Chocolate Marshmallow Cookies Make Everything Better

Weekends are good times for cooking or baking that special treat you've been dreaming about all week.  My weakness this weekend was an awesome-sounding chocolate-covered marshmallow cookie recipe from Martha Stewart's Everyday Food magazine, which is always chock-full-of fun food ideas.  I was drawn to this dessert immediately because it combined a ginger-bread style cookie with melted marshmallows and bittersweet chocolate.  So basically...the ingredients for a s'more, except in cookie form.

And even though the whole process was a bit time consuming and meticulous, it wasn't difficult and the result was amazing.  Dan and I loved the cookies that you see above, which tasted good at room temperature but even better when refrigerated, I thought.  The chocolate coating was the best part, as it provided some crunchy texture (if refrigerated), and the whole thing went down the gullet in seconds, especially if washed down with ice cold milk. 

Chocolate-Covered Marshmallow Cookies

Store these cookies in an airtight container, in a cool place up to 5 days.  The dough can be frozen, up to 3 months; thaw overnight in the refrigerator.

Ingredients:
1/4 cup plus 2 tbs all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled), plus more for working
1/4 cup plus 2 tbs whole-wheat flour (spooned and leveled)
1/4 tsp coarse salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
3 tbs unsalted butter, room temperature
3 tbs packed light-brown sugar
1 large egg
9 large marshmallows, halved
9 oz semi-sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped (or chocolate chips)

Directions:
1.  Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees with racks in upper and lower thirds.  In a medium bowl, whisk together flours, salt, baking soda, baking powder and cinnamon.  In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter and brown sugar on high, scraping down bowl as needed until light, 4 minutes.  Add egg and beat to combine, scraping down bowl as needed.  With mixer on low, gradually add flour mixture and beat until combined.

2.  Drop dough by tbsp, 3 inches apart, onto two parchment-lined baking sheets.  With the bottom of a measuring cup dipped in flour, flatten cookies to 2 inches in diameter.  Bake until dry and set, about 7 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through.  Remove from oven and top each cookie with a marshmallow half.  Bake until marshmallows are soft, 2 minutes.

3.  Remove from oven and, with a metal spatula, gently flatten each marshmallow.  Let cookies cool completely on sheets on wire racks.

4.  Place chocolate in a medium heat-proof bowl set over (not in) a saucepan of simmering water.  Stir until melted, 2 minutes.  Remove bowl from pan.  Place one cookie at a time on tines of a fork, submerge in chocolate, then tap fork on edge of bowl to remove excess.  Place on wire rack set over a baking sheet.  Let cookies set in refrigerator, about 10 minutes.