Chocolate Frosted Peanut Butter Marshmallow Cookies

This weekend my eyes happened upon a bag of homemade chocolate marshmallows I made around Christmas. The recipe made a ginormous amount of ‘mallows and I had barely put a dent in the bag by dropping five in each cup of hot chocolate I’ve had since Christmas. In the mood for cookies, I wondered if I could find a cookie recipe using marshmallows. (I had S’Mores and Rocky Road on my mind.)

A quick search of the internet found an interesting result. There are several different types of recipes floating around topping your average cookie with a marshmallow and then frosting the whole she-bang. I was intrigued. This was exactly the kind of recipe that would help me use up most if not all of my marshmallows. I modeled my recipe after Brown Eyed Baker’s recipe for Chocolate Marshmallow Cookies.

ingredients.

2 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1 T. unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1/2 c. butter, browned and cooled
1/2 c. vegetable shortening
1 c. peanut butter
1 c. granulated sugar
1 c. dark brown sugar, packed
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
chocolate marshmallows
2 1/2 c. powdered sugar
6 T. butter, at room temperature
2 T. peanut butter
¼ c. unsweetened cocoa powder
¼ c. hot milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
Sprinkles, for decorating

directions.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt; set aside.
Using an electric mixer, cream together the melted brown butter, vegetable shortening, sugars and peanut butter on medium-high speed until well combined.
Add the eggs and vanilla and beat until combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Reduce the speed to low and add the flour mixture. Mix until incorporated.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Scoop out a tablespoon of dough at a time, roll into balls and place on the prepared baking sheets about 2 inches apart.
Bake 7 to 8 minutes. Remove the cookies from the oven and press a marshmallow into the center of each cookie.
Return to the oven for 2 or 3 more minutes. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, peanut butter, butter, cocoa powder, milk and vanilla extract. Top each cookie with a heaping amount of frosting, taking care to cover all of the marshmallow on top. If desired, top with sprinkles. Let the cookies sit for at least 30 minutes before serving so the frosting hardens up a bit.

Recipe rating: 

These cookies were a huge hit at work today. It’s kind of amusing to watch people flock to the cookie container. Some are embarrassed to be going back for seconds while others are unabashed about it.

Even more amusing was that people could not figure out what made the cookies so special (even though I sent out an email to people not within eyesight inviting them to try Chocolate Frosted Peanut Butter Marshmallow Cookies!). A lot of people thought the marshmallow was actually part of the frosting, so it was the frosting that was extra special. (Though I believe the cookies are probably darn good on their own!)