The July Daring Baker Challenge was hosted by Nicole of
Sweet Tooth. She chose Chocolate Cover Marshmallow Cookies and Milan Cookies from Pastry Chef Gale Gand of the
Food Network.
I was excited to make cookies. I like cookies. I have never had a Milano cookie, which the Milan cookies are replicating. But I figured they would be fun to make, since I know so many people that like them a whole lot. I knew the mallow cookies would be fun. I made marshmallow once before and thought it was fun, so it was a real treat to get to make them again.
I started with the Milan cookies. They were pretty easy to make.
The hardest part was getting them consistent in size and shape. It took a bit of trial and error, but I still had to do some "matching-up" when making the sandwiches.
The cookie batter is a bit runnier than I am used to piping with. Kiah had fun helping me. Kids always like extruding things. For those that want the info, tip #44 is 1/4 inch. I don't have that tip, so I used #47, which is technically a basket weave tip, but the cookie batter was so thin, it didn't hold she peaks and valleys. So it worked great.
I also had to cut down on the time in the oven. Since I have an older oven, it seems to be a bit inconsistent. I really need to get a thermometer for it. To help a bit with the imperfections, I dipped them in Chocolate.
The Mallow cookies were fun. I made 2 kinds. The first one I used the cookie dough in the recipe.
But I added an almond and rolled in coconut after the marshmallow was applied.
I then dipped in Chocolate. I also used coconut oil for thinning the chocolate for dipping.
For my second marshmallow cookie I made a Super Duper S'More. When I lived in San Diego I had the chance to go to many beach bonfires. We frequently had S'Mores. I remember one bonfire when we were not going to have S'Mores. One guy who was there was a little upset by this fact. I'll call him "Don." Don reminded us all of Forrest Gump. He is a nice guy, just a bit slow on the social cues and understanding. We told Don we were not going to have S'Mores. He felt it was against the natural order of having a bonfire to InotI have S'Mores. So we told him if he wanted them he had to go and buy the makings. When Don got back with the makings we all chuckled a little bit. He came back with cinnamon graham crackers, marshmallows, and Peanutbutter cups. I remember a LOT of people rolled their eyes and said it was impossible, but let me tell you, that was hands down the best S'More I have EVER had. SOOOOOO, this cookie is actually named Don's Super-Duper S'More cookie. The funny thing is, he would probably hate the actual cookie, but would secretly like the fact that I named it after him.
For Don's cookie I made a cinnamon "graham" cracker. (I didn't have any graham flour, so it is as close as I could make it without actual graham.) I found a recipe
here.
2 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons (375 grams) unbleached all-purpose flour (a swap of 1/2 cup with whole wheat flour or 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour works well here, too)
1 cup (176 grams) dark brown sugar, lightly packed
1 teaspoon (6 grams) baking soda
3/4 teaspoon kosher or coarse sea salt (4 grams)
7 tablespoons (3 1/2 ounces or 100 grams) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch cubes and frozen
1/3 cup (114 grams) mild-flavored honey, such as clover
5 tablespoons (77 grams) milk, full-fat is best
2 tablespoons (27 grams) pure vanilla extract
Topping (optional)
3 tablespoons (43 grams) granulated sugar
1 teaspoon (5 grams) ground cinnamon
Make the dough: Combine the flour, brown sugar, baking soda, and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade or in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Pulse or mix on low to incorporate. Add the butter and pulse on and off on and off, or mix on low, until the mixture is the consistency of a coarse meal.
[Alternately, if you don't have a food processor or electric mixer, you can cut the ingredients together with a pastry blender. Just make sure they're very well incorporated.]
In a small bowl, whisk together the honey, milk, and vanilla extract. Add to the flour mixture and pulse on and off a few times or mix on low until the dough barely comes together. It will be very soft and sticky. Lay out a large piece of plastic wrap and dust it lightly with flour, then turn the dough out onto it and pat it into a rectangle about 1-inch thick. Wrap it, then chill it until firm, about 2 hours or overnight. Meanwhile, prepare the topping, if using, by combining the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl and setting aside.
Roll out the crackers: Divide the dough in half and return one half to the refrigerator. Sift an even layer of flour onto the work surface and roll the dough into a long rectangle about 1/8 inch thick. The dough will be sticky, so flour as necessary. Trim the edges of the rectangle to 4 inches wide. Working with the shorter side of the rectangle parallel to the work surface, cut the strip every 4 1/2 inches to make 4 crackers.
Place the crackers on one or two parchment-lined baking sheets and sprinkle with the topping. Chill until firm, about 30 to 45 minutes in the fridge or 15 to 20 minutes in the freezer. Repeat with the second batch of dough. Finally, gather any scraps together into a ball, chill until firm, and re-roll.
Adjust the oven rack to the upper and lower positions and preheat the oven to 350°F.
Decorate the crackers: Mark a vertical line down the middle of each cracker, being careful not to cut through the dough (again, this is for the traditional cracker shape). Using a toothpick or skewer (I like to use the blunt end of a wooden skewer for more dramatic dots), prick the dough to form two dotted rows about 1/2 inch for each side of the dividing line.
Bake for 15 to 25 minutes, until browned and slightly firm to the touch, rotating the sheets halfway through to ensure even baking.
The graham with Marshmallow
I then made a sweetened peanut butter to add after the marshmallow. The peanut butter mix was a bit tricky. I think it depends a
great deal on how much sugar and oil is already in the peanut butter you use. I just kept adding and mixing. I think I used equal parts of peanut butter and powdered sugar with a little bit of butter to add moisture. It was VERY thick and much harder to extrude than I anticipated. I sprinkled with some more cinnamon.
I them dipped in chocolate. I used Vegetable shortening instead of oil for the dipping.
I had some difficulty with the chocolate I used for dipping. It set-up fine, but the melting point was low on the chocolate, so it melted with the heat of your fingers and was very messy. So I made some additional "decoration," which was more of a hope of keeping the handeling of the cookie a cleaner affair. The Milan cookies were ok because only one half was dipped, so you held the other end. The almond and coconut (sorta an Almond joy like cookie) was dipped in more chocolate and the top rolled on more coconut. And the S'More cookie was dipped in a sugar, cocoa powder, and cinnamon mix. I think it actually made the cookies much more attractive. I LOVE it when form and function can come together in such harmony.
The Recipes as I received them:
Mallows(Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Cookies)
Recipe courtesy Gale Gand, from Food Network website
Prep Time: 10 min
Inactive Prep Time: 5 min
Cook Time: 10 min
Serves: about 2 dozen cookies
• 3 cups (375grams/13.23oz) all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup (112.5grams/3.97oz) white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/8 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 12 tablespoons (170grams/ 6 oz) unsalted butter
• 3 eggs, whisked together
• Homemade marshmallows, recipe follows
• Chocolate glaze, recipe follows
1. In a mixer with the paddle attachment, blend the dry ingredients.
2. On low speed, add the butter and mix until sandy.
3. Add the eggs and mix until combine.
4. Form the dough into a disk, wrap with clingfilm or parchment and refrigerate at least 1 hour and up to 3 days.
5. When ready to bake, grease a cookie sheet or line it with parchment paper or a silicon mat.
6. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
7. Roll out the dough to 1/8-inch thickness, on a lightly floured surface. Use a 1 to 1 1/2 inches cookie cutter to cut out small rounds of dough.
8. Transfer to the prepared pan and bake for 10 minutes or until light golden brown. Let cool to room temperature.
9. Pipe a “kiss” of marshmallow onto each cookie. Let set at room temperature for 2 hours.
10. Line a cookie sheet with parchment or silicon mat.
11. One at a time, gently drop the marshmallow-topped cookies into the hot chocolate glaze.
12. Lift out with a fork and let excess chocolate drip back into the bowl.
13. Place on the prepared pan and let set at room temperature until the coating is firm, about 1 to 2 hours.
Note: if you don’t want to make your own marshmallows, you can cut a large marshmallow in half and place on the cookie base. Heat in a preheated 350-degree oven to slump the marshmallow slightly, it will expand and brown a little. Let cool, then proceed with the chocolate dipping.
Homemade marshmallows:
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup light corn syrup
• 3/4 cup (168.76 grams/5.95oz) sugar
• 1 tablespoon powdered gelatin
• 2 tablespoons cold water
• 2 egg whites , room temperature
• 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1. In a saucepan, combine the water, corn syrup, and sugar, bring to a boil until “soft-ball” stage, or 235 degrees on a candy thermometer.
2. Sprinkle the gelatin over the cold water and let dissolve.
3. Remove the syrup from the heat, add the gelatin, and mix.
4. Whip the whites until soft peaks form and pour the syrup into the whites.
5. Add the vanilla and continue whipping until stiff.
6. Transfer to a pastry bag.
Chocolate glaze:
• 12 ounces semisweet chocolate
• 2 ounces cocoa butter or vegetable oil
1. Melt the 2 ingredients together in the top of a double boiler or a bowl set over barely simmering water.
Milan Cookies
Recipe courtesy Gale Gand, from Food Network website
Prep Time: 20 min
Inactive Prep Time: 0 min
Cook Time: 1 hr 0 min
Serves: about 3 dozen cookies
• 12 tablespoons (170grams/ 6 oz) unsalted butter, softened
• 2 1/2 cups (312.5 grams/ 11.02 oz) powdered sugar
• 7/8 cup egg whites (from about 6 eggs)
• 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons lemon extract
• 1 1/2 cups (187.5grams/ 6.61 oz) all purpose flour
• Cookie filling, recipe follows
Cookie filling:
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 8 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
• 1 orange, zested
1. In a mixer with paddle attachment cream the butter and the sugar.
2. Add the egg whites gradually and then mix in the vanilla and lemon extracts.
3. Add the flour and mix until just well mixed.
4. With a small (1/4-inch) plain tip, pipe 1-inch sections of batter onto a parchment-lined sheet pan, spacing them 2 inches apart as they spread.
5. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 10 minutes or until light golden brown around the edges. Let cool on the pan.
6. While waiting for the cookies to cool, in a small saucepan over medium flame, scald cream.
7. Pour hot cream over chocolate in a bowl, whisk to melt chocolate, add zest and blend well.
8. Set aside to cool (the mixture will thicken as it cools).
9. Spread a thin amount of the filling onto the flat side of a cookie while the filling is still soft and press the flat side of a second cookie on top.
10. Repeat with the remainder of the cookies.
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Powders
cilantro/parsley powder
onion powder
Brown Butter powder
* For green beans, slice each beans into very thin rounds (2 mm)
peel the remaining banana into very think slices (3mm) fan three slices on the plate, place green beans on top and place skate wing portion on top. On the tall edge, sprinkle the brown butter powder.