Welcome to Day 6 of
The Twelve Days of Holiday Treats!
Once again, this year, from December 1st-12th I’ll post a new holiday treat recipe every day – inspiration for your holiday entertaining!
The recipes I’m sharing are small-er batch (perfect for this year when many of us will still be attending/ hosting smaller gatherings) – each recipe makes 1-dozen or a few more smaller-sized treats that are simple to prepare and that use everyday ingredients and equipment so hopefully you’ll be able to whip up any of these on a whim. Check out the treats from 2019 and 2020 at the bottom of this post too for more inspiration!
Today’s treat is inspired by a favourite drink – hot chocolate (NOT hot cocoa, despite what you might see on the Hallmark Channel Christmas movies, why cocoa, not chocolate? Anyway, I digress…) and a favourite recipe – Hot Chocolate and Marshmallow Macarons.
However, since none of us have time in the holiday season to faff around making macarons, this is a simplified version – macarons à l’ancienne (you can get the recipe in In the French kitchen with kids or, there’s a version here). Essentially crackly cookies that are a bit crispy around the edges but soft in the middle, sandwiched together with a marshmallow-y filling, adapted from Smitten Kitchen’s “Marshmallow or Seven-Minute Frosting“.
Yup, all the same ingredients as regular macarons, only easier to make – who doesn’t need an easy cookie recipe up their sleeve during the holidays?
Hot chocolate and marshmallow cookies (gluten-free)
Hot chocolate and marshmallows in cookie form!
Ingredients
for the cookies
- 100g (1 cup) almond flour
- 100g (1/2 cup) granulated sugar
- 40g (1/4 cup) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 egg whites
- icing sugar for sprinkling before and after baking
for the filling
- 1 egg white
- 35g (1/4 cup) icing sugar, sifted
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1 tablespoon light corn syrup (or liquid glucose)
Instructions
- Heat oven to 300˚F/ 150˚C and line two baking trays with parchment paper.
- Whisk the almond flour, sugar and cocoa powder together in a small bowl.
- Use an electric hand mixer to whisk the egg whites to soft peaks in a small metal bowl.
- Gently fold the dry ingredients into the egg whites using a rubber spatula and mix until just combined. The mixture will have a thick, paste-like consistency.
- Transfer the mixture to a pastry bag fitted with a plain piping tip (3/4 inch/ 2cm in diameter) and pipe out 12 rounds of the mixture on each tray (approx. 1 1/2 inches/4cm in diameter).
- Dip your finger in water and smooth the tops of the cookies over (they might have a small peak on top).
- Dust the cookies with icing sugar and bake for 15-18 minutes, or until the cookies are crispy around the edges but still a little soft in the centre. The tops may have cracked, don't worry about that!
- Sprinkle with a little more icing sugar, place on a wire rack, and allow to cool completely.
- Heat a small amount of water in a small pot over high heat until it’s boiling. Lower the heat to medium low.
- Combine the icing sugar, egg white, water and corn syrup in a small metal or ceramic bowl and whisk until smooth.
- Place the bowl over the simmering water (the water should not touch the bottom of the bowl) and use an electric beater to whisk the mixture until it’s soft and shiny and forms stiff peaks when you lift the beaters out of the bowl (make sure they are turned off!). This will take 7 minutes. Set a timer.
- After 7 minutes, remove the bowl immediately from the heat and transfer the mixture to a piping bag (fitted with a plain tip if you like but it’s not really necessary here).
- Pipe a small amount in the centre of half the cookies and top the marshmallow with the other half of the cookies. Gently press the tops down so the marshmallow filling spreads to the edges of the cookies.
- Dust with icing sugar to serve.
Make the cookies:
Make the filling:
Notes
Store in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days. Bring to room temperature for 10 minutes before serving.
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Check out 2021’s 12 Days of Holiday Treats:
Day 1: Speculoos financiers
Day 2: Chocolate Dipped Orange Sugar Cookies
Day 3: Madeleines à la Clémentine
Day 4: Chocolate Hazelnut Thumbprint Cookies
Day 5: Sunbutter and Jam Chocolate Cups
Day 6: Hot Chocolate and Marshmallow Cookies
Day 7: Linzer Cookies
Day 8: Chocolate-Hazelnut Sandwich Cookies
Day 9: Choc-Mint Thumbprint Cookies
Day 10: Pailles (Puff Pastry and Jam Cookies)
Day 11: Strawberry Santa Hats
Day 12: Mulled Wine Jam
Check out 2020’s 12 Days of Holiday Treats:
Day 1: Rice Krispie Wreaths
Day 2: Cranberry Cheesecake Bars
Day 3: Peppermint Bark
Day 4: Orangettes
Day 5: Rocky Road Chocolate Crackle Slice
Day 6: Candy Cane Sugar Cookies
Day 7: Orange Pim’s
Day 8: Mendiants
Day 9: Chewy Chocolate Mint Crackle Cookies
Day 10: Apricot, Coconut and Cranberry “truffles”
Day 11: Chocolate, Cherry and Almond Brownies
Day 12: Peppermint Hot Chocolate
Check out 2019’s 12 Days of Holiday Cookies:
Day 1: Easy Three Ingredient Shortbread
Day 2: Jam Drops
Day 3: Chocolate Caramel Slice
Day 4: Melting Moments
Day 5: White Christmas
Day 6: Langues de Chat
Day 7: Chocolate Coconut Slice
Day 8: Cornflake Biscuits
Day 9: Rocky Road
Day 10: Honey Joys
Day 11: Rum Ball Truffles
Day 12: Giant Florentine Cookie (to share)
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