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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.
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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.
Quimicococinero
Wonderful recipe and photo. The interior is truly amazing!
Alison @ Ingredients, Inc
wow these look terrific!
Valérie ( France )
Une gourmandise de folie
Je te souhaite une belle journée ensoleillée
Valérie.
vianney
I need to find these marshmallows, how fun!! These cookies are so cute, my girls would love them. thanks!
My Inner Chick
WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!! XXX
Janet Rudolph @ DyingforChocolate
Chocolate & Peppermint. Simple & delicious. Great recipe!
Janette G
i found some recipes on line for peppermint marshmellows!!!! If I can’t find the marshmellows in a stote, I’m going to try and make my own. 🙂
Barbara
Hi Janette – Great idea to make some! If you make them let me know how they turn out. Thanks!
Claire @ Claire K Creations
That would be a very pleasant surprise indeed. We don’t have anything like those marshmallows here in Australia so no surprise cookies for me 🙁
Barbara
Hi Claire – If your interested in making marshmallows, Lorraine posted a marshmallow recipe recently. http://www.notquitenigella.com/2011/10/05/fresh-raspberry-marshmallows/
Thanks!
Bonnie
I love these. I think they are my favorite of all your cookie posts. They remind me of chocolate marshmallow brownies. I’m on the lookout for the marshmallows.
Janette G
These look great! I’ve never seen peppermint marshmellows and we don’t have any Winco stores around here. :(.
Megan @ ScholasticFood
These looks so delicious! I love chocolate and peppermint together!
Louanne
I just bought a bag of these today! Oh my goodness, I cannot wait to make these for my son’s class Christmas party – perfect!
Cookin' Canuck
Okay, Barbara – these have to be the ultimate holiday cookies. The peppermint/chocolate combination is very popular in our house and my kids would go crazy for the marshmallow centers.
Katrina
Oh my gosh, I haven’t seen those mallows yet! Must find. And they seem perfect for these cookies! Thanks for the link love!
sue
Those look so good, I will have to look for those marshmellows, I would love to try this.
Kelley
I’ll need to look for the marshmallows at the store. These look so festive AND delicious. I’m a sucker for the chocolate peppermint combo!
Sandi
Ahhh..the emergence of peppermint-hooray! And w/chocolate too..these are lovely 🙂
Ashley @ Kitchen Meets Girl
Oh my goodness, these look wonderful! I love mint and chocolate together, and the addition of the marshmallow–heavenly! I haven’t spotted those marshmallows in my stores yet, but I’m on the lookout now. Your cookies are always so pretty!
Kitchen Belleicious
Its like the best of three worlds- a cookie, a cake and a marshmallow! How awesome! They are just perfect for the holidays. I really must give this one a try
Becki's Whole Life
I have to look for these marshmallows. I love this recipe and chocolate and peppermint make me think of Christmas.