Homemade Marshmallows

It was during the holidays I got the idea to make homemade marshmallows. I was searching for a great candy recipe and found it. Life being what it is, it wasn't until February that I finally got around to trying my hand at this simple treat. It really is simple, having a kitchen aid stand mixer made it all the easier. The hardest and messiest part was putting the corn starch and powdered sugar coating around each piece so they wouldn't stick to each other. Next time I think I'll need to add more flavoring.

I made them on Valentine's Day, so dyed them pink and cut out heart shapes for my kids. Growing up, my mom always gave us a valentine from her and Dad. She never put any additional words, but would get one of the standard valentines we handed out to our classmates and write, "love mom and dad". She would be sure to put in a little bit of candy, usually conversation hearts. When my older siblings moved out, I saw she would make a little care package for Valentine's day. I was still living at home when she died, so I never got one. I've always wished I had.
I really wanted to make the marshmallows for this cookie recipe. Chocolate with soft marshmallow with sour cream chocolate frosting is a definite hit! Even though the cookies were a little weird on account of me adding wheat flour (bad habit of trying to make treats healthy), every time I bit into a cookie and meet the soft marshmallow I was happy.

The cool triple layer look helps a lot, too.

Chocolate Suprises From Family Fun Dec/Jan 2011

Ingredients:

For the cookies:

2 cups flour

1 cup cocoa powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

1 cup light brown sugar, packed

1 large egg

1/2 cup whole milk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

10 strawberry or other flavored marshmallows, cut in half

For the icing:

3 cups confectioners' sugar

1/3 cup cocoa powder

1/2 cup sour cream

Heat oven to 350. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder, salt, cinnamon, and baking powder and set aside.
Using an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream all the butter and the brown sugar until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg and beat until mixed, about 1 minute. Combine the milk and vanilla. Turn the mixer to low speed and add half the milk mixture. Slowly add half the flour mixture, then the remaiing milk mixture, then the remaining flour mixture. Mix until well blended, about 1 minute.
Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Using a 2 tablespoon scoop, drop balls of the dough onto the sheet, leaving about 3 inches between them. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove the cookies from the oven and top each with a halved marshmallow, cut side down, pressing it into the dough. Bake for an additional 4 minutes then cool the cookies on a rack. (I think you need to press the balls of dough before they start cooking, when I made them they didn't spread out at all)
Make the icing; sift the confectioners' sugar and cocoa powder in a large bowl. Stir in the sour cream until it's smooth. Top the cookies with the icing so that the marshmallow is completely covered. Allow the icing to set, about 1 hour, before serving.