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.
(I only made the Chocolate Covered Marshmallow cookies - I'll try out the Milan ones another time)
When I looked at the recipe challenge this month I got very excited... not only did it highlight cookies - which, as you know, I became obsessed with... but these are the cookies that my mother gushes about...
My mom grew up in a large family, and when she first moved out on her own she bought herself a box of whippets and ate the entire thing in one sitting - sugar overload to be sure, but who hasn't done that once or twice in their lifetime?!
I was excited to be able to make something that I just knew my mom would enjoy... I baked my batch just before her week long camping trip - a little treat to enjoy while sitting next to the campfire.
Note: This recipe has a few stages - all fairly simple, but they still require a bit of premeditation - the cookie dough needs to chill a little in the fridge before being baked, and although I made my marshmallows in advance, next time I'll make them the same day and pipe them onto the cookie base, allow to harden a little and then dip in the chocolate glaze.
My version of a Whippet
Mallows(Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Cookies)
Recipe courtesy Gale Gand, from Food Network website
ingredients:
3 c. all purpose flour
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 tsp baking powder
3/8 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
3 eggs, whisked together
In your food processor, combine the dry ingredients. Slowly add in the butter and continue to combine until the dough is almost sandy. Add the eggs and mix well to combine.
Remove the dough from the bowl and form it into a disk. You want to wrap it up in plastic wrap and have it chill in the fridge for at least 1 hour - I let mine sit in there for 3 days.
When you're ready to bake, preheat your oven to 375 F. Line your cookie sheets with parchment paper.
Roll out your dough (with your rolling pin) until it's about 1/8-inch thick. I used a 1 1/2 inch round cookie cutter to cut out the rounds of dough.
Bake for 10 minutes - they will be slightly golden. Remove from the tray and allow to cool completely on a wire rack.
Note: My batch made 100 cookies!!! (I baked and froze all but 2 dozen of them). In order to keep that amount of dough from warming up too much, I cut out my rounds and then kept them in the fridge until it was time to bake them. But feel free to load these onto the trays - they don't spread as they bake.
Let the real fun begin now that they have completely cooled :0)
Since I had already made my Marshmallows (see blog entry, July 16th)I cut them up into small cubes and spread a little blueberry jam on the top of the cookie and then topped them with the marshmallow. I placed the cookies on a parchment lined cookie tray and placed them in a 350 F oven to have them "slump" a little - pay attention! otherwise they completely melt. They only need about 1 - 2 minutes to slump.
**This is how to do it if you decide to use purchased marshmallows
If you're going to make the marshmallows day of (follow the same recipe as before) - only once you have completed your batch, transfer the batter to a Ziploc bag that you have cut off a tip and pipe the marshmallow onto the cookie top. Allow to sit for a couple of hours while they firm up.
Chocolate Glaze:
ingredients:
12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
2 ounces vegetable oil
Melt the 2 ingredients together in the top of a bowl set over barely simmering water.
Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. One at a time, gently drop the marshmallow-topped cookies into the hot chocolate glaze. Life it with a fork, allow the excess chocolate to drip back into the bowl and place on the prepared pan. Allow them to set at room temperature (a couple of hours) - I then transferred the pans to my fridge and had them chill overnight.
Really really good - half of them had the blueberry jam, and half of them didn't. Both were enjoyed by all - my mother, her friends, my co-workers... myself ;0) Give them a try - they might seem like a lot of work - but they are so worth it!
Happy baking!
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