A Winner and A Surprise!

Drum Roll please......The winner of the Cookiepedia giveaway is Debbie at Mountain Breaths! I know you will enjoy it Debbie! The book will be coming straight from Quirk Books so be on the lookout. For those of you that didn't win this time...thank you for playing and maybe you can check the book out at Amazon or your local bookstore.

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This past weekend I did a little Holiday baking with a friend and her cute little girl Allie. We each decorated a little mini gingerbread house. Randy declared Allie's A Frame the winner...that's it front and center. Isn't that window mosaic pretty cool?


We made a few goodies including cake balls (crumbled baked cake, mushed with canned icing, rolled into balls then dipped in chocolate bark and sprinkled) and Chocolate Surprise Cookies




The surprise in the chocolate cookies is the ooey gooey marshmallow inside. They were really soft and yummy.



Surprise Cookies
Courtesy of Martha Stewart

• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 12 large marshmallows, cut in half horizontally
• Chocolate frosting - see recipe below
  

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add egg, milk, and vanilla, and beat until well combined. Add reserved flour mixture; mix on low speed until combined.
3. Using a tablespoon or 1 3/4-inch ice cream scoop, drop dough onto ungreased baking sheets, about 2 inches apart. Bake until cookies begin to spread and become firm, 10 to 12 minutes.
4. Remove baking sheets from oven, and place a marshmallow, cut-side down, in the center of each cookie, pressing down slightly. Return to oven, and continue baking until marshmallows begin to melt, 2 to 2 1/2 minutes. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.
5. Spread about 1 tablespoon of frosting over each marshmallow, starting in the center and continuing outward until marshmallow is covered.

For Chocolate Frosting:

• 2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Place confectioners' sugar in a medium bowl. Whisk in butter and cocoa powder. Add milk and vanilla, and whisk until well combined.