Chocolate surprise cookies are chocolate frosted, soft chocolate cookies with a fun little marshmallow surprise inside. One of my favorites during the holiday season (or any time!).
The Best Chocolate Marshmallow Surprise Cookies
My mom made these every year around Christmas time, without fail, and they are still a family favorite today along with Sand Tart Sugar Cookies.
They’re chocolate. Chocolate is my weakness, so a soft chocolate cookie base and frosted with chocolate icing? Amazing!
Surprise! There’s a little surprise marshmallow hiding beneath that lovely chocolate frosting, which is fun.
Pecan halves add the finishing touch to these chocolate surprise cookies. To this day, when I eat a chocolate surprise cookie I will eat all around the edge of the cookie first and save the bite with the pecan on top (the best part) for last!
The extra steps it takes to make these cookies is always worth it! (So don’t let that part discourage you!)
All that to say, these chocolate surprise cookies are amazing and we hope you’ll enjoy them as much as we do!
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Supplies we used
- Stand Mixer – (aka Kitchenaid mixer)
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Strainer – or sifter to sift the flour and cocoa
- Spatulas – because you can never have too many of these!
- Cookie scoop – or a regular spoon works ok too
- Pan – cookie sheets or baking sheet of some sort
- Non-stick cooking spray – to grease the cookie sheet (or you can use the butter wrapper!)
- Cutting board and kitchen knife or scissors – to cut the marshmallows in half
- Mixing bowl – you’ll need a small bowl to mix up the frosting in
- Hand mixer – works great to whip uo the frosting
- Knife – a regular table or butter knife works just fine to frost these cookies
Ingredients
The cookies:
Butter – salted butter (if you use unsalted butter, you’ll want to add a half teaspoon of salt, instead of a pinch)
Sugar – granulated white sugar
Egg – a large egg
Milk – whole milk is what we used this time
Flour – all-purpose flour
Cocoa – we like the rich Dutch cocoa powder
Baking soda
Salt
Marshmallows – large marshmallows (the kind you’d use for roasting or making s’mores)
The frosting:
Butter
Cocoa
Powdered sugar – confectioner’s sugar, 10x sugar, whatever you want to call it
Milk
Vanilla Extract
The garnish:
Pecan halves – add the finishing touch with a pecan half on top of each frosted cookie
⬇️Find the full recipe on the handy little printable recipe card below!⬇️
How to make Chocolate Marshmallow Surprise Cookies
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
In the bowl of a stand mixer (fitted with the paddle attachment), place the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, salt, egg, milk and the teaspoon vanilla. (I like to sift the flour and cocoa, just to get rid of any clumps.) Start mixing on low speed, then carefully pour in the melted butter while it’s mixing. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula and stir until thoroughly combined.
Grease the cookie sheets and use a cookie scoop (or a spoon) to scoop the batter and place the cookie dough balls on the prepared pans at least an inch apart from each other.
Bake for 8-10 minutes. While the cookies are baking, take a kitchen knife or scissors and cut each large marshmallow in half. After the cookies have baked for 8-10 minutes, gently press a marshmallow half, cut side down, on the top center of each cookie. Return to the oven for another 2 minutes.
Let the cookies cool on the pans for about 5 minutes, then transfer cookies to wire rack to cool completely.
While the cookies are cooling, make the frosting. Melt the butter, add in the rest of the frosting ingredients and mix with a handheld mixer until the frosting is smooth and glossy.
Frost each cookie using a regular table knife (or whatever works best for you!) then place a pecan half on top of each cookie.
Enjoy!💛
How do I store Chocolate Marshmallow Surprise Cookies?
Transfer the cookies to an airtight container and store at room temperature for a 2-3 days or in the refrigerator for a week. You can also freeze them for several months if you wish.
Pro storage tip: place cookies in a single layer in a storage container, then put a sheet of wax or parchment paper on top and add another layer of cookies and so on, until the container is full. This keeps them from sticking to each other!
Notes
If pecan halves aren’t your thing, you can substitute with sprinkles, M&M’s, chocolate chips, or whatever you prefer for the top decorations.
Even More Amazing Dessert Recipes (featuring chocolate!)
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Chocolate Surprise Cookies
Chocolate cookies frosted with chocolate icing with a surprise marshmallow inside. Don't forget to add the finishing touch of a pecan on top!
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cups flour
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup cocoa
- 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- A pinch of salt
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
- 12 large marshmallows
- 24 pecan halves
Chocolate Frosting
- 4 tbsp. (1/2 stick) butter, melted
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1/3 cup cocoa
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- In the bowl of the stand mixer, place the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, salt, egg, and milk. Start mixing on the lowest speed, then carefully pour in the melted butter while it's mixing. Stir until thoroughly combined.
- Grease the cookie sheets and use a cookie scoop (or a spoon) to scoop the batter and place the cookie balls on the prepared pans at least an inch apart from each other.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes. While the cookies are baking, take a kitchen knife or scissors and cut each large marshmallow in half. After the cookies have baked for 8-10 minutes, gently press a marshmallow half, cut side down, on the top of each cookie. Return to the oven for another 2 minutes.
- Let the cookies cool on the pans for about 5 minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.
- While the cookies are cooling, make the frosting. Melt the butter, add in the rest of the frosting ingredients and mix with a handheld mixer until the frosting is smooth and glossy.
- Frost each cookie using a regular table knife (or whatever works best for you!) then place a pecan half on top of each one.
- Enjoy!💛
Notes
Transfer the cookies to an airtight container and store at room temperature for 2-3 days or in the refrigerator for a week. You can also freeze them for several months if you wish.
Pro storage tip: place cookies in a single layer in a storage container, then put a sheet of wax or parchment paper on top and add another layer of cookies and so on, until the container is full. This keeps them from sticking to each other!
If pecan halves aren’t your thing, you can substitute with sprinkles, M&M’s, or whatever you prefer.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
24Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 158Total Fat: 4gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 13mgSodium: 57mgCarbohydrates: 30gFiber: 1gSugar: 20gProtein: 2g
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
Did you try our Chocolate Marshmallow Surprise Cookie Recipe?
We’d love to hear how it went for you; leave a comment below!
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…Where we share unique Mennonite recipes with tidbits of our daily life thrown in now and then. Thanks for following along! We appreciate you.
’til next time, we love you and we’ll be praying for you,
-Julie
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