Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

Please forgive me for being cocky, but these cookies are a work of art.  They are the most wickedly delicious sweet treat ever.  Basically they’re a classy Wagon Wheel or S’more – with a marshmallow centre encased in chocolate cookie dough. These are huge, weighing in at about three times the size of a normal cookie. (By the way, that’s a side plate in the photo above, not a dinner plate.)

The original Mrs Field’s recipe involved wrapping the dough around mini marshmallows, but I found that far too annoying, so I now use a frozen mega marshmallow instead.  It does mean that instead of the recommended 42 cookies, I’m lucky to get 18 out of the same batch of dough.  There’s a lot of finesse to the baking of these cookies – right near the end you have to watch them like a hawk, as an extra minute can turn them from elegance to mush.  As you can probably see from my photos, I was about 30 seconds too late – you really want to pull them out just as the first one starts to ooze melted marshmallow.  Having said that, it doesn’t make much difference – they’ll be gooey and sticky no matter what you do – and that’s a large part of their charm.

• 450g (3 cups) plain (all-purpose) flour
• 75g (2/3 cup) unsweetened cocoa
• ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
• 220g (1 cup) white sugar
• 215g  (1 cup, packed) brown sugar
• 250g (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened
• 2 large (59g) eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 pkt (about 18) Pascalls Mega Marshmallows, frozen
• 350g (12oz) dark chocolate chips (we used Callebaut callets)

1. Preheat the oven to 175C (350F) with fan.  Leave the marshmallows in the freezer until after you’ve made the dough.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sifted cocoa (if you don’t sift, you’ll get bitter lumps in the finished cookie) and sifted bicarb soda.

3. In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugars with an electric mixer.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl.  Add the eggs and vanilla, and beat at medium speed until combined.

4. Add the flour mixture and choc chips and mix at low speed until combined.  The batter will be stiff – do not overmix – just run the machine until there’s no more dry flour visible.

5. Wrap the mix around a frozen marshmallow as shown – you want to pat them a bit flatter than the photo below, so that they form a thick disc rather than a small cricket ball.  I realise it’s a ridiculous amount of cookie mix; I think that every time I make these.  Put all the finished cookies (I always get between 16 – 18 cookies) onto a tray and pop them into the freezer for about 30 minutes.  This refreezes the marshmallows and increases your chances of getting intact finished cookies.

6. Place the cookies on baking trays lined with parchment paper.  Leave lots of room between them, as they’ll spread quite a lot.  Bake for 10 – 13 minutes, depending on how frozen your dough was.  Don’t leave the kitchen, sit there and watch them for the last half of the baking time, as you want to pull them out the second the first one looks like it’s going to ooze its marshmallow guts.  You might want to reverse the trays halfway through the specified time, to ensure even baking.

7. Take the cookies out and let them cool for 5 minutes on the tray, before transferring them to a cool flat service.  I usually drag the whole sheet of Bake onto the stone bench rather than bothering with a rack, as they’re so sticky that the racks get covered in melted marshmallow.  Handle them with care – they’ll sink a bit as they cool and become easier to manage.  The marshmallow cools to a sticky glue, so feel free to push any deformed cookies back together while they’re still warm (don’t burn yourself!).

Big Boy took these to school for Easter, individually wrapped in greaseproof paper. They really are a special occasion cookie – you just couldn’t eat these every day!

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