Add This To Your Chocolate Chip Cookies For A Deliciously Gooey Upgrade

Next to ice cream and apple pie, chocolate chip cookies are undoubtedly one of the most popular desserts in America. Whether you love these simple confections for their chewy centers or crisp exteriors, most dessert lovers would argue warm chocolate chip cookies are preferred. Who doesn't enjoy melty chocolate chips in every delicious bite? While melted chocolate chips eventually cool and harden, there is one ingredient that can fulfill your desire for textural variance past the warm cookie stage. 

To extend homemade chocolate chip cookies' gooey qualities, simply add mini marshmallows to your cookie batter. Marshmallows have a sweet, delicate flavor that pairs well with chocolate. Since they're primarily made of sugar, gelatin, corn syrup, and air, these small weightless treats' sponge-like texture is easily broken down with a bit of heat.

One of the reasons chocolate chip cookies are so popular is that there are many recipe variations worth trying, including the addition of gooey marshmallows for an ultra-satisfying consistency. However, to achieve just the right amount of stickiness, add mini marshmallows to your tried and true cookie recipe with mindful precision. 

Given their elusive consistency, you're already privy to the magic of marshmallows. Therefore, adding these sweet miniature confections at just the right time in the baking process is crucial. While there is nothing wrong with adding marshmallows directly to your cookie dough when you add in the chocolate chips, be aware that these small cloud-like treats have a higher chance of melting if left in the oven for too long. Melted marshmallows provide added flavor to your cookies but fail to provide the texture upgrade you're after. Many recipes combat this risk by suggesting you chill marshmallow-infused cookie dough before baking. Leaving dough balls round and high without pressing them against your parchment-lined baking sheet before cooking is also recommended. However, to achieve chocolate chip cookies that have an irresistibly gooey consistency through and through, wait to add mini marshmallows until later in the baking process.

With or without an added handful of mini marshmallows, prepare traditional chocolate chip cookie dough, chill, and bake as directed. Two to 3 minutes before the cookies are done baking, strategically press more mini marshmallows into each hot cookie. A few minutes in the oven is enough time for these last-minute marshmallows to become puffy and slightly melted. Once cooled, your marshmallow-laden cookies should be adorned with sticky puddles of melty goodness. Now that you know when to incorporate mini marshmallows, you're ready to experiment with tasty recipe variations.

Since mini marshmallows have the ability to enhance traditional chocolate chip cookies, what's stopping you from incorporating these gooey sweets into other cookie varieties? Instead of making vanilla-kissed dough, include cocoa powder to make double chocolate cookies with mini marshmallows. To counteract the pillowy white treats' extra sweetness, skip traditional semisweet chocolate chips and try chopped bittersweet or dark chocolate chips. Double chocolate marshmallow cookies are not only rich and chocolatey, but the color contrast of white marshmallows sprinkled onto the dark treats is also visually appealing.

The same idea can be applied to red velvet cookies as well. Cocoa powder and red food coloring provide a nice backdrop for light and fluffy marshmallows. To go one step further, include both mini marshmallows and broken bits of Hershey's Cookies 'n' Creme chocolate bars made with a combination of white creme and chocolate cookie pieces.

Beyond including different types of chocolate and candy, you can't think of marshmallows without considering classic s'mores. To make s'mores cookies, simply substitute crushed graham crackers for a portion of the suggested flour in your go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe. Press marshmallows into par-baked cookies before baking time is complete. Truthfully, marshmallows have a mild, sweet flavor that combines well with both sweet and salty ingredients. When added at the right time, mini marshmallows upgrade the consistency of homemade cookies with ease.