These cookies are soft and fudgy with a chewy marshmallow center that’s hidden with creamy chocolate frosting. And you won’t believe how quick and easy they are to make! I use our beloved cake mix cookies (found in these Homemade Oreos) as the base, add a melted round of marshmallow, and top them with a rich homemade chocolate frosting. These cookies are easy to whip up and sure to please anyone you’re willing to share them with!
Ingredients Needed
This is just a preview of ingredients and method, keep scrolling for full printable recipe.
Cookies
- Chocolate cake mix – I use and recommend Duncan Hines
- Shortening – Butter flavored is preferred, but any will work. You can also make these cookies with butter (I used butter in these photos!) They just come out slightly flatter than with shortening.
- Eggs
- Marshmallows – You’ll want standard large marshmallows here. They will be cut to fit the cookies. You can also use any specialty marshmallow that’s around the same size. In my photos I’m using pink
Frosting
- Butter
- Unsweetened cocoa powder
- Evaporated milk – Evaporated milk has more milk solids than regular milk, which results in a thick, rich frosting texture. You may sub in regular milk if necessary, but you may need to reduce the amount used slightly or add a little extra powdered sugar to achieve the correct frosting texture.
- Powdered sugar
- Vanilla extract
How to Make Chocolate Marshmallow Cookies
- You’ll mix up your cookie dough first, which is just a dry cake mix, eggs, and butter or shortening. Drop the dough by tablespoons onto a lined baking sheet and pop in the oven.
- While the cookies are baking, use a pair of kitchen shears to cut each marshmallow in half. My pink heart marshmallows are already the perfect size so I’m not cutting them. But you’ll need to slice regular large marshmallows in half.
- When the cookies have mostly baked, you’ll pull them out and top each with a marshmallow half, then put them back in the oven for just a couple of minutes to get melty. When you pull them back out, give each marshmallow a little smush to ensure it spreads out. Let the cookies cool completely.
- While they are cooling, whip up a quick chocolate frosting of powdered sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla, evaporated milk, and melted butter. Transfer whipped frosting to a piping bag with a large star tip, and pipe onto cooled cookies, completely covering the marshmallow.
Storing and Other Tips
- Store finished cookies in a single layer in an airtight container at room temperature. Enjoy within 2-3 days for best results.
- You may think these cookies resemble another well-loved recipe here at Our Best Bites and you’re right. They are very similar to these Mississippi Mud Brownies, which would be another great choice if you need to serve a crowd!
Frequently Asked Questions
Sure! I would serve them within 24 hours for best results. You can also make the cookie base and store them overnight, then melt the marshmallow and frost the day of serving.
You can, but keep in mind the texture is much softer and I would skip the oven step. Spoon a small dollop onto warm, not hot, baked cookies and allow the cookies to cool completely before frosting over the marshmallow creme.
You can, but I would only freeze the cookie base and save the marshmallow and frosting step for when you’re ready to use them!
Sure! Feel free to add extracts or flavoring oils to the cookie dough or frosting. You could also switch up the cookies by choosing a different flavor of cake mix.
Chocolate Marshmallow Cookies
Ingredients
Cookies
- 1 chocolate or Devil's Food cake mix I only use Duncan Hines for these
- ½ cup shortening butter-flavored, or butter
- 2 eggs
- 12 marshmallows large
Frosting
- ½ cup butter melted
- ⅓ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- ⅓ cup evaporated milk
- 1 lb. powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
Cookies
- Preheat oven to 350℉. Combine dry cake mix (ignore the directions on the box), eggs, and ½ cup shortening or softened butter 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 7-8 minutes or until the cookies are puffed and almost done but still soft in the center.
- While the cookies are baking, use a pair of kitchen shears to cut each marshmallow in half horizonally. 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.
Frosting
- 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 (I like a Wilton 1M) and swirl onto the cookies.
Notes
- Store finished cookies in a single layer in an airtight container at room temperature. Enjoy within 2-3 days for best results.
- Feel free to add extracts or flavoring oils to the cookie dough or frosting. You could even get a different flavor of cake mix if you’d like!
Questions & Reviews
This is the most amazing yummy thing I have ever seen…..
HA!! Love it! 🙂
Can’t wait to make these. I am going to use the new heart marshmallows.
You know you have single-handedly made 90% of the desserts that we have always put on our Christmas treat plates and people love and don’t know the recipes to?! At least I still like you guys. And hopefully people around here won’t take the time to make them by themselves.
Love it, I’m just having to adjust to being perpetually salivating 🙂
Does it have to be butter flavored shortening?? Or can I use regular?
Regular would be fine! 🙂
Thanks for the recipe! I love Valentine’s Day.
This is seriously awesome with the Valentine’s! Good job!
Hi Kate! Can I use butter instead of shortening? Btw -your adorable MIL showed up at our enrichment meeting and totally made my day! She’s o sad you and Sara aren’t doings timeout here in Seattle. Thanks!
Hi, Heike! You know, I truly don’t know if butter would work. The cookies will definitely be different, but I can’t say how. But you can always try it and see if it works! 🙂
I made these yesterday and used butter and they turned out great. I was making them GF so I had to tweak it a little, but turned out awesome!
Love these cookies! Any cookies with a healthy dose of frosting is good in my book!
I was wondering the same thing!
me too :/