Did you know that Pinterest is a very, very dangerous place? A place that throws things like healthy eating, budgets, and blog calendars to the wind? A place that embeds images of naughty and beautiful food into my brain, tormenting me into driving all over my teeny tiny town trying to find things like, say, coriander seeds, not letting me rest until I’ve successfully (or unsuccessfully–I’m talking to you, beautiful meltaway cookies) made said food myself?
Like these Surprise Cookies from Martha Stewart.
I saw them early last week and they have been all I can think about since then. I also couldn’t stop thinking about the name–have I ever mentioned that I am extremely not fond of the word “surprise” in recipe titles? Call me crazy, but I generally don’t like to be warned that my food is going to surprise me. If it’s a good surprise, surprise me! If it’s in something like, say, Halibut Surprise, all I can think about is what the surprise could possibly be. Because I’m a tiny bit neurotic, I automatically assume all the worst case surprise scenarios (and when we’re talking about surprises in my halibut, the list could be nearly endless).
I finally had a few minutes to make these cookies, although not so much time that I was in a position to experiment with cookie recipes. Chocolate cookies can be temperamental and I wasn’t prepared to invest all sorts of time and energy into a cookie recipe that wasn’t 100% tried and true, so I went with the easiest, most fail-proof chocolate cookie recipe I know: Cake Mix Cookies.
Oh, and just in case you were wondering if the “surprise” in these cookies is something horrific, it isn’t; it’s marshmallows. So you’ll need some of those, too.
Preheat your oven to 350. In the bowl of a heavy-duty mixer, combine the cake mix, eggs, and 1/2 cup of shortening.
Mix until completely combined. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto a lined baking sheet.
Bake for 8-10 minutes or until the cookies appear cooked in the center but not completely solid. While the cookies are baking, use a pair of kitchen shears to cut each marshmallow in half.
(The stuff on my shears is marshmallow residue, I promise. I’m not gross.)
When the cookies are ready, remove the pan from the oven and place a marshmallow half, cut-side down, onto each cookie.
Place the pan back in the oven for another 2 minutes. Remove and very, very gently smoosh each marshmallow down just a little, just to ensure the marshmallow spreads out a little over the cookie. Allow to cool completely.
While the cookies are cooling, combine the powdered sugar and cocoa powder in a large bowl. Add the vanilla, milk, and melted butter and beat with an electric mixer on high speed until smooth, light, and fluffy. Spoon the frosting into an icing bag fitted with a large tip (I used a Wilton 1M tip) and swirl onto the cookies.
Now…some of you might be saying, “But Kate, these cookies sound awfully familiar. Kind of like the Mississippi Mud Brownies. Kind of like…the infamous Tim Riggins Brownies.” Yeah, that thought crossed my mind, too. But these cookies were, quite honestly, too good not to share. So. It’s almost Valentine’s Day. I love my friends. I don’t think it’s fair that my kids should get all the fun and get to give all their friends little fun cards and treats on Valentine’s Day–I should get to, too, right?! Yeah, I thought so.
I sent the file to Office Depot and had them printed out on glossy cardstock for less than a buck a page. Then I cut them out, cut some striped paper straws in half (but regular straws, toothpicks, skewers, or anything along those lines would also work) and taped them to the back of Mr. Riggins and popped them right into the frosting of the cookies. 
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Good thing my husband humors me.
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Click HERE for the Tim Riggins Valentine printable!
Chocolate Marshmallow Cookies
Recipe by Our Best Bites, inspired by Martha Stewart
1 chocolate cake mix (we prefer Duncan Hines)
1/2 cup butter-flavored shortening
2 eggs
12 large marshmallows
1/2 c. melted butter
1/3 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
1/3 c. evaporated milk
1 lb. powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350. Combine cake mix, eggs, and shortening in the bowl of a heavy-duty mixer and mix until well combined. Drop dough by the tablespoon onto a baking sheet and bake for about 8-10 minutes or until the cookies appear done but are still soft in the center.
While the cookies are baking, use a pair of kitchen shears to cut each marshmallow in half. When the cookies have baked, remove the pan from the oven and place a marshmallow half on each cookie, cut side down. Return the pan to the oven for about 2 minutes. Remove from oven and very gently push each marshmallow down. Allow to cool completely and repeat with remaining cookie dough.
When the cookies have cooled completely, combine the powdered sugar and cocoa powder in a large bowl. Add melted butter, vanilla, and evaporated milk and beat on high until smooth, light, and fluffy. Transfer the frosting to an icing bag fitted with a large tip and swirl onto the cookies. Makes 24 cookies.
Questions & Reviews
These are the best cookies! Delicious! 🙂 Kate brought me one to school the other day and I was blown away at how amazing they were. Definitely a keeper recipe! Thanks Kate! I cannot wait to make these with my children on Valentine’s Day. They LOVE chocolate. 🙂
I omitted the frosting and pushed almonds into the marshmallows instead to make “rocky road” cookies. They were great!
I made these and loved them! I don”t use shortening so I used oil and they turned out great!
http://loveitsewmuch.blogspot.com/2012/02/happy-day-after-valentines-day.html
I made and posted these on my blog. Please visit and grab my button!
I just made these today and they are DELICIOUS!!! I did have to add a lot more powdered sugar and my frosting was still more fudgy than fluffy. They still taste really good, but I am wondering what I may have done wrong or if anyone else had this problem. Thanks!
This might be a dumb question, but did you go by weight or measurement for the powdered sugar?
I had the same problem with my frosting. Definitely did not get light and fluffy. It was pretty fudgy. So much so it wouldn’t come out with a medium size star tip (couldn’t find the large one). I just figured it was due to my MAD baking skills (read sarcasm). I had a 2lb bag of powdered sugar and almost used the whole thing.
I went by weight. I used at least 3/4 of my 2 lb bag by the end.
My hubby and I ate these on Valentine’s for dessert and both of us made ourselves sick on these amazing cookies! They were even better the second day for breakfast. So bad of me.
I want to try these! Is the 1/2 cup shortening you mention something extra on top of what the cake mix requires? (ie. cake mix usually calls for one egg and some vegetable oil)
Thanks!
Just ignore the directions on the box–sorry, I should have made that more clear! 🙂
I made these with butter and 1% milk and they are still to die for. I seriously debated on hiding them before my hubby got home so he wouldn’t know that I made them.
I’ve suspected as much about Pintrest. It’s the devil’s own invention.
Let’s say I’m not the best or most experienced cook/baker in the world and don’t have an icing bag…or tip. Can I still make my cookies look half as good as yours? I was debating trying a ziploc bag with the corner snipped off. I realize the swirled frosting won’t have the pretty lines yours does from the star tip.
Sure! You can also just spread it onto the cookies with a spatula. Although, I swear to you on the life of my cat, swirling it on with an icing bag is the fastest and easiest way! 🙂
I made these today and I burned half of them— it was the grace of God that I did. They are too tasty for me to have 24 of them in my apartment!
HA! A girl after my own heart! 🙂
Made these today as a Valentine’s Day treat for my husband since he loves chocolate. They are delish! He is a huge FNL fan, like me, but I did leave off the Riggins printables since I didn’t think that would enhance his V-day experience this time. ;). However, I don’t feel that had I printed them, he would feel I was dishonoring our marriage vows and that a phone call to our priest was in order (wow, lighten up, why dontcha, Comment #30!) Pretty sure he would have laughed and taken it in the humorous spirit in which these are intended, since he’s a secure guy. Keep up the great work, ladies!
This is a very quick recipe that looks and tastes great! Great for last minute events when you want to impress!
OK, I have not watched Friday Night Lights yet, but I have to say I just laughed my butt off haha! One of my neighbors made these cookies for us for Christmas and let me tell you… they were gone in like 2 minutes. YUM. I am totally going to make them now. 🙂
What, I didn’t get a reply? 🙁
I don’t always see every comment come through, but I’m sosososo glad they were good!!
So yummy! I made them with butter and they spread out more, but still taste good.
I am DYING!! Love those Tim Riggins cupcake flags! so fun!
I have to say that your pictures beat Martha’s all to heck and back!
I could kiss you. 🙂
I made these last night and my daughter said these are Delicious are they from Our Best Bites? (She’s ll) I use your recipes a lot!! Thanks for all the great ideas 😉
Thanks for that – now another question: FLAT marshmallows? Why would there be such a thing???
They are flat, square marshmallows and perfect for baking. I’m so sad I can’t find them anymore!
Did I miss something? WHO is Tim Riggins?????
See comment 10.1. 🙂
I don’t really like cookies. I make them, but don’t normally eat them, my family does. I made these tonight and HOLYCOW I ate 4 of them within a few hours. These are amazing. My husband likes cocoa flavoring so I thought I’d give these a try – they’re now in our rotation. Love your blog, and your recipes are honestly some of the best I’ve seen.
Love it! These are amazingly easy and I am going to make them! Perfect!!! Thanks for sharing.
My mom made a variation of these when I was young…I loved these cookies, what a great treat to find a modern/easier/improved version. I cannot wait to make them for my grandkids, We all love chocolate marshmallow anything. Thank you so much! Yummmm!
These look awesome! I was wondering if I make them on Sunday for a bake sale on Tues will they still be good? Have they stayed in anyone’s home long enough to check this out? I signed up to bring goodies to a bake sale at my hospital and then realized I was working a 12 hour shift on Monday.
These are awesome! Not only do those cookies look delightful, but so does Tim Riggins! I LOVE me some Friday Night Lights, one of the best shows ever in my opinion!
I’ve been making cookies like this for years. Except I use butter instead of the crisco, and I use a different frosting recipe. They are a family favorite!
AHH NOT ONLY DO THESE SOUND DELICIOUS, BUT THEY ARE VERY ADORABLE!!! WHO DOESN’T LOVE TIM RIGGINS!?!??!?
I LOVE TIM RIGGINS!!!!!