Cubicle kitchen: Marshmallow Sandwich Cookies

Last year I joined the Kickstarter campaign to bring Veronica Mars back from the mists of cancelled TV time to make a feature film.  And a few weeks ago that film made its world premiere right here in Austin at SXSW.

In honor of the movie, I was, to quote Wallace in the premiere, 'just dying' to bake something:

And from that moment on, marshmallows have been associated with this troublesome teenage detective.  Somehow, I always forget that part about the Twinkie.  Personally, I think Veronica is far too unique to be a Twinkie, though she might have the same capacity for survival.  So I made my own marshmallow treat for her.

If I'm honest, she would probably think these were a bit too baby shower pink.  I'm sure Logan would have something sarcastic to say about them.  But they are such pure sugar-high deliciousness, I still think she would bring them to a stake-out.  I know they made the rest of the afternoon better for my coworkers after they ate them at klatch.

And as with most of my favorite recipes, there are so many flavor possibilities.  You are limited only by the gelatin aisle of your grocery store.  I've seen both cranberry and green apple in stores at various times, I'm thinking I might need to bring those out for fall...

Marshmallow Sandwich Cookies
Makes 22 sandwich cookies

Ingredients

For the cookies:

• One batch of Bakerette's Jello Cookies*, for me this was 44 cookies, but any even amount is fine

For the marshmallow:
(My original source for the recipe has been lost to the interwebs, but I found the same one at Everyday Nutrition: Homemade Marshmallows.  I'm going to go ahead and document it here for posterity.)

• 1 3 oz packet of Jello*
• 1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin
• 2/3 cup boiling water
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 Tablespoons corn syrup (I used light)
• Additional sugar or Jello for rolling

* I used Cherry Jello for both the cookies and the marshmallow (and Berry Blue for rolling), but you can use any combination of flavors you like.  I have not tried using sugar-free versions.

Directions

1. The Jello cookies should be baked before starting the marshmallow, to ensure that they are fully cooled before assembly.
2. In a saucepan over low heat, whisk together the Jello and unflavored gelatin in the boiling water until dissolved.
3. Stir in sugar and corn syrup.
4. Transfer mixture to large glass bowl (it needs to be big enough to allow the marshmallow to at least triple in size) and refrigerate until slightly thickened.
5. Beat the chilled mixture until soft peaks form.  You will need an electric mixer for this, and it will take at least ten minutes.  For me, it was more like fifteen.
6. Assemble the cookie sandwiches, dolloping about two tablespoons of marshmallow per sandwich, squishing the cookies together and rolling the edges in sugar or Jello if desired.  Allow the marshmallow to set a little before packing, or you can eat them straight away.

There will be leftover marshmallow, feel free to complete the remaining directions for making marshmallows, namely:

1. Spread evenly into a tray lined with parchment paper. I used my 7 x 9" pan, but only spread the marshmallow over about 3/4s of it, so it was about an inch thick.
2. Place in fridge to set overnight.
3. The next day, carefully slice into squares or use a cookie cutter to make fun shapes.  Roll in powdered sugar (or more Jello).