{"id":1191,"date":"2009-07-27T05:21:29","date_gmt":"2009-07-27T11:21:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.hottie-biscotti.com\/blog\/?p=1191"},"modified":"2009-07-27T05:22:36","modified_gmt":"2009-07-27T11:22:36","slug":"daring-bakers-cookies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hottie-biscotti.com\/blog\/2009\/07\/27\/daring-bakers-cookies\/","title":{"rendered":"Daring Bakers: Cookies"},"content":{"rendered":"

I must admit this, I was not thrilled about this months challenge at first. \u00a0Don’t get me wrong. \u00a0I love cookies. \u00a0Almost all kinds of cookies. \u00a0I even like when they take all day to make. \u00a0 My issue with this challenge was that I made one of the cookie recipes a few years ago with less than stellar results, so I was kinda bummed. \u00a0The other cookie also seemed a little boring. \u00a0I went into this challenge with a rotten attitude…but I came out a very happy girl.<\/p>\n

\"mallow6\"<\/p>\n

The July Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Nicole \u00a0 \u00a0 at\u00a0Sweet Tooth<\/a>. She chose\u00a0Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Cookies<\/strong> and Milan\u00a0Cookies <\/strong>from pastry chef Gale Gand of the\u00a0Food Network<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I made the Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Cookies first.<\/p>\n

Day 1: I made the cookies a day before I planned to make the marshmallow and cover them. \u00a0The cookie dough was easy to deal with and the cookies made my house smell so wonderful while they baked. \u00a0I tried the cookies alone, and I found them to be a bit dry, but they had good flavor.<\/p>\n

Day 2: I’ve made these cookies before, so I have made marshmallow before. \u00a0I really enjoy making food that starts out with a very ordinary and unassuming list of ingredients and miraculously becomes something completely different! \u00a0That’s why marshmallow is so fun to make. \u00a0It creates quite a sticky mess, but is worth it. \u00a0\"mallow1\"<\/p>\n

Be sure to use good vanilla as this is the only flavoring in the marshmallow besides sugar.\u00a0I recommend Nielson-Massey<\/a> Vanilla Bean paste or Madagascar Vanilla.<\/p>\n

The marshmallow was beautiful and piped out quite nicely onto the cookies. \u00a0I let them set at this point for a few hours at room temperature.<\/p>\n

The process of covering things in chocolate and I do not get along very well. \u00a0Unless I am using that chocolate bark, my chocolate doesn’t ever harden completely without putting it in the fridge or freezer. \u00a0And yet again, I had that problem with these cookies. \u00a0They looked beautiful coming out of their chocolate bath, but even after 3 hours the chocolate was still wet. \u00a0So, in the fridge they went! \u00a0The chocolate hardened and then we were able to taste them! \u00a0The chocolate formed a nice hard shell around the soft gooey marshmallow and crumbly cookie. \u00a0I liked these cookies, but think they might require more work than they’re worth in the taste department. \u00a0They are beautiful and impressive, though.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"mallow2\"\"mallow3\"<\/p>\n

Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Cookies<\/strong><\/p>\n

Recipe courtesy Gale Gand, from Food Network website\"mallow4\"<\/p>\n

Prep Time: 10 min
\nInactive Prep Time: 5 min
\nCook Time: 10 min
\nServes: about 2 dozen cookies<\/p>\n

\u2022 3 cups (375grams\/13.23oz) all purpose flour
\n\u2022 1\/2 cup (112.5grams\/3.97oz) white sugar
\n\u2022 1\/2 teaspoon salt
\n\u2022 3\/4 teaspoon baking powder
\n\u2022 3\/8 teaspoon baking soda
\n\u2022 1\/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
\n\u2022 12 tablespoons (170grams\/ 6 oz) unsalted butter
\n\u2022 3 eggs, whisked together
\n\u2022 Homemade marshmallows, recipe follows
\n\u2022 Chocolate glaze, recipe follows<\/p>\n

1. In a mixer with the paddle attachment, blend the dry ingredients.
\n2. On low speed, add the butter and mix until sandy.
\n3. Add the eggs and mix until combine.
\n4. Form the dough into a disk, wrap with clingfilm or parchment and refrigerate at least 1 hour and up to 3 days.
\n5. When ready to bake, grease a cookie sheet or line it with parchment paper or a silicon mat.
\n6. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
\n7. 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.
\n8. Transfer to the prepared pan and bake for 10 minutes or until light golden brown. Let cool to room temperature.
\n9. Pipe a \u201ckiss\u201d of marshmallow onto each cookie. Let set at room temperature for 2 hours.
\n10. Line a cookie sheet with parchment or silicon mat.
\n11. One at a time, gently drop the marshmallow-topped cookies into the hot chocolate glaze.
\n12. Lift out with a fork and let excess chocolate drip back into the bowl.
\n13. Place on the prepared pan and let set at room temperature until the coating is firm, about 1 to 2 hours.<\/p>\n

Note: if you don\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n

Homemade marshmallows:
\n\u2022 1\/4 cup water
\n\u2022 1\/4 cup light corn syrup
\n\u2022 3\/4 cup (168.76 grams\/5.95oz) sugar
\n\u2022 1 tablespoon powdered gelatin
\n\u2022 2 tablespoons cold water
\n\u2022 2 egg whites , room temperature
\n\u2022 1\/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract<\/p>\n

1. In a saucepan, combine the water, corn syrup, and sugar, bring to a boil until \u201csoft-ball\u201d stage, or 235 degrees on a candy thermometer.
\n2. Sprinkle the gelatin over the cold water and let dissolve.
\n3. Remove the syrup from the heat, add the gelatin, and mix.
\n4. Whip the whites until soft peaks form and pour the syrup into the whites.
\n5. Add the vanilla and continue whipping until stiff.
\n6. Transfer to a pastry bag.<\/p>\n

Chocolate glaze:
\n\u2022 12 ounces semisweet chocolate
\n\u2022 2 ounces cocoa butter or vegetable oil<\/p>\n

1. Melt the 2 ingredients together in the top of a double boiler or a bowl set over barely simmering water.<\/p>\n

Milan Cookies\"milan4\"<\/h3>\n

I thought these cookies were going to be boring. \u00a0I was so very wrong! \u00a0They were my favorite in this challenge. \u00a0Easy to make, delicate and delicious. \u00a0They would be adorable at a tea party and taste great in the afternoon with a cup of coffee. \u00a0I did not use the lemon extract called for in the recipe, but added about 1\/2 teaspoon of almond extract to the cookie batter. \u00a0I also omitted the orange zest in the ganache because I am just not a fan of citrus and chocolate. \u00a0The only hard thing about these cookies is making sure that you make them all the same size and shape so that they sandwich well together.<\/p>\n

Milan Cookies<\/strong>
\nRecipe courtesy Gale Gand, from Food Network website<\/p>\n

Prep Time: 20 min
\nInactive Prep Time: 0 min
\nCook Time: 1 hr 0 min
\nServes: about 3 dozen cookies<\/p>\n

\u2022 12 tablespoons (170grams\/ 6 oz) unsalted butter, softened
\n\u2022 2 1\/2 cups (312.5 grams\/ 11.02 oz) powdered sugar
\n\u2022 7\/8 cup egg whites (from about 6 eggs)
\n\u2022 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
\n\u2022 2 tablespoons lemon extract (did not use)
\n\u2022 1 1\/2 cups (187.5grams\/ 6.61 oz) all purpose flour
\n\u2022 Cookie filling, recipe follows<\/p>\n

Cookie filling:
\n\u2022 1\/2 cup heavy cream
\n\u2022 8 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
\n\u2022 1 orange, zested<\/p>\n

1. In a mixer with paddle attachment cream the butter and the sugar.
\n2. Add the egg whites gradually and then mix in the vanilla and lemon extracts.
\n3. Add the flour and mix until just well mixed.
\n4. 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.
\n5. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 10 minutes or until light golden brown around the edges. Let cool on the pan.
\n6. While waiting for the cookies to cool, in a small saucepan over medium flame, scald cream.
\n7. Pour hot cream over chocolate in a bowl, whisk to melt chocolate, add zest and blend well.
\n8. Set aside to cool (the mixture will thicken as it cools).
\n9. 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.
\n10. Repeat with the remainder of the cookies.<\/p>\n

\"milan3\"\"milan2\"\"milan1\"<\/p>\n

\"milan6\"<\/p>\n