Did you know that Pinterest is a very, very dangerous place? A place that throws things like healthy eating, budgets, and blog calendars to the wind? A place that embeds images of naughty and beautiful food into my brain, tormenting me into driving all over my teeny tiny town trying to find things like, say, coriander seeds, not letting me rest until I’ve successfully (or unsuccessfully–I’m talking to you, beautiful meltaway cookies) made said food myself?
Like these Surprise Cookies from Martha Stewart.
I saw them early last week and they have been all I can think about since then. I also couldn’t stop thinking about the name–have I ever mentioned that I am extremely not fond of the word “surprise” in recipe titles? Call me crazy, but I generally don’t like to be warned that my food is going to surprise me. If it’s a good surprise, surprise me! If it’s in something like, say, Halibut Surprise, all I can think about is what the surprise could possibly be. Because I’m a tiny bit neurotic, I automatically assume all the worst case surprise scenarios (and when we’re talking about surprises in my halibut, the list could be nearly endless).
I finally had a few minutes to make these cookies, although not so much time that I was in a position to experiment with cookie recipes. Chocolate cookies can be temperamental and I wasn’t prepared to invest all sorts of time and energy into a cookie recipe that wasn’t 100% tried and true, so I went with the easiest, most fail-proof chocolate cookie recipe I know: Cake Mix Cookies.
Oh, and just in case you were wondering if the “surprise” in these cookies is something horrific, it isn’t; it’s marshmallows. So you’ll need some of those, too.
Preheat your oven to 350. In the bowl of a heavy-duty mixer, combine the cake mix, eggs, and 1/2 cup of shortening.
Mix until completely combined. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto a lined baking sheet.
Bake for 8-10 minutes or until the cookies appear cooked in the center but not completely solid. While the cookies are baking, use a pair of kitchen shears to cut each marshmallow in half.(The stuff on my shears is marshmallow residue, I promise. I’m not gross.)
When the cookies are ready, remove the pan from the oven and place a marshmallow half, cut-side down, onto each cookie.
Place the pan back in the oven for another 2 minutes. Remove and very, very gently smoosh each marshmallow down just a little, just to ensure the marshmallow spreads out a little over the cookie. Allow to cool completely.
While the cookies are cooling, combine the powdered sugar and cocoa powder in a large bowl. Add the vanilla, milk, and melted butter and beat with an electric mixer on high speed until smooth, light, and fluffy. Spoon the frosting into an icing bag fitted with a large tip (I used a Wilton 1M tip) and swirl onto the cookies.
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Now…some of you might be saying, “But Kate, these cookies sound awfully familiar. Kind of like the Mississippi Mud Brownies. Kind of like…the infamous Tim Riggins Brownies.” Yeah, that thought crossed my mind, too. But these cookies were, quite honestly, too good not to share. So. It’s almost Valentine’s Day. I love my friends. I don’t think it’s fair that my kids should get all the fun and get to give all their friends little fun cards and treats on Valentine’s Day–I should get to, too, right?! Yeah, I thought so.
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I sent the file to Office Depot and had them printed out on glossy cardstock for less than a buck a page. Then I cut them out, cut some striped paper straws in half (but regular straws, toothpicks, skewers, or anything along those lines would also work) and taped them to the back of Mr. Riggins and popped them right into the frosting of the cookies. Pin It
Good thing my husband humors me.
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Click HERE for the Tim Riggins Valentine printable!
Chocolate Marshmallow Cookies
Recipe by Our Best Bites, inspired by Martha Stewart
1 chocolate cake mix (we prefer Duncan Hines)
1/2 cup butter-flavored shortening
2 eggs
12 large marshmallows
1/2 c. melted butter
1/3 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
1/3 c. evaporated milk
1 lb. powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350. Combine cake mix, eggs, and shortening in the bowl of a heavy-duty mixer and mix until well combined. Drop dough by the tablespoon onto a baking sheet and bake for about 8-10 minutes or until the cookies appear done but are still soft in the center.
While the cookies are baking, use a pair of kitchen shears to cut each marshmallow in half. When the cookies have baked, remove the pan from the oven and place a marshmallow half on each cookie, cut side down. Return the pan to the oven for about 2 minutes. Remove from oven and very gently push each marshmallow down. Allow to cool completely and repeat with remaining cookie dough.
When the cookies have cooled completely, combine the powdered sugar and cocoa powder in a large bowl. Add melted butter, vanilla, and evaporated milk and beat on high until smooth, light, and fluffy. Transfer the frosting to an icing bag fitted with a large tip and swirl onto the cookies. Makes 24 cookies.
