DB: Mallows

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

This is my first Daring Bakers challenge and I was super excited about making these. Lately I have had so little time to bake that I was glad to see that these fit in nicely with my schedule as they can be done in steps spread out over a period of time. I didn't make my own marshmallows either. Hmm... I guess that doesn't make me a very good "daring baker", eh? However, I did make my own caramels and I put a little dollop between the marshmallow and the cookie, although you can't tell from the pix. I topped each with an almond sliver to pretty them up.

I wonder if anyone else experienced this, but I think the recipe calls for too much oil in the glaze. Mine never set up properly and they had to be served cold, directly from the fridge or else the chocolate dripped off. Nobody complained, but next time I would only use 1 tsp or so of oil in the glaze, so I changed the recipe included here to reflect that. The cookie base worked really well with the Mallows but on their own, they aren't very tasty.

Mallows (Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Cookies)
Adapted from Gale Gand, Food Network | Makes 3 dozen

• 3 cups (375grams/13.23oz) all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup (112.5grams/3.97oz) white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/8 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 12 tablespoons (170grams/ 6 oz) unsalted butter
• 3 eggs, whisked together
• Homemade marshmallows***, recipe follows
• Chocolate glaze, recipe follows

1. In a mixer with the paddle attachment, blend the dry ingredients. On low speed, add the butter and mix until sandy. Add the eggs and mix until combine. Form the dough into a disk, wrap with clingfilm or parchment and refrigerate at least 1 hour and up to 3 days.
2. When ready to bake, grease a cookie sheet or line it with parchment paper or a silicon mat. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Roll out the dough to 1/8-inch thickness, on a lightly floured surface. Use a 1 1/2 inches cookie cutter to cut out small rounds of dough. Transfer to the prepared pan and bake for 10 minutes or until light golden brown. Let cool to room temperature.
3. Pipe a “kiss” of marshmallow onto each cookie. Let set at room temperature for 2 hours.
4. Line a cookie sheet with parchment or silicone mat. 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. 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.

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.

Chocolate glaze:

• 12 ounces semisweet chocolate
• 1 tsp vegetable oil

Melt the 2 ingredients together in the top of a double boiler or a bowl set over barely simmering water.