Marshmallows seem so simple, but are for some reason, so ridiculously delicious! I'm sure I'm not the only one that ends up shoving handfuls of mini marshmallows into their mouth like you would popcorn at the movie theatre. I was guiltily caught doing that a couple times while making these monster marshmallow cookies, which were a feature in my Food Network Magazine. (And don't worry. The recipe only calls for 1-2 cups, so you'll have plenty left for snacking!)
These cookies were kind of a kitchen-sink concoction that included rice crispy cereal, marshmallows, milk chocolate chips, and oatmeal. All the ingredients did not overwhelm the cookie either, but then again, I like my cookies jam-packed with goodies...
One of my other favorite marshmallow snacks during this time of year are Peeps! I'm one of those people that is totally suckered into all the fun, bright, festive colors and shapes they now come in and end up buying more than I probably ought to. I know some people think Peeps are disgusting and I'll be honest, I don't really get that. They're pretty much sugar covered sugar. If that's so wrong, I don't want to be right. :-)
So this is one of those recipes that I print off months ago and finally get around to making only last week! Of course that's pretty common with me. I have so many recipes that I usually have no idea where to start and when you have "tried and true" recipes, it's hard to not keep making the same ones over and over!
But I decided to break out of my baking rut (which I've been in for awhile) and I actually ended up making this recipe on a snow day. It's a good thing I did that because there is no way I'd be able to fit these in on a weekday normally! It took me about 4 hours total to make these bars with all the different steps and the refrigeration time. There's also something magical about heating up the oven on a snow day when you don't have to go outside. Just makes the day seem warm and cozy.
The bottom layer of these bars is just a simple sugar cookie mix. The middle layer is a homemade chocolate mousse. The top layer is a kind of chocolate glaze or ganache. To make the mousse, you have to whip your own cream and just a tip to make that step a little easier: chill the bowl first. It makes it go a lot faster than if your bowl is room temperature!
While 4 hours may seem like a lot of work and effort for one pan of bars, they are definitely worth it! They taste fantastic and aren't overly rich. I may have to experiment with mousse more! :-)
Now, I know you have heard me preach about how I am not much of a cookie person, but I do have a soft spot for Snickerdoodles. I am not sure why. It may stem from the fact that this cookie is a close cousin of the sugar cookie, which is my absolute favorite type.
This type of cookie always stands out in my mind because of two characteristics. One, it has that signature crackled top due to rolling the dough in a cinnamon sugar mixture prior to baking. Two, it always calls for cream of tartar, which always kind of confused me as an ingredient. Now, I actually had to go look this up, because it was bothering me, but I guess cream of tartar is actually a type of salt that helps activate baking soda (which is also in the recipe). I do not know why, or if, you wanted to know this fact, but now you have learned your piece of random food trivia for the day! Great fact to share at your next cocktail or dinner party if you ask me...
Now if you are expecting me to have some insight as to why these cookies are called Snickerdoodles, you may be sadly mistaken. Due to my quick web research, it seems like everyone has a different theory as to how this name came about. The best theory I came across was from The Joy of Cooking and they claim it comes from a German word for a type of cinnamon roll that translates to "snail noodle". Hmmm... I think Snickerdoodle sounds a lot more appetizing than snail noodle, but if you want to call them snail noodles from now on, be my guest! :-)
Snow Caps. Chocolate Crinkles. Chocolate Blossoms. Whatever you want to call them, I think they're pretty much a standard cookie fave in any household. I don't have a particular recipe I go to when I want to make these cookies, I usually just end up coming across a recipe for it in some cookbook I'm looking through and inspiration just hits me. I don't think I've ever made the same recipe twice... However, I've never been disappointed! This recipe was especially good because the cookies came out very chewy and the the chocolate kisses were just a little bit melted, which made kind of a molten-center. I know some people like crunchy, crisp cookies, but I like my cookies the way I like my pizza crust. Soft and chewy.
As I've stated in past posts, I'm more of a cookie bar kind of person than a traditional cookie one. Every time I decide to make a traditional cookie, I'm always reminded of how much extra time they take to prep! With bars, you just make the dough, press it in the pan, bake, eat, done. With traditional cookies, like these for example, there's the scooping, and the rolling into balls, and the coating with powdered sugar, and adding the kisses on top after baking. It was like an all day excursion! I dream of the day when I have a double oven so I can bake more batches at once, but for right now, I'm stuck with my "one or two pans at a time" oven. It's always a relief when all that work and prep is worth the reward!
Marshmallows seem so simple, but are for some reason, so ridiculously delicious! I'm sure I'm not the only one that ends up shoving handfuls of mini marshmallows into their mouth like you would popcorn at the movie theatre. I was guiltily caught doing that a couple times while making these monster marshmallow cookies, which were a feature in my Food Network Magazine. (And don't worry. The recipe only calls for 1-2 cups, so you'll have plenty left for snacking!)
