Ever have one of those weekends?

You know….the weekend that was supposed to be laid back and relaxing but ended up being hectic and exhausting instead?

Well this weekend was one of those weekends….

My only plan for this weekend was to prepare my first post with The Daring Kitchen’s Daring Bakers Challenge!

Friday and Saturday became a blur as last minute plans with friends and family arose leaving me with Sunday as the only day for me to bake for the challenge. Something I typically would never do (I hate being rushed).

But never the less I was really looking forward to Sunday still being a day of relaxation and baking. The stars however, had different plans in store for me….

My wife and I decided to knock out our run early in the morning to get the 7 mile run (we are training for a half marathon in the fall) finished before the Texas heat could really kick in. As we were rounding the 3 mile marker we ran into two stray dogs that had collars and looked as though they had just made a jail break and were needing returned home.

To make a long story short, our run got scrapped as we tired to locate the owners and resulted in our day starting at 2:30 in the afternoon after a successful (albeit difficult) return of the escapees’….

so much for that slow and relaxing weekend….

With this being my very first post with the Daring Bakers I must admit I was extremely excited when I read that we would be making some really awesome cookies. 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. These cookies are not only fun to make but tasty too! I mean just look at this thing!

The marshmallow cookie or “Mallow” is basically a S’more that has been covered in a chocolate shell. Which to me is a great idea because not only are they less messy, they become much more portable!

Mallows begin by baking first mixing all of your dry ingredients on a low speed until they are combined.

Continuing your on slow speed mix in your butter until the mixture becomes sandy in texture. Once this is achieved it’s time to drop in your eggs and continue mixing until your dough is formed.

Roll your dough and cover it with plastic wrap and refrigerate for about an hour.

Once your dough has set roll it into a 1/8 inch thick circle on lightly floured surface. Now the recipe calls for you to use a 1 to 1 ½ inch cookie cutter to cut out your dough. Which is what I’ve down above. However…..

The dough can really be cut into whatever shapes you feel like making. You are only limited by your imagination! I choose to use some hearts, stars, and my really cool ice cream cone cookie cutter.

Pop these into the oven and bake for 10 minutes or until golden brown. Place them on a cooling rack to cool.

While your cookies are cooling it’s time to make your marshmallow filling. Begin by boiling your sugar, water, and syrup until it reaches the “soft-ball” stage which is approximately 235 degrees.

When your syrup has come to temperature remove it from the heat and moving quickly prepare your gelatin in a separate dish by sprinkling the gelatin over 2 tablespoons cold water.

After about a minute your gelatin should have set. Mix this into your syrup with a whisk until no visible chunks of gelatin can be seen. Beat 2 egg whites at room temperature until soft peaks form then pour your gelatin syrup into the egg whites and add your vanilla. Again beat the mixture until stiff peaks begin to form. This may take a few moments so be patient. The better stiffer you make your peaks the more control you will have with placement of your mash marshmallow.

Transfer your marshmallow to a piping bag and add a kiss of marshmallow onto each cookie.

Make sure to cover every cookie as completely as possible. If you are using cookie cutters with somewhat sharp edges you can carefully use a tooth pick to stretch the marshmallow out to the edges. This will help your cookies keep its shape when dunked into the chocolate.

Let your marshmallows stand for 2 hours to allow them to set. The recipe calls for you to make a chocolate coating by double boiling chocolate and vegetable oil. However, I personally prefer chocolate that has been tempered instead as it will create a hard candy type shell that will give you a little crunch in your cookie. You will also find that the chocolate won’t melt to your fingers or get unsightly sugar bloom after a sitting out for a day. I plan on doing a post later this week on tempering chocolate so make sure you check back with me. Dunk each cookie into the chocolate and remove using a fork or chocolate dipping tool. Again let them sit for about an hour to set …… if you can…..

Mallows(Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Cookies)
Recipe courtesy Gale Gand, from Food Network website

Prep Time: 10 min
Inactive Prep Time: 5 min
Cook Time: 10 min
Serves: about 2 dozen cookies

• 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.
2. On low speed, add the butter and mix until sandy.
3. Add the eggs and mix until combine.
4. Form the dough into a disk, wrap with clingfilm or parchment and refrigerate at least 1 hour and up to 3 days.
5. When ready to bake, grease a cookie sheet or line it with parchment paper or a silicon mat.
6. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
7. Roll out the dough to 1/8-inch thickness, on a lightly floured surface. Use a 1 to 1 1/2 inches cookie cutter to cut out small rounds of dough.
8. Transfer to the prepared pan and bake for 10 minutes or until light golden brown. Let cool to room temperature.
9. Pipe a “kiss” of marshmallow onto each cookie. Let set at room temperature for 2 hours.
10. Line a cookie sheet with parchment or silicon mat.
11. One at a time, gently drop the marshmallow-topped cookies into the hot chocolate glaze.
12. Lift out with a fork and let excess chocolate drip back into the bowl.
13. 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
• 2 ounces cocoa butter or vegetable oil

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