Fudgy double chocolate cookies get a stretchy marshmallow web on top, with optional googly eyes for a spooky finish. The dough chills while you set up, and the webs take about ten minutes to spin once the cookies have cooled. They are an easy Halloween project to make with kids.
Spider webs have been a Halloween decoration staple in the United States for generations, a shorthand for abandoned houses and long-dormant attics. Marshmallow itself is far older than the holiday. The name comes from the marsh mallow plant, whose sap was used in ancient confections, and French confectioners in the nineteenth century turned it into the whipped, sugar-based sweet familiar today.
Melted marshmallow stretches into fine strands as it cools, which is the whole technique here. Pulled between the fingers, it sets into a lacy web that clings to a cooled cookie.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (75 g) semisweet chocolate chips
- 2 oz (55 g) unsalted butter, cubed
- 2 large eggs
- 1/4 cup (50 g) granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup (100 g) brown sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup (125 g) all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup (45 g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- About 10 large marshmallows, for the webs
- A handful of googly eyes, optional
Instructions
- Place the chocolate chips and butter in a small microwave-safe bowl, microwave for 1 minute, and stir until mostly melted and smooth, adding 20 more seconds if needed.
- Set the melted chocolate and butter aside to cool.
- In a large bowl, beat the eggs, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla until light and fluffy.
- Add the cooled chocolate and butter mixture and mix until combined.
- Sift in the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt, and mix until just combined.
- Refrigerate the dough for at least 20 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
- Scoop the dough into balls and place them on the sheet with space between them.
- Bake for 11 to 12 minutes, then let the cookies cool completely.
- Melt the marshmallows a few at a time in the microwave for about 45 seconds, then let them cool for a few seconds so they do not burn your fingers.
- Pinch a small amount of melted marshmallow between the thumb and index finger of both hands, squeeze, and pull to stretch it.
- Lay the web over a cookie and touch the edges so it sticks to the cookie and not your fingers.
- Repeat with the remaining cookies, and add googly eyes if you like.
Notes
- Chill time: 20 minutes. Melt only a few marshmallows at a time. They are easiest to stretch while they are warm and soft, and they set up quickly once they cool.
Serve with cold milk or hot cocoa. Set the cookies out as soon as the webs are on, since the marshmallow is at its stretchiest the first day.
Featured DaTerra product:
Baking Sheet/Cookie Sheet Twin Pack
Two Italian-made ceramic nonstick sheets let the cookies release cleanly and cool on a flat, even surface before the webs go on.
More from our kitchen:
Pumpkin Challah Bread Pudding
Big-Batch Apple Crisp with Cinnamon-Nutmeg Oat Streusel
Dutch Apple Pancake
