Recipe: Chocolate Marshmallow Cookies with Variations (like Mallomars)

CHOCOLATE MARSHMALLOW COOKIES

"Here's our interpretation of Mallomars: a crisp cookie with a marshmallow set on top, covered in a chocolate shell."

1 cup plus 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) cool, unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1/4 cup solid vegetable shortening (2 ounces)
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons honey
1 large egg yolk, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup graham cracker crumbs (see Note*)
18 large marshmallows
12 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped

Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl until well combined; set aside.

Soften the butter and shortening in a large bowl, using an electric mixer at medium speed, about 1 minute. Add the sugar and beat the mixture until fluffy and light, about 1 more minute. Beat in the honey, scrape down the sides of the bowl, and beat in the egg yolk and vanilla. Continue beating until airy and light, about 30 seconds.

Remove the electric beaters and stir in the graham cracker crumbs with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula. Then stir in the prepared flour mixture just until incorporated. The batter will be very soft but will hold together. Form it into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap, flatten into a thick disk, seal, and place in the refrigerator until firm but not rock hard, about 1 hour, but not more than 3 hours.

Meanwhile, position the rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

When firm, divide the dough in half; flatten each half a bit. Place each half between two fresh sheets of plastic wrap; lay one piece of dough on your work surface and return the other to the refrigerator. Roll the disk into a circle 1/4 inch thick and 10-inches in diameter. Remove the top sheet of plastic wrap and cut the dough into small 1- or 1 1/2-inch circles. If you cut carefully, you can use almost all the dough - but if you have leftovers, gather them together, cover with plastic wrap, and place back into the refrigerator for about 1 hour, then reroll as directed.

Use a metal spatula to transfer the cut-out circles to a large, ungreased baking sheet, preferably nonstick, spacing them about 1-inch apart.

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, or until lightly browned and somewhat springy to the touch.

While the cookies are baking, cut the marshmallows in half horizontally with kitchen scissors. You may need to clean the scissors as you cut the marshmallows to keep the residue from sticking to them and thus tearing other marshmallows as you cut them.

The moment the cookies come out of the oven, while they're still hot and on the baking sheet, place one cut marshmallow disk sticky side down on each cookie, so that the marshmallow begins to soften. Once all the cookies are topped, go over them all again, pressing down slightly so that the marshmallow mushes to the edges of the cookie. Cool the cookies completely on the baking sheet.

Repeat with the second batch of dough: rolling it out, cutting it into disks, baking them, and topping with marshmallows.

TO MAKE THE CHOCOLATE COATING:
Once all the cookies are cool, place the chocolate in the top half of a double boiler set over about 1-inch of boiling water, or in a medium bowl that fits snugly over a medium pot with about the same amount of simmering water. Stir until half the chocolate has melted, taking care not to let any steam get into the melting chocolate. Remove the top half of the double boiler or the bowl from the heat and continue stirring until all the chocolate has melted. Transfer to a deep bowl to create a pool of chocolate, then cool for 5 minutes.

Lay a large sheet of plastic wrap on your work surface, then set a wire rack on top of the plastic wrap. Pick up one cookie and dip it marshmallow side down into the melted chocolate, letting the chocolate come up to the crisp cookie and cover its sides but not the bottom. Pull the cookie up, gently shake any excess chocolate back into the bowl, and place the cookie marshmallow side up on the wire rack. Repeat with the remaining cookies. Let stand for about 1 hour, perhaps 90 minutes, to harden

*NOTE:
If you're not using purchased graham cracker crumbs, pulse 8 whole graham crackers in a food processor fitted with the chopping blade to make about 1 cup of crumbs. Do not use reduced-fat graham crackers for this recipe.

RECOMMENDED STORAGE:
1 week at room temperature, not recommended for freezing

VARIATIONS:
Mix any one of the following into the melted chocolate (The ingredients should be stirred in just after the chocolate has fully melted; make sure they are at room temperature to prevent the chocolate from seizing.):
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut chips; 1/2 cup Kellogg's Cocoa Rice Krispies or plain Rice Krispies cereal; 1/3 cup finely chopped pecans; 1/3 cup finely chopped, unsalted macadamia nuts; 1/3 cup finely chopped, unsalted, roasted peanuts; 1/3 cup finely chopped walnuts; 1/3 cup sliced almonds; 2 tablespoons finely chopped crystallized ginger; 1/2 teaspoon banana flavoring; or 1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper.

Makes about 3 dozen small cookies
Source: The Ultimate Chocolate Cookie Book by Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough