My Oh My Oh Mallowmars!

Mallomars are Michele's favorite cookie. Personally, I don't care much for them but she adores them. Why? Marshmallow. They have marshmallow in them. My wife is just absolutely loves marshmallow. Rocky Road is her favorite ice cream because of the marshmallow in it. She loves Peeps because they're made of marshmallow. She loves marshmallow because of the...well you get the idea. 

Bottom line is, a couple of years ago, I surprised Michele with my own version of Mallowmars. 

A Quick Word About Surprises For Michele:

There are times when Michele's job requires her to be out of town. When that happens there is apparently a switch that gets flipped inside my culinary brain. This switch seems to control the impulses that lead me to obsess about creating something delicious for her to enjoy upon her return. Ice cream, marshmallows, cookies, red velvet cupcakes...all have been the result of being unable to resist this obsession. So long as she keeps getting a kick out of it, I'll keep giving in to it.

A Quick Word About Surprises For Michele Ends

It was a qualified success. I had a few firsts with that project. First time making marshmallow. First time making graham crackers. First time tempering chocolate for covering a cookie. I made more than a few mistakes, too. I think I chose the wrong technique for the chocolate (and maybe the wrong chocolate). Assembly was a bear. And though I enjoyed making my own graham crackers, I reminded myself that I didn't really like graham crackers. 

Turns out, neither does Michele. There I'd gone through all this trouble to make her a version of her favorite cookie only to find out that part of her favorite cookie isn't her favorite cookie! Not quite an allegory of O. Henry proportions but eye-opening nonetheless.

There were a few problems with this version besides the dislike of the graham cracker. 

Stacks of grahams. Delicious but not the right taste.

The marshmallow was good but the recipe was a little convoluted in my opinion (which is subject to change, by the way)
 

Fluff in the pan.

I didn't get the chocolate right because it was too gooey instead of being hard and shell-like. The marshmallow was quite the wrong shape, which added to the problem with the chocolate. I used a cookie cutter to cut out the marshmallows and the cylindrical shape, smaller than the diameter of the cookie, meant the chocolate covered more of the cookie and thereby softened it. 

Problem solving.

Assemble the mallows!

I think being under the gun, trying to get this done as a surprise for Michele, and having never, ever made marshmallow before were factors in my considering this a qualified success. 

Three on a plate.

Not bad for the first try but I could do better. Don't get me wrong. She loved that I'd made them for her as a surprise and she enjoyed the cookies. I just know I can do better. 

Two years later and I'm finally ready to give it a go. Part 2 forthcoming.

Currently listening to: Dexter Wansel - Voyager