Vegan Chocolate Marshmallow Surprise Cookies

Marshmallows and chocolate. In the shape of eggs. To my 5 year old mind, that’s what Easter was all about. For some reason, late March and early April is the only time of year you could find those chocolate covered marshmallows that came in styrofoam egg cartons. Of course there were peeps, but I never cared much for peeps. Actually, I’ve never been much of a plain marshmallow person ever; however, when you marry marshmallows and chocolate together that’s a whole nother story as it creates an irresistible combination to my palate.

Oh! And surprises! I can’t forget about surprises! Easter was all about surprises—from the surprise of where your Easter basket could be hidden to the mystery of what could possibly be hiding in your plastic Easter eggs.

So these cookies are a throw back to those Easter memories—a bit of chocolate enveloping a hidden marshmallow surprise.

Making these cookies is fairly easy. It just requires a couple additional steps with adding the marshmallow and the frosting. You first need to sift the dry ingredients in a medium bowl. This step is especially important if your cocoa powder is as clumptastic as mine was.

Next you need to cream the Earth Balance and sugar in your stand mixer for several minutes until they are well incorporated.

After it’s thoroughly creamed, put the Ener-G Egg replacer in a small bowl with the 2 tablespoons of warm water and then blend them together using hand beaters until it’s thick and foamy. When working with the equivalent of two or more eggs it’s quite easy to beat it to the point that you can create stiff peaks with it, but when using only one egg I find it difficult to get it to that stage. The foamy consistency of the middle photo below is about as thick as I can get a single serving. Add the “egg” and soy milk to the butter mixture and mix them for another couple minutes.

Next add the dry mixture in 1/2 cup batches until it is thoroughly incorporated and you have a batter that resembles the below photo.

With a cookie scoop drop the cookies on a parchment lined cookie sheet spaced about an inch and a half a part.

Pop them in your preheated oven for about 8 minutes. The photo on the left is what they looked like before I put them in the oven and the one on the right is what they looked like after 8 minutes.

While they’re baking cut your marshmallows in half. Note that you can totally omit this step if you want a higher marshmallow to cookie ratio. The very first time I made these a couple years ago, I didn’t halve them and they turned out just as awesomely.

Immediately after they’ve baked for 8 minutes and you pull them out of the oven, place a marshmallow half in the center of each cookie. Place them back in the oven and cook for another 2 minutes until the marshmallow is semi-melted. The photo on the left is pre-baking of the marshmallow and the photo on the right is what it looks like after 2 minutes in the oven.

Place them all on a cooling rack and let them cool completely.

While the cookies are cooling you can make the frosting by melting the Earth Balance and cocoa powder in a small saucepan over medium heat.

Place the 3 cups of confectioners sugar in a medium bowl and add the melted chocolate. Wisk them together until completely smooth with no lumps.

Then drop a tablespoon or two on each cookie and spread. Let the frosting harden on the cookies before putting them in a sealed container for storage.

Vegan Chocolate Marshmallow Surprise Cookies

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 cup all-purpose white flour
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup Earth Balance, softened to room temperature
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Ener-G Egg Replacer
• 2 tablespoons warm water
• 1/2 cup original soy milk (full fat and not unsweetened)
• Dandies vegan marshmallows (you should be able to find these at most natural food stores)