Chocolate chocolate cookies
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has a Christmas cookie contest each year, and these cookies were featured. These cookies were originally called Chocolate surprise cookies by Martha Stewart because they have a "surprise" marshmallow in the center. I changed the name because my son told me he thought the cookies would be better without the marshmallow. No marshmallow, no surprise. Hence the name change. I also experimented with dipping the cookies in chocolate and simply covering the marshmallow with chocolate. My son's verdict was to dip the whole cookie but leave out the marshmallow. If you are unfamiliar with baking cookies, please read the Baking flour-based cookie blog.
| Recipe makes | Active time | Total time |
|---|---|---|
| Special equipment needed |
|---|
| Mixer |
| Whisk |
| Baking sheets |
| Cooling rack |
| Sifter |
| Cookie ingredients |
|---|
| 1 3/4 cups flour, measured by the spoon and level technique |
| 3/4 cups unsweetened cocoa powder |
| 1/2 teaspoon baking soda |
| 1/2 teaspoon salt |
| 1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature |
| 1 cup sugar |
| 1 egg |
| 1 teaspoon vanilla extract |
| 1/2 cup milk |
| 18 large marshmallows, cut in half horizontally |
| Variations |
|---|
| • Leave the marshmallows out. |
| Storage |
|---|
| • These cookies dry out pretty quickly, so store them in an airtight container and eat them as soon as you can. This should not be a problem! |
| Chocolate icing ingredients |
|---|
| 9 tablespoons unsalted butter |
| 1/2 cup milk |
| 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract |
| 4 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted |
| scant 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted |
| Instructions |
|---|
| • Preheat oven to 375º. |
| • Lightly grease 3 baking sheets with butter or line them with Silpat sheets or parchment paper. If you don't have 3, use what you have. Just let the sheets cool completely before using again. |
| • Thoroughly combine the flour, 3/4 cup cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. |
| • Using a mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. |
| • Add the egg. Mix until it is combined. Add the vanilla and mix. Add half of the milk, then half of the dry ingredients, and mix. Add the remaining liquid and dry ingredients. Mix until just combined. Do no overmix. |
| • Drop 1 tablespoon of dough onto the cookie sheet about 2" apart. Bake for 10 minutes until the cookies start to spread but aren't fully cooked. If you are baking only one sheet in the oven, remember to turn it back to front halfway through cooking. If you have two sheets, remember to rotate them Front to back, top to bottom halfway through cooking. |
| • Remove the sheet from the oven and add a half marshmallow on top of each cookie. Return the sheet to the oven and cook another 2 minutes until the marshmallows melt. |
| • While the cookies are cooling, make the Chocolate icing. Combine the sifted powdered sugar and cocoa powder into a bowl. Combine thoroughly. Set aside. |
| • Melt the 9 tablespoons of butter in a medium sauce pan. Add the milk and vanilla. Using a whisk, add the powdered sugar/cocoa mixture to the liquid butter mixture. Whisk until completely combined and smooth. |
| • Dip the cookies into this mixture or drizzle the mixture over the cookies. If the chocolate becomes too thick to dip, reheat it gently and continue dipping. |
| • Cool the cookies completely before storing. This make take several hours or overnight. Test by touching the chocolate. No fingerprints should remain on the surface. |
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