Chocolate covered Marshmallow Cookies - Daring Baker's Challenge July 2009

The July Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Nicole of Sweet Tooth. She chose Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Cookies and Milan Cookies from pastry chef Gale Gand of the Food Network.

This is my first experience at the Daring Baker's Challenge and am looking forward to more of it.

Mallow experience -

I was very fascinated with the entire process.Though the time mentioned in the original recipe was very reasonable but it took a li'l long for me.I have never used marshmallows in my baking and this was the first time.I had some store bought ones which came handy.I had halved the quantity of the ingredients which means I should have ended up with 24 cookies but I ended up with 36 of them!

Mallows (Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Cookies) Recipe courtesy Gale Gand, from Food Network website
Prep Time: 15 min (cookies only)
Inactive Prep Time: 1 hours or up to 3 days (cookies only)
Cook Time: 10 min (cookies only)
Serves: 36 cookies



Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups All purpose flour
¼ cup white sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
6 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 eggs, whisked together
Homemade marshmallows, recipe follows(However I used the store bought ones)
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 cling film 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. Lift out with a fork and let excess chocolate drip back into the bowl.

12.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.

Prep Time: 5 min (marshmallows only)
Inactive Prep Time: 2 hours (marshmallows only)
Cook Time: 10-20 min (marshmallows only, includes cooking sugar & whipping marshmallow)
Serves: About 4 dozen cookies at 1 - 1.5 inch
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.

Prep Time: 5 min (glaze only)
Inactive Prep Time: N/A
Cook Time: 5-7 min (glaze only)
Serves: Enough to dip about 4 doz. cookies at 1 - 1.5 inch

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.



Verdict –

The cookies even without the chocolate glaze tasted very well.I didn’t use a cookie cutter hence my cookies were quite big in size and the marshmallow on top looked too small.End of the day,I am satisfied with my experience with the mallows.It was tasty and very chocolaty.Since I had used store bought marshmallows,I had to bake it for few mintues.Guess I had left it for a longer time and they turned completely flat.Had to redo it.

I love the Peperridge farm Milano Cookies,was too keen on making them.However due to time constraint I had to choose between the Mallows and the Milano cookies.Chocolate always comes first,hence I decided on the Mallows.Will need to plan ahead of time in the future.Am eagerly looking forward to the other Baker's post.