Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Cookies (DB)

The July Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Nicole at Sweet Tooth. She chose Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Cookies and Milan Cookies from pastry chef Gale Gand of the Food Network. I was really excited to see cookies as the challenge, especially ones that involved making our own marshmallows! My favorite Pepperidge Farm Cookies are the Orange Milan Cookies, too.

Sadly, I ended up running out of time and didn't get a chance to make the Orange Milan Cookies, but I did make the Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Cookies. I was really nervous about making the homemade marshmallows... just something about it always had me worried that I would end up with a solid chunk of mess instead of fluffy white clouds of sweetness.


I am happy to report that I overcame my fear of marshmallows and the recipe was completed without a hitch! I was thrilled with the results and so surprised by how easy the marshmallows were to make. The only problem I had was with how quickly the marshmallows started to set. The recipe states that you should allow 2-3 hours for the marshmallows to set before dipping the cookies in the chocolate, so I thought I would have plenty of time to pipe my marshmallows onto the cookies. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case. I think they started to set after about 10-15 minutes... good thing was, that I found giving them another whir in the mixer bought me a little more time.


I don't have any round cookie cutters, so I used my flower-shaped cookie cutters that I got when I made the cupcake pops. I thought they would look cute, but in the end I think the regular round cookies probably would have looked better. I was able to get about 60 (1-1/2") cookies from the recipe, but only had enough marshmallow to pipe onto about 40 cookies, so I would recommend making an extra half batch of marshmallow if you try this recipe.



Everyone who tried these loved them, but I felt that these cookies were good, but not great. I think what would make them great would be a layer of soft caramel sandwiched between the cookie and marshmallow layer. So if I make these again, I will definitely do that. That said, they are fairly time consuming to make, so I'm not sure if I'll be doing that anyway. Still, these were fun to make and would be great to bring to a get together.

Thanks to Nicole of Sweet Tooth for hosting this month's challenge. I finally got to tackle the task of making homemade marshmallows and now I know how easy it is! Make sure you check out the Daring Bakers' Blogroll to see how everyone else enjoyed these cookies.

Mallows (Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Cookies)
Recipe courtesy Gale Gand

Prep Time: 10 min
Inactive Prep Time: 5 min
Cook Time: 10 min
Serves: about 2 dozen cookies (I got 5 dozen 1.5-inch cookies from a single batch)

• 3 cups (375grams/13.23oz) all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup (112.5grams/3.97oz) white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/8 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 12 tablespoons (170grams/ 6 oz) unsalted butter, softened
• 3 eggs, whisked together
• Homemade marshmallows, recipe follows (I would recommend making 1.5x the recipe)
• Chocolate glaze, recipe follows

1. In a mixer with the paddle attachment, blend the dry ingredients.
2. On low speed, add the butter and mix until sandy.
3. Add the eggs and mix until combine.
4. Form the dough into a disk, wrap with clingfilm or parchment and refrigerate at least 1 hour and up to 3 days.
5. When ready to bake, grease a cookie sheet or line it with parchment paper or a silicon mat.
6. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
7. Roll out the dough to 1/8-inch thickness, on a lightly floured surface. Use a 1 to 1 1/2 inches cookie cutter to cut out small rounds of dough.
8. Transfer to the prepared pan and bake for 10 minutes or until light golden brown. Let cool to room temperature.
9. Pipe a “kiss” of marshmallow onto each cookie. Let set at room temperature for 2 hours.
10. Line a cookie sheet with parchment or silicon mat.
11. One at a time, gently drop the marshmallow-topped cookies into the hot chocolate glaze.
12. Lift out with a fork and let excess chocolate drip back into the bowl.
13. Place on the prepared pan and let set at room temperature until the coating is firm, about 1 to 2 hours.

Note: if you don’t want to make your own marshmallows, you can cut a large marshmallow in half and place on the cookie base. Heat in a preheated 350-degree oven to slump the marshmallow slightly, it will expand and brown a little. Let cool, then proceed with the chocolate dipping.

Homemade marshmallows:
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup light corn syrup
• 3/4 cup (168.76 grams/5.95oz) sugar
• 1 tablespoon powdered gelatin
• 2 tablespoons cold water
• 2 egg whites , room temperature
• 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1. In a saucepan, combine the water, corn syrup, and sugar, bring to a boil until “soft-ball” stage, or 235 degrees on a candy thermometer.
2. Sprinkle the gelatin over the cold water and let dissolve.
3. Remove the syrup from the heat, add the gelatin, and mix.
4. Whip the whites until soft peaks form and pour the syrup into the whites.
5. Add the vanilla and continue whipping until stiff.
6. Transfer to a pastry bag.

Chocolate glaze:
• 12 ounces semisweet chocolate
• 2 ounces cocoa butter or vegetable oil

1. Melt the 2 ingredients together in the top of a double boiler or a bowl set over barely simmering water.