I was all set to post a salad recipe, but that will have to wait for another week. In Toronto today, it’s 6 degrees Celsius (that’s 42 degrees Fahrenheit for my American friends) and it’s teeming with rain. We're all wearing our winter coats – and it’s only the second of October! The salad will have to wait; I need to post something that makes me feel warm, just looking at it.
I need to post Hot Chocolate Cookies.
That’s not what they were originally called, but with all the important ingredients of hot chocolate (chocolate, marshmallows, best served on a miserable day), I can’t think of anything better to call them. And they are comfort cookies at their best. So even if you’re reading this in sunny Texas (currently 29 degrees Celsuis, 84 Fahrenheit), you’ll enjoy them as much in shorts and a T-shirt as we do in our winter coats.
Hot Chocolate cookies
For the cookies:
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1/2 cup skim milk
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
About 15 marshmallows, halved crosswise
For the frosting:
3 cups confectioners’ (icing) sugar
6 Tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup plus 1 1/2 tsp cocoa powder
1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp skim milk
3/4 tsp pure vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
To make cookies, sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt into a bowl.
Beat butter and sugar with an electric mixer on medium-high speed for about 2 minutes. Reduce speed to medium-low; mix in egg, milk and vanilla. Mix in flour mixture, 1/2 cup at a time, until combined.
Drop dough onto baking sheets (either non-stick or lined with parchment paper), about 2 inches apart. You should have about 30 cookies. Bake until firm, 8 to 10 minutes. Immediately press a marshmallow half on top of each cookie, then bake until marshmallows begin to melt, 2 minutes more. Let cool completely.
To make frosting, put icing sugar in a medium bowl. Melt butter with the cocoa powder in a saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally. Add butter mixture to the icing sugar. Whisk in milk and vanilla.
Spread about 1 Tbsp of frosting on top of each cooked cookies to cover marshmallow. Let stand until set, about 10 minutes.
