Marshmallow Puffs

This cookie is a childhood classic! The cookie is essentially a digestive biscuit, so why not re-roll your scraps, cut them out and bake them. Then, dip them in your excess chocolate coating and voila! A bonus cookie with no waste!

Marshmallow Puffs were the technical bake for Biscuit Week of Season 3 of The Great Canadian Baking Show.

Ingredients

Cookies:

• ¾ cup flour
• ½ cup graham flour
• ¼ cup packed brown sugar
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ cup unsalted butter, cold, cubed
• 1-2 tbsp milk
• 1 tsp vanilla

Jam:

• 1 ½ cups raspberries
• ¾ cup jam sugar

Marshmallow:

• 1 cup granulated sugar
• ¼ cup water
• 5 sheets gelatin (1 tbsp plus 2 tsp powdered gelatin)
• 2 egg whites
• ¼ fine salt

Chocolate coating:

• 2 ½ cups chocolate couverture callets
• 1 tsp coconut oil, melted

Preparation

In a food processor, pulse together the flours, sugar and salt. Add the butter and pulse until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add the milk and vanilla and pulse until dough is moistened and holds together when squeezed. Turn the dough out onto the counter and knead gently to bring together.  Dust the counter with flour and roll the dough to scant ¼-inch thickness. Cut into rounds and place onto one prepared baking sheet. Bake until firm and beginning to brown on the edges, 12 to 15 minutes. Cool for 2 minutes on baking sheet, then transfer to a wire cooling rack to cool completely. 

Jam: 

Combine the raspberries with jam sugar in a small saucepan over medium-high heat, mashing raspberries lightly to break up. Bring to a boil and cook until the berries are broken down and mixture is dark and thick, about 5 to 7 min. Press through a fine mesh sieve onto a rimmed baking sheet or bowl and cool to room temperature. Once cooled, spoon or pipe a small amount onto the centre of each cooled cookie, leaving a half inch border. 

Marshmallow: 

Add the sugar and water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and boil until mixture reaches 235-240F/120C degrees. If any sugar appears on the sides of the pan, brush with a damp pastry brush in order to prevent crystallization. Remove from heat and allow bubbling to subside. 

Meanwhile, bloom the gelatin in a bowl of cold water for 5 minutes (if using powdered gelatin, sprinkle over ⅓ cup cold water). Once bloomed, squeeze out excess water and transfer to a small saucepan over medium-low (if using powdered gelatin, just transfer to saucepan). Warm over low heat until melted. 

Place the egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Whisk over medium-high until soft peaks form. With the mixer running on medium-high, gradually stream in the sugar syrup and gelatin along the side of the mixing bowl into the egg whites. Continue to beat until glossy, thick and cooled to room temperature, about 6 to 8 minutes. Add the salt and mix for 1 minute. 

Spoon the mixture into a piping bag fitted with a medium round piping tip and pipe over jam to edge of cookie to form a dome. If dome needs smoothing, moisten fingers with water and gently smooth dome. Set aside to cool. 

Chocolate coating: 

Heat ¾ of the chocolate in a bain-marie to 122F/50C degrees, stirring often. Remove from heat and add reserved chocolate. Continue stirring until temperature reaches 80F/27C degrees. Return briefly to bain-marie and heat gently to 88F/31 to 32C degrees. Stir in coconut oil. Dip the cookies, domed side down into chocolate. Flip each cookie to enrobe in chocolate and place on prepared sheet pan to dry. 

Yield: Makes 24 cookies