Marshmallow Sandwich Cookies

Baked goods can brighten a day. And if you make enough, maybe it can even brighten a whole week. A photographer friend of mine told me about a recipe for marshmallow fluff cookies and asked if I'd make it. Though I have experimented with marshmallows, I made a vegan version when I made my homemade moon pies.

The thing with marshmallows is that they give me mixed feelings. I love the flavor, but don't love thinking about gelatin. Marshmallow fluff, though, is a different kind of 'mallow. The level of firmness that gelatin provides is not needed here, and so fluff is really a meringue. It's a combination of fluffy egg whites, sugar, and vanilla. The only trick is having a bit of patience while watching whipped egg whites evolve into a meringue.

I decided to make these with black cocoa cookies. I can already tell what you're thinking. "These look like Oreos!" You know what, I can live with that. Because black cocoa makes for a DAMN good cookie. There is a reason I have used it in cinnamon rolls. It is that good.

The dough is your average dough, though with a bit less butter than your average chocolate chip cookie. This made sense though: I need it to hold up and not spread too much on the pan. Ultimately, this would have to be a firm and stable cookie to hold the weight of the sandwich reasonability I would put on each one.

I made them smaller because I wanted to get a decent quantity out of the batch, so used a smaller cookie scoop.

To make the fluff, I whipped 2 egg whites in my mixer with some cream of tartar. I beat it for 7-10 minutes, until firm peaks formed.

In the mean time, in a small pot I heated up cane sugar, corn syrup, salt, and vanilla sugar and inserted a candy thermometer, clipping it to the side of the pot. Allow me to admit my ignorance when it came to cane sugar; I read it in the recipe and thought, "Meh, I could just use sugar." But, cane sugar is like a cross between powdered sugar and granulated sugar, and the bag itself notes it is "the frosting sugar". I cannot speak to the actual difference granulated sugar would have made in a recipe where it melted (though the measurements may require adjusting), but can say that the light texture of cane sugar seemed appropriate for the recipe.

As the syrup cooked over medium heat, I stirred it from time to time until it got to 240 degrees F. At that point, with the mixer on low, I slowly stirred the hot syrup into the egg whites. Once the whole pot was in there, I turned up the speed and beat it for a minute, until the mixture seemed somewhat firm.

After the cookies had cooled, I scooped a little bit of marshmallow fluff onto the bottom of one, then completed the sandwich by stacking another on top. Pro tip: don't over do it. Put some in the center, leavint room around the edges. Then, when you stack the top one on, it won't just gush out all over the place.

And just like that, I had marshmallow fluff cookies.

Can we talk about the pretty contrast of the dark and light?

But really, it was the flavor.

I mentioned that black cocoa powder is something else, and proved my point here. That Oreo flavor - because let's face it, anyone who grew up with Oreos in their life knows that black cocoa is the key ingredient - combined with the vanilla marshmallow fluff? Chef's kiss. But it doesn't end there.

This filling was good on its own, but also can be used with any number of cookies. Throw some crushed cookie in there. Roll the outside in sprinkles. The world is your oyster.

My favorite part may be unique to this flavor combination, though. And that is that one of these was enough. You read that right. One of these cookies had enough sweet, enough flavor to hit the spot. I didn't need or want 20. One or two? Happy flavor, happy me. I find that so rare in desserts, but boy do I love when it happens.

Skill-wise, I think you'll find these are beginner cookies. The fluff is no more challenging than frosting to make (and you don't need a frosting tip!), and, well, cookies are cookies.

This is a 11/10 cookie sandwich. I'm not going to throw out more adjectives just for the sake of describing these stupendous cookies. We won't need intense descriptors to understand the marvelous flavors that filled this outstanding cookie sandwich. No, the sublime cookies speak for themselves in the photos, and I hope you'll trust me on this one.

Marshmallow Sandwich Cookies Recipe

Ingredients:

For the cookies:

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/3 cup black cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon almond extract (optional)

1 cup chocolate chips (I used minis since I was making smaller cookies)

For the marshmallow fluff:

6 tablespoons egg whites (2 egg whites)

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

3/4 cup cane sugar

1/2 cup cane syrup

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon vanilla sugar (or one vanilla bean)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions:

For the cookies:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, black cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Beat the butter and sugars together until fluffy. Mix in the egg and vanilla. Gradually add the flour mixture until just combined. Stir in the chocolate chips. Use a small cookie scoop to spoon the dough onto parchment or silicone-lined pans, with the scoop varying depending on the size of cookie you would like. Bake until the tops of the cookies begin to crack slightly, 12-14 minutes. Cool completely.

For the marshmallow fluff:

In a stand mixing bowl, add egg whites and cream of tartar. Beat with the whisk attachment on high speed. The mixture will become foamy and then solidify. When stiff peaks begin to form, stop the mixer. In a small saucepan, add cane sugar, corn syrup, salt, and vanilla sugar. Clip a candy thermometer to the side of the pan and heat on medium until the mixture reaches 240 degrees F, stirring occasionally. If a vanilla bean was used, remove it at this time. Put mixer on low speed and slowly pour the hot syrup into the bowl until all syrup is blended in. Add vanilla extract. Continue whipping until mixture has firmed slightly.

To make the cookies, place a spoonful of marshmallow fluff in the center on the bottom of the cookie. Place another cookie on top, then gently squeeze to disperse the filling. Keep refrigerated.

cookie recipe adapted from chocolate sandwich cookies / marshmallow fluff recipe adapted from ample hills creamery's version