into the cookie and your teeth still glide through it!
Ingredient Notes
- Light Corn Syrup: Even this small amount of light corn syrup makes a big difference when it comes to the chewy texture of your cookies. It will keep the cookies softer longer!
- Dutch Process Cocoa Powder: Dutch process cocoa powder is different than traditional unsweetened cocoa powder. With Dutch process you’ll get a richer chocolate flavor and a deeper color. Read more in my Best Cocoa Powder for Baking post.
- Cornstarch: The cornstarch helps keep the hostess cupcake cookies thick and moist.
- Egg Whites: The egg whites are beaten with the sugar while slowly heating to create a delicious meringue.
- Marshmallow Fluff: Using marshmallow fluff for the meringue frosting helps create a smoother texture in the frosting and removes the step of having to melt marshmallows.
- Semi-Sweet Chocolate: Chocolate chips, or finely chopped baking chocolate is fine
- Heavy Cream: The heavy cream help make the chocolate ganache topping thick and smooth!
- White Chocolate Wafers: You can use white chocolate chips, but you’ll also need 1 tsp coconut oil or vegetable shortening to help it melt better.
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Cream the wet ingredients. Add the butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer and cream for 2-3 minutes on medium speed. Add the eggs, corn syrup, and vanilla extract and mix, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Add the dry ingredients. Add the all-purpose flour, Dutch process cocoa powder, cornstarch, baking soda and salt. Mix until just combined.
- Form into balls. Using a 1/4 cup, portion into dough balls. Place 6 balls on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Press down on each dough ball using the palm of your hand until they resemble a hockey puck. This will help them bake better.
- Bake. Bake at 365°F for 10 minutes or until the edges are set and have a slightly crackly texture and the centers are no longer shiny. Remove and let cool on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Make the marshmallow meringue frosting. Fill a small pot with 1-2 inches of water and simmer. In a separate large, heatproof mixing bowl, add the sugar and eggs whites. Place the bowl over the pot of water and whisk until the egg and sugar mixture reaches 160°F. Transfer the mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer and beat with the whisk attachment until stiff peaks (about 5 minutes). Add the marshmallow fluff and vanilla extract and beat on high until stiff peaks form again. Place in a piping bag.
- Make the ganache. Heat the heavy cream in a small saucepan over medium heat until boiling. Once boiling, place the chocolate in a separate bowl and pour the hot cream on top. Let sit for 2 minutes before mixing. Mix until smooth. Let sit to thicken slightly before using.
- Melt the white chocolate. Place the white chocolate in a bowl and microwave for 30 seconds then stir. Continue microwaving in 30-second increments until melted. Transfer to a Ziploc bag and snip a very small piece of the corner off.
- Decorate the Hostess Cupcake Cookies! Pipe the marshmallow frosting on top of the cookies, add a dollop of the smooth chocolate ganache in the center, then pipe the loopy white circles on top to make these cookies look just like Hostess cupcakes!
Recipe Tips
A tip when making the chocolate ganache is to use a whisk and start mixing in the center. Then slowly whisk in a circle from the center to the exterior of the bowl until the mixture is smooth.
For the white chocolate loop decoration, you want the cut in the Ziploc bag to be very small because you want a really fine tip!
When making the marshmallow frosting, you want the meringue mixture to slowly heat so the eggs don’t scramble. Be sure to have the water in the pot on a simmer. Gently heating the mixture will temper the eggs (meaning you don’t have to worry about eating raw eggs here!) while keeping the texture smooth for the meringue.
Make Ahead, Storing, and Freezing
You can make the cookie dough ahead of time and store it in the fridge for up to 24 hours. Remove and let come to room temperature before baking.
Store the hostess cupcake cookies covered at room temperature for 3 days or in the fridge for one week.
My post on Freezing Cookie Dough explains everything about storing cookie dough, freezing cookie dough, and baking frozen cookie dough! You can also check out my Freezing Cookies post for tips on getting the best results on freezing baked cookies.
When it comes to freezing these Crumbl chocolate mallow cupcake cookies, the meringue frosting makes it tricky. You’d need to freeze the decorated cookies until firm, then be sure to tightly wrap in plastic wrap. When defrosting, I’d remove the wrap. You don’t want any condensation to build up or else it can affect the meringue frosting. Other than that, you should be good to freeze them.
Recipe FAQs
Hostess cupcakes are something you’d buy from the packaged dessert aisle of your local grocery store or convenience store. They are very processed in my opinion, so I was excited to make a Crumbl copycat recipe to bring those flavors home in a delicious way! The hostess cupcake is a chocolate flavor with a marshmallow center, topped with a chocolate glaze and the white swirls like those you see pictured on my cookies!
I don’t think so! The company went out of business years ago and I haven’t seen them on shelves since. But you can reminisce about this childhood favorite by making these chewy hostess cupcake cookies right at home!
Yes you can. The reason I suggest baking chocolate is because it doesn’t contain stabilizers like chocolate chips do. The stabilizers help the chocolate chips keep their shape. Using baking chocolate will give you a smoother texture.
No. I highly highly recommend the dutch process cocoa powder! You don’t be disappointed. It will give you a richer flavor and a deeper color that will more closely match the hostess cupcakes you are so fond of!
More Crumbl Cookies
- Crumbl Mint Brownie Cookies
- Chocolate Oreo Cookies
- Chocolate Andes Mint Cookies
- Crumbl Triple Chocolate Chip Cookies
Did you make this recipe? I’d love to hear about it! Leave a star rating and review or scroll below the recipe card and do so there.
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Hostess Cupcake Cookies
Ingredients
Chocolate Cookies
- 1 cup unsalted butter - softened to room temperature
- 1 cup light brown sugar - packed
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs - room temperature
- 1 1/2 tablespoons light corn syrup
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour - 353 grams
- 1 cup Dutch process cocoa powder - 109 grams
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
Marshmallow Meringue Frosting
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 3 large egg whites
- 1/2 cup marshmallow fluff
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Ganache & Topping
- 3 oz semi-sweet chocolate - chocolate chips, or finely chopped baking chocolate is fine
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup white chocolate wafers - or white chocolate chips (if using white chocolate chips you'll also need 1 tsp vegetable oil for melting).
Instructions
Chocolate Cookies
- Preheat the oven to 365°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, set aside.
- Using a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment cream the butter, brown sugar, and sugar on medium speed for 1-2 minutes. Add the eggs, light corn syrup, and vanilla and mix to combine. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.
- Add the flour, cocoa powder, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt.
- Portion dough into ¼ cup sized balls. Place 6 balls of dough on the prepared baking sheet. Using the palm of your hand gently press down on each ball until it creates a thick disk. Bake for 10 minutes or until the edges are set and slight cracks are appearing around the edges. Do not overbake.
- Remove from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Marshmallow Meringue Frosting
- Make the marshmallow frosting: Fill a small pot with about 1-2 inches of water. Heat to a simmer. In a large mixing bowl add sugar and egg whites. Place the bowl over the simmering water. Whisk constantly until the mixture reaches 160°F on an instant read thermometer and the sugar has dissolved. This will take a little bit. Transfer the mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer and beat with the whisk attachment on medium speed until stiff peaks form, about 4-5 mins. Add the marshmallow fluff and vanilla and mix on high speed until stiff peaks form (another 4-5 minutes). Place frosting in a piping bag.
Ganache & Topping
- Make the ganache: Place the chocolate in a heat proof bowl. Add the heavy cream to a small pot over medium heat. Bring mixture to a boil. Once boiling pour the heavy cream over the chocolate and let sit for 2 minutes.
- Use a whisk and starting in the center, slowly whisk in a circle until smooth. Let the ganahce sit for a few minutes to help thicken just slightly before using on the cookies.
- Melt the white chocolate: Melt the white chocolate wafers in a microwave safe bowl in 30 second increments until melted. If using white chocolate chips add 1 tsp of vegetable oil to the white chocolate (this will help them melt easier). Place the melted chocolate in a small Ziploc bag, and snip the corner off (not too big because we want it to be a fine tip!).
Assembly
- Pipe the marshmallow frosting to the top of each cookie. Add a dollop of chocolate ganache and swirl to cover some of the frosting. Pipe the signature Hostess cupcake loopy white circles across the center of each cookie with the melted white chocolate.
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29 Comments on “Hostess Cupcake Cookies”
Recipe tastes phenomenal. However, after 3 attempts of the marshmallow mixture, each time I added the fluff it deflated and would not whip back up. I am a seasoned baker, and followed the directions to a T and used a thermometer. Nothing worked, only wasted ingredients. The egg whites and sugar had stiff peaks, but the fluff ruined the texture…
Hi Mikey, I would suggest just leaving out the marshmallow fluff… especially since everything has worked just fine up until the point you added it. Hope this helps!
Love these cookies!
However, I was disappointed when I realized that the grams didn’t automatically double when I set the recipe to double. I measured out all of my dry ingredients and thankfully double checked my measurements prior to incorporating them into the wet ingredients and noticed that the flour and cocoa didn’t double along with everything else. The ‘cup’ measurement did, but not the grams.
Glad you loved these cookies, Stacy! Thanks for letting us know about that error.
Do you think I could possibly use that marshmallow meringue frosting for the center of a cake if I wanted to try to make a hostess cake and then I’ll use the chocolate ganache recipe you have. Was just curious if you ever tried trying to make a birthday cake for my dad 🙂 thanks for any help with a marshmallow frosting filling!
I LOVE this idea! A hostess cake would be incredible!! I think you can definitely use the marshmallow meringue for the center of a cake, but if used as a filling, not as the actually frosting. I don’t think this frosting will hold up as well to the weight of other cake layers on top of it. (I could be wrong)! I am adding a hostess cake to my content calendar. You have inspired me to figure this out 🙂
If you do make a hostess cake and use this frosting or my ganache, please come back to tell me how it turned out! And in the meantime, check back often for my version of a hostess cake.
It took over an hour for my egg whites/sugar to reach 160. That seems excessive. Any thoughts on how i cohld decrease that time?
I will admit that my egg whites were cold to start. And my mixing bowl is plastic with a rubber bottom
Yikes! I admire you for sticking it out, Bethany. I hope that the cookies were delicious. I definitely think your bowl was the problem – plastic and especially rubber are not good for conducting heat. I would recommend a heat-safe metal bowl or glass bowl next time. Good luck!
Do you think I can make these into mini/2bite size cookies?
Definitely!
Can I use maple syrup or honey to replace the corn syrup?
This looks so good! What a great treat to make for friends on the weekend!
My cookie doesn’t stay thick. They spread out. What am I doing wrong?
Hi Joan! Does your dough feel super sticky? Sometimes altitude can change the amount of flour needed. You can try adding a few extra tablespoons of flour. You can also dry chilling the dough in the fridge before baking. Hope these tips help!
Mine were also flat.
Hi Nicole, it can be important to adjust for altitude like we suggested to Joan. However, you may also want to check that your baking soda hasn’t expired!
The cookie part is amazing. But the marshmallow fluff is not. I am now on attempt 3 of making the marshmallow fluffy frosting and it is still not maintaining peaks, but rather deflating into a sad liquid. It tastes great but will not maintain its shape before deflating on the cookies.
I have a thermometer & have followed the directions step by step. My house is about 70 degrees Fahrenheit which I would not guess is too hot. I currently work as a baker so needless to say it is very frustrating. I have tried common techniques to add more air such as whipping more cold egg whites and/or adding egg white with sugar to the recipe. I have made both regular and vegan marshmallow fluff before and have never had these problems. I may just use a different recipe for the topping. I have never had issues with your recipes before.
Hi Allison! I’m glad the cookie part turned out great for you. As for the marshmallow frosting, let’s try and troubleshoot together! You are essentially making a meringue and then adding marshmallow fluff to that. So you want to be sure and whip up the egg whites and sugar mixture first before adding in the fluff. For a few other tips, be sure the bowl on top of the pot of simmering water doesn’t touch the water, then make sure you are using a stand mixer and not just a hand mixer. I find the hand mixer/electric mixer doesn’t whip up as well as my stand mixer does. And finally, it does take a WHILE to get the egg whites mixture to whip up so be sure to beat it for at least 5 minutes. Let me know if this helps! I’m glad you’ve had lots of success with my recipes! Thanks for the helpful comment.
How many cookies does this make?
It makes 15 cookies. You can find the amount listed in the recipe card next to “Servings:”
This was delicious! I make a lot of cookies and this is definitely in the S-Tier!
Glad you loved them, Charmel! Thanks for coming back to leave a star rating and review!
LOVE THIS RECIPE!!!
I just baked this cookies and the are SO good! Fudgy and decadent, I skipped the corn syrup and white chocolate and they were great anyways, great recipe indeed, will make them again no doubt!
I followed the instructions and the egg whites took a long time to get to 160 degrees. That should be noted. The egg whites got stiff with no issues HOWEVER when the fluff was added it deflated and never got stiff again. Disappointed in the recipe.
I will note that in the recipe. However, the frosting may not be super stiff after you add the marshmallow fluff, but it’ll be a frosting-like consistency.
Can I us honey or maple syrup instead on corn syrup?
Honey would probably perform better. You can also omit it, if you’d like.
Most AMAZING cookies! I loved how you explained in detail on how to make the cookies with all the tips. It helped so much, and they were a huge hit for my sons bday party. I also made the brown butter chocolate chip.