The holiday season is a time for warmth, love, and delicious treats. When it comes to festive cookies, these French Christmas Cookies are an irresistible option.
These buttery, crumbly cookies are not only delightful to look at but also easy to make and incredibly flavorful.
This recipe is perfect for a cookie exchange, because it makes a big batch of bite-sized cookies. And if you’re not doing an exchange, your family will have no trouble gobbling these morsels down. They are delish!
Why You Will Love These French Cookies
I’ve had this recipe for over 40 years, and it has stood the test of time! With only 7 ingredients you can mix up the simple batter and bake. A piece of Hershey bar will melt deliciously into the baked cookie to give the perfect finishing touch.
These cookies contain no eggs, but plenty of sweet graham cracker and chocolate goodness in every mini foil cup.
French Cookie Ingredients
- Graham cracker crumbs
- Mini chocolate chips
- Walnuts
- Brown sugar
- Butter
- Whipping cream
- Milk chocolate candy bars
**Be sure to scroll to the recipe card for detailed quantities and directions**
How to Make French Cookies with Chocolate on Top
First, I want to make it clear that I do not know why they are called French Cookies, that’s just the name I was told 40 years ago when my co-worker shared her recipe. (If you want a cookie that is undeniably French, try your hand at some Madeleine cookies).
These cookies are perfect for holiday baking, because a batch makes 6 dozen bite-size cookies, so that is why I call them French Christmas Cookies.
- In a large bowl, mix the ingredients together. I like to stir the dry ingredients first: graham cracker crumbs, chocolate chips, chopped nuts, and brown sugar. Then add whipping cream and melted butter and mix well to combine.
💭Tip: foil cups are both decorative and practical: the cookies will stick to paper liners, much less so with foil.
- Prepare a mini muffin pan by lining each well with a mini foil baking cup. Then scoop the batter into the cups, about half full. I use a small cookie scoop for this.
- Bake for 10 to 15 minutes.
- While the cookies are baking, start breaking up the Hershey bars.
- As soon as you take the cookies out of the oven, press a piece of Hershey bar on top of each one. The warm cookie will melt the chocolate onto the top each cookie.
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- Remove the cups from the muffin pan and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Substitutions and Variations
Instead of using a Hershey bar to top, you could drizzle some melted chocolate or use milk chocolate chips. White chocolate might be fun also, although I’ve never tried it.
Standard foil liners are silver, but you could also use holiday color liners to really fancy it up.
You can use milk instead of the whipping cream, but I recommend at least 2% or whole milk for best results.
Storage
Store your French Christmas Cookies in an airtight container at room temperature. They can stay fresh for up to a week. For longer storage, freeze them in an airtight container, and they'll keep for several months.
French Cookies Recipe FAQs
While you can use salted butter, it's advisable to use unsalted butter to control the salt content in the cookies.
You'll need about 20 of the big rectangles, which is usually more than one sleeve of crackers.
📖 Recipe
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French Cookies with Chocolate
Ingredients
- 2¾ cups graham cracker crumbs*
- 12 ounces mini chocolate chips semi-sweet
- 2 cups walnuts chopped
- 1 cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup butter unsalted, melted
- 1 cup whipping cream
- 9.3 ounces Hershey Bars 6 full size bars
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375F. Line a mini muffin pan with foil liners.
- In a large mixing bowl, stir the graham cracker crumbs with the chocolate chips, chopped nuts, and brown sugar.2¾ cups graham cracker crumbs*, 12 ounces mini chocolate chips, 2 cups walnuts, 1 cup brown sugar
- Add melted butter and whipping cream. Mix well to combine.¼ cup butter, 1 cup whipping cream
- Fill the foil liners in the muffin pan about halfway with the dough.
- Bake 10 to 15 minutes at 375F.
- Break each chocolate bar into smaller pieces, using the scored sections in the bar.9.3 ounces Hershey Bars
- Remove the muffin pan from the oven and immediately press a piece of chocolate bar on top of each warm cookie.9.3 ounces Hershey Bars
- Remove the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition values are estimates only, using online calculators. Please verify using your own data.
Linda
Are these made in those really tiny muffin pans with the foil papers? The mini pan I have is about 1 1/2” for each muffin which seems small but the only other muffin pans I know of are the standard muffins or the jumbo ones.
Sula
Yes, the mini muffin pans are exactly what you should use. When you put a foil liner in it, then use a small cookie scoop to transfer the batter. It does make nice small bite-sized cookies. 😀
Calli
I have been experimenting with new Christmas cookies, and your French Christmas cookies taste amazing! I added a few mini marshmallows to the top and they reminded me of s'mores. They are so delicious and easy to make!
Sula
Oh yes mini marshmallows would definitely take these into s'mores territory! Yum!
Hatty
These were quite delicious!
I was confused by the name, but when they taste like this I don't think it matters what they are called!!!
They tasted like a muffin and cookie combined. And so easy to make.
I'll be making them again for sure!
Sula
They are a favorite! Enjoy!
Sandra
Can you substitute for the nuts?
maybe rice krispies or...?
Sula
I've never tried any substitutions but Rice Krispies does sound fun!