marshmallow surprise cookies

Recently, the Nixes came to dinner with their kiddos who are, respectively, 4 days, and 9 weeks, older than our kiddos. They are all very good friends, and we were able to shuffle them off to play after dinner while the adults sat and chatted. Whoohoo! I can't remember the occasion - though I know I actually cooked dinner - but it was the perfect opportunity to make these special cookies.

See how cute?

And... surprise! Marshmallows in the middle!

I have to admit, I was really excited about these cookies and I did not really love them, which is disappointing because the author of the blog where I found them, did. Both the cookies and the glaze tasted of cocoa rather than chocolate. I didn't use the super-special Valrhona cocoa, primarily because I'm finding it prohibitively expensive. I've made several recipes flavored with cocoa lately, and they have all had that strong cocoa-not-chocolate taste. So either I've become more sensitive to cocoa, the recipes aren't great, or I need to bite the bullet and invest again in Valrhona.

Back to the cookies. They actually tasted like a store-bought snack cake. The consistency was just right: the cookie was cakey, which isn't usually my favorite, but it complemented the marshmallow and glaze perfectly. The marshmallow gave it added sweetness and chewiness. And though I didn't like the glaze alone, its flavor worked well with the other two components. I was disappointed that the marshmallows held their shape as much as they did; had the edges been more softly rounded, the chocolate glaze would have more thoroughly disguised the surprise inside.

Verdict: though there was nothing exactly wrong with them, they were certainly not worth all the work, so I won't make them again. But I'll let you decide for yourselves!

Marshmallow Surprise Cookies (makes about 24)

1 3/4 cups (7 3/8 ounces) flour

3/4 cup (2 1/4 ounces) cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter

1 cup (7 ounces) sugar

1 egg

1/2 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

12 large marshmallows (give or take), cut in half horizontally

Chocolate Glaze (makes 1 cup)

2 cups (8 ounces) powdered sugar

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1/4 cup milk

1/4 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 375F. Whisk together flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add egg, milk, and vanilla, and beat until well combined. Add reserved flour mixture and beat on low until combined.

Use a 1 3/4" cookie scoop to scoop dough; place cookies about 2" apart on a cookie sheet lined with a silpat or parchment. Bake until cookies begin to spread and become firm, 10-12 minutes.

Remove cookies from the oven and place a marshmallow, cut side down, in the center of each cookie, pressing down slightly. Return pan to the oven and bake for another 2 or so minutes, until the marshmallows begin to melt. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

Whisk together the glaze ingredients. Spread about a tablespoon of glaze on each cookie so the marshmallow is completely covered. I tried doing this two ways: I dunked the cookies in the glaze, then shook them gently to remove the excess, and I also used a small offset spatula to spread the glaze. Dunking covered them adequately but really got too much glaze on each one; the offset spatula worked better.

Here's how they look pre-glaze:

Don't they look like they should be good? Oh well!