WANT TO SAVE THIS RECIPE?
Enter your email below and we will send it straight to your inbox. Plus you will get great new recipes from us every week!
Peppermint Chocolate Marshmallow Cookies
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup cocoa powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup milk
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon peppermint extract
- 30 peppermint swirl marshmallows sliced in half
CHOCOLATE FROSTING:
- 3 cups confectioners’ sugar
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter melted and cooled
- ¼ cup plus 1 ½ teaspoon cocoa powder
- ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoon milk
- ¾ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add egg, milk, and extracts, and beat until well combined. Add the flour mixture and mix on low speed until combined.
- Using a tablespoon or 1 ¾-inch ice cream scoop (#40), drop portions of dough onto ungreased baking sheets, about 2 inches apart. Bake until cookies begin to spread and become firm, 7 to 10 minutes.
- Remove the baking sheets from the oven and place a marshmallow, cut-side down, in the center of each cookie, pressing down slightly. Return to the oven and continue baking until the marshmallows begin to melt, 2 to 2 ½ minutes.
- Transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting. To frost, spread about 1 tablespoon of frosting over each marshmallow, starting in the center and continuing outward until the marshmallow is covered.
CHOCOLATE FROSTING:
- Place confectioners’ sugar in a medium bowl. Whisk in butter and cocoa powder. Add milk and vanilla, and whisk until well combined.
Notes
Nutrition
Chocolate Marshmallow Cookies feature tender, caky, peppermint chocolate cookies with a marshmallow hidden under a fudgy homemade chocolate frosting.
WANT TO SAVE THIS RECIPE?
Enter your email below and we’ll send it straight to your inbox. Plus you’ll get great new recipes from us every week!
Every year around the holidays, you’ll find festive peppermint swirl marshmallows. They are so fun and pretty with their pink swirls that I can’t resist buying a bag or two. Years ago, I started adding them to my classic Marshmallow Surprise Cookie recipe for a seasonal twist. You can’t go wrong with the classic combination of chocolate and peppermint with a colorful surprise inside.
Update: I’ve updated this post with new photos and tips so you and your loved ones can enjoy these pillowy peppermint chocolate marshmallow cookies this holiday season.
How to Make Chocolate Marshmallow Cookies
There are three layers to these Christmas cookies. First, a fudgy, cake-like chocolate cookie on the bottom. Then, the surprise layer of a fluffy peppermint marshmallow. And finally, a smear of fudgy homemade chocolate frosting. As a result, every bite of homemade cookie has the perfect balance of texture, sweetness, and seasonal flair.
Despite these three beautiful layers, these cookies are impressively easy to make. The frosting comes together in one bowl with five simple ingredients.
What Kind of Marshmallows Should I Use?
These chocolate marshmallow cookies will work with most seasonal marshmallows. I usually find fun holiday marshmallows at Target or Walmart, or wherever Jet-Puffed marshmallows are sold.
If you can’t find colorful or flavored marshmallows, you can also use plain jumbo ones. The jumbo ones are better, as you’ll slice each marshmallow into two rounds. Even with plain marshmallows, you’ll have a seasonal touch of peppermint flavor from the extract in the cookie dough.
This year Kraft only sold the peppermint swirl mini marshmallows, which will work as well, just put a few minis on top of the cookie instead of half of a jumbo marshmallow.
Or, if you’re feeling ambitious, one of our readers found a homemade marshmallow recipe to make these cookies 100% from scratch!
Tip: When baking cookies, use a scoop to portion out the dough and get perfectly round, even size cookies.
How Will I Know the Cookies are Done?
With chocolate cookies, it can be trickier to know when they’re done baking. You won’t see the same golden color cues as you get from sugar or chocolate chip cookies. And with this recipe, you want to be sure not to over-bake the cookies the first time around.
Remember, you’ll be putting the cookies back into the oven for another 2 to 3 minutes with a marshmallow slice on top. I recommend pulling them when the edges are set and the center has started to firm up. I err on the side of less cooking and usually remove them after 7 minutes.
More Holiday Cookie Recipes
- Lemon Glazed Christmas Wreath Cookies are a tart, sweet and delicate addition to any holiday dessert spread.
- Cherry Lemon Candy Cane Cookies are impossible to resist, with their bright red cherry frosting and adorable cane shape.
- Orange Cranberry Rugelach are a must-have homemade treat for Hannukah, with orange marmalade and tart dried cranberries.
Hotly Spiced
Those look gorgeous Barbara. I would love to come home to a plate of cookies like these.
Katherine Martinelli
What a great cookie! Perfect for the holidays.
Sue
Those marshmallows are a fun find, Barbara! I have wanted to make these cookies for a long time, and I see them in my near future:)
Christy
This is definitely awesome; just so tantalizing!:D
anna
I never thought marshmallows could be more to-die-for! I would love to be surprised with these treats, anytime. Any leftover can be used for baking too, right? Although I doubt if there will be any pieces left, they look really yummy!
Judy
These look really yummy. I love chocolate and peppermint.
Lisa @ Sweet as Sugar Cookies
A peppermint version of these cookies sounds so delightful.
Betty @ scrambled henfruit
I’ve made these with the plain marshmallows, but these peppermint marshmallows sound so festive! The mint with the chocolate cookie sounds delicious! 🙂
Amy
Beautiful…just the description alone is enough for me to get in the kitchen and start making a batch. 🙂 I really love that surprise inside.
JG
Now THAT is a very nice surprise! They looks so good.
~Judy
Rosa
Oh, so exciting! Those look fabulous. I love the fact that there’s a surprise…
Cheers,
Rosa
Heidi @foodiecrush
Well now those look pretty achievable AND delicious. Love the stripey surprise, where did you find the marshmallows? I guess I haven’t been through the baking aisle enough yet!
Barbara
Heidi – I picked them up at Winco. They actually had them up front at the checkout registers.
gloria
Wow! Barbara I love these !! and I want one for my tea!! gloria
look delicious
Becky at Vintage Mixer
What a fun holiday cookie!! It’s crazy that we are getting so close to the holidays!
Nisrine
I can feel the holiday spirit already. These look fabulous, Barb.
Libby
My grandmother used to buy me those store bought rounded marshmallow cookies when I was a kid. These reminded me immediately of them (except yours look much better of course!) Nothing like chocolate and peppermint – great idea!
Natalie @ Cooking for My Kids
Those cookies are absolutely fabulous! Wow! I am pinning them right now!
Christina @ This Woman Cooks!
These are so fun! Love the idea.
BreAna {Sugar & Spice & All Things Iced}
Your cookies look delicious (as always)!! Chocolate marshmallow cookies are one of my Grandma’s favorite cookies. I love the idea of using peppermint marshmallows. I definitely need to pick up a bag!
Delishhh
I love chocolate and peppermint this is my type of cookie. Very nice!