Mallowpuffs: Marshmallows covered in chocolate, aka little clouds of joy

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 noticed that one of you guessed it: those vegetarian marshmallows from the last post had another purpose (aside from me eating them without shame straight from the pan every time I opened the fridge). They were for the July Daring Baker's Challenge: Mallowpuffs! Or, at least that's what they're apparently called in Australia. In the recipe, they're just referred to as Mallows. But I like the addition of "puff" at the end: it brings to mind images of little clouds of joy - just tiny little bites of fluffy goodness. And that's exactly what they are.

My pictures and process follow the recipe:

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 (link to my post on vegetarian marshmallows)
• 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 combined.
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.

Chocolate glaze:
• 12 ounces semisweet chocolate
• 2 ounces cocoa butter or vegetable oil (I used clarified butter)

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

I have no mixer, much less a paddle attachment. But a wooden spoon worked just fine.

This is the "sandy" texture.

This is what it looks like when "combined." If you don't have time to leave it in the fridge, just stick it in the freezer for 30 minutes.

I didn't have a cookie cutter, so I just used a POM glass. Basically,
anything that's round and the size you want is fair game.

Mmm... fresh from the oven! On their own, these are lightly sweet and a little biscuit-like.
They'd be great with jam and tea. (Which is good, because it made about twice as many cookies as I needed! Halving the dough recipe would work just fine.)

If you made or bought vegetarian marshmallows, I'd recommend letting the marshmallows sit in the freezer for awhile before assembling. They're a little more gooey and sticky than regular marshmallows, and (at least on my first attempt at making them) seemed to "melt" and loose their shape a little if they sat out too long. That said, freezing them does not hurt or change their texture at all, which makes me think freezing the cookies would work pretty well, too. Unfortunately, I didn't test that because they all got eaten before I had the chance...

As for the chocolate glaze, I read that clarified butter is cheaper than cocoa butter, but makes the chocolate coating taste better than using vegetable oil. I tried it, and it certainly tasted good, but I don't think it really hardened all that well (if you picked a cookie up, the chocolate under your fingers melted - delicious to lick off your fingers, but not as classy-looking if you have company over). So, if any of you try other things (or if clarified butter worked for you), I'd love to hear!

Hope everyone enjoys their Mallowpuffs!