CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER MARSHMALLOW COOKIESfeatured

Where my Mother failed me in my junk food education, my best friend Katie’s Mom more than made up for it. I owe my love of Pop Tarts, Doritos and Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups to Leanne Goeschel. This woman was a kid’s dream. She taught us inappropriate songs, took us into an open field and let us drive her car when we were 10 and was totally cool with letting us eat nachos while watching Dirty Dancing before we went to bed. I LOVED her. And I still love her for all of these reasons and more.

But as I was saying, we never had processed junk food at our house, but the Goeschel’s sure did. So for obvious reasons, when given the choice, I voted to hang out at Katie’s house instead of mine. Without fail, Leanne always had two things in her freezer: chocolate chip cookies and frozen peanut butter cups. Jaaaackpot. We snuck those suckers All. The. Time. I’m not a huge fan of peanut butter on its own (I know, I know, I’m wrong about this), but when you put it with chocolate… Oh heck yes.

I’m a big fan of Ruby Snap in Salt Lake City and these feel a bit like those cookies. Large, cakey and filled with good stuff. In this case, peanut butter and marshmallows. Yes please.

Recipe: Chocolate Peanut Butter Marshmallow Cookies  |  Soundtrack: The Go Go’s

• DOUGH
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup unsweetened cocoa
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 egg
• PEANUT BUTTER FILLING
• 3/4 cup powdered sugar
• 3/4 cup peanut butter
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• EXTRAS
• marshmallows
• sugar for dipping

Directions:
In a medium bowl, sift together flour, cocoa, soda and salt.

In a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the sugars and butter. Add in the peanut butter. Mix until it’s creamy. Add in the egg and the vanilla. Add in the flour mixture and beat until combined. Put dough in the refrigerator while you make the peanut butter filling.

Combine the powdered sugar, peanut butter and vanilla. Beat until smooth.

On a work surface, make space for an assembly line. Put the chocolate dough in one bowl, the peanut butter filling in another, marshmallows and a bowl of sugar. Take a heaping spoon full of dough, flatten it using the palm of your hand out on a cookie sheet. Put a teaspoon full of peanut butter and a few marshmallows into the center. Fold the sides up sealing the peanut butter and marshmallows inside. Pinch the edges shut making sure it’s completely sealed. It will look kind of like a dumpling. Roll it into a ball. It should be about the size of a golf ball, possibly a bit larger. Roll in sugar and put on the cookies sheet. Fill up the sheet and put in the refrigerator to chill for at least an hour.

Preheat oven to 350º.  Remove from refrigerator and bake for 13-16 minutes. Remove from the oven and put cookies on a cooling rack.

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