Sweet Victory (Cookie Recipes)

(page 3 of 8)

ALLISON LEVITT'S HOLIDAY "MALLOMARS"

Allison Levitt / Mado
1647 N. Milwaukee Ave.; 773-342-2340
Degree of difficulty •••••
Skill level Expert
Hard-to-find ingredient Sheet gelatin
Tasters’ comments “Yummy marshmallow.” “Not as sweet as it looks.” “Kids would love it!” “Looks better than it tastes.” “Adorable.”

Sheet gelatin can be found at Fox & Obel (401 E. Illinois St.; 312-410-7301, fox-obel.com) and baking specialty stores such as Lori's Cakewalk Chicago (1741 W. 99th St.; 773-233-7335, cakewalkchicago.com) in Beverly. At Fox & Obel, they sell for $2.40 for six sheets.

Special Equipment:

Candy thermometer
Piping bag
Piping tip
Cooling/glazing rack
Decorations
Kitchen scale

Sugar cookie:

2 sticks butter, softened
8 oz. brown sugar (about 1 c. packed)
1 egg
1 t. vanilla extract
12 oz. all-purpose flour (about 2 3/4 c.)
1 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. cinnamon

Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Whisk together the dry ingredients in a small bowl and set aside. Combine butter and sugar in mixing bowl of a stand mixer; with the paddle attachment, cream until light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla and mix just until combined. Add the dry ingredients and mix just until combined. Roll dough into a ball, flatten, and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill one hour before rolling. Roll the dough to 1/4-inch thickness and cut out into 2-to-3-inch circles. Transfer circles to baking sheets lined with parchment paper or silicone mats. Bake until golden brown and crisp.

Marshmallow:
Your cookies should be baked and ready before you begin the marshmallow. This part of the recipe uses some weight measurements, in grams; for accuracy, use a kitchen scale.

150 g. water
500 g. granulated sugar
75 g. corn syrup
28 g. sheet gelatin
6 egg whites
1 t. vanilla extract
1 t. almond extract

Get ready a piping bag with a large round piping tip (an Ateco #806 will work well). Make sure your mixing bowl is very clean. Add the egg whites and a tiny pinch of salt. Whip on very low speed with the whisk attachment while your sugar syrup is cooking. You want the egg whites to be "soft peak" when you add the syrup. Combine water, sugar, and corn syrup in a small saucepan and place over a medium-high flame. Cook until candy thermometer reads 265 degrees Fahrenheit.

While sugar is cooking, soak the gelatin in ice water. Set aside.

When the syrup is ready, increase the mixer speed and stream the syrup very slowly into the whipping egg whites. You want to aim for the space between the side of the bowl and the whisk. Once all the syrup has been added, squeeze the extra water out of your gelatin and add it to the bowl as well. Add the vanilla and almond extracts and let the mixer whip for 3 more minutes. While the marshmallow is still warm, transfer to the prepared piping bag and pipe small mounds of marshmallow onto the cookies. Try to leave 1/4-inch space around the edges. This will make the cookies easier to glaze later.

Chocolate glaze:

16 oz. dark chocolate (at least 70 percent cacao content)
16 oz. heavy cream

Chop the chocolate finely and put in a medium-sized, heat-proof bowl. Heat the cream until it just comes to a boil. Pour over the chopped chocolate and let sit for one minute. Gently stir the cream into the chocolate until it is smooth and homogenous. Dip the marshmallow side of the cookies into the chocolate glaze and place on the cooling rack to set. The chocolate should drip down and cover the cookie portion. If you want to decorate the cookies with sprinkles, add them before the glaze is set. You can decorate with royal icing after the glaze is set.

Makes about 36 cookies.

Photograph: Michael Boone Photography

RECIPES:

Amy Sampson's Walnut Cookies »
Cindy Shuman's Honey Pistachio Lace Cookies »
Allison Levitt's Holiday "Mallomars" »
Mary Winslow's Chai Thumbprint Cookies With Honey Cream »
Jacquy Pfeiffer's Zimtsterne, Or Cinnamon Stars »
Gale Gand's Poinsettia Cookies »
Carrie Nahabedian's Cherry Jewels »
Pamela Fitzpatrick's Almond Polenta Cookies »