Hostess Cookies
Servings: 16 cookies
Ingredients
For the cookies:
- 1 cup salted butter melted
- 1 ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ¾ cup light brown sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 eggs room temperature
- 1 ⅔ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp corn starch
- 1 cup cocoa powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp kosher salt
For the marshmallow layer:
- ¾ cup salted butter room temperature. I use salted but you can use unsalted if you prefer!
- 7 oz marshmallow creme
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- 2 tbsp heavy cream or milk room temperature
For the ganache:
- 8 oz semi-sweet chocolate I like to use baking chocolate bars but you can use chocolate chips as well!
- ¾ cup heavy cream
Instructions
For the cookies:
- In the bowl of a stand mixer combine the melted butter, granulated sugar, light brown sugar and vanilla extract. Mix on medium for 1 minute. Add in both eggs and mix on low until incorporated. Add in the flour, corn starch, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt and mix on low until everything is combined.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper (you can also use wax paper, but do not bake with the wax paper) Use a large sized cookie dough scoop, about 3 tablespoons of dough per ball, to scoop 16 even cookies and place on the prepared baking sheet. **To make smaller cookies see notes below! Refrigerate for 30 minutes to chill the cookie dough. This will help to enhance the flavor and help prevent spreading. Preheat the oven to 350°.
- Once the cookie dough has chilled, space each about 2 inches apart on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and bake for 14 minutes, or until the edges are just set. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 3 minutes before transferring to a cookie rack to cool completely.
For the marshmallow layer:
- Add butter, marshmallow fluff and vanilla to the bowl of a stand mixer and beat on medium speed until combined. Add in the powdered sugar, salt and 2 tbsp of milk or heavy cream. Mix until smooth. If you'd like it to be a little thinner, add milk or heavy cream until it reached desired consistency but you want it thick and spreadable.
For the ganache:
- While the cookies are cooling, make the ganache. Break the chocolate up into pieces (unless using chocolate chips) and place in a heatproof bowl. Heat the cream in a small pot on the stove over medium heat until it starts to simmer. Pour over the chocolate and let it sit for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes whisk to stir until completely smooth. Let cool for 15 minutes, or until it is a little thicker and spreadable consistency.
For assembly:
- Add a little more than ¼ cup of the marshmallow cream to a piping bag with a small round tip. Set aside.
- Once the cookies have completely cooled you can assemble! Scoop about 3 tablespoons of the marshmallow cream onto the cookies and spread, leaving about ¼ inch around the edges of the cookies bare.
- I like to chill my cookies in between each layer for 30 minutes to make assembly easier, but it's not required! Add about 2 tablespoons of ganache on top of the marshmallow cream and spread while again leaving about ¼ inch of the marshmallow cream around the edges.
- Pipe swirls on the cupcake and serve! You can also refrigerate to allow the ganache to set up, otherwise as room temp this will be a soft set ganache. Enjoy!
Notes
To make smaller cookies: This recipe calls for using a large cookie dough scoop, about 3 tablespoons of dough per cookie, but you can easily make them smaller! If using a medium sized scoop, about 2 tablespoons of dough, adjust baking time to 9-11 minutes. This will make around 20 cookies!