I do marshmallows & milk chocolate, but you can go as far as you want 😉
Hello QCK, and welcome back to Outside the Cookie Box — a 5-day cookie series dedicated to the recipes you won’t find in anyone else’s cookie tin.
All week long, I’m sharing playful, inventive, flavor-forward cookies that bring something new (and maybe a little unexpected) to your holiday baking lineup. My hope is that you stumble on a few “forever favorites” you’ll return to year after year — and maybe learn a little cookie science along the way. 🙂
Today’s recipe is my personal favorite. I don’t have a big sweet tooth, but I’m a sl*t for a sweet and salty moment – so these really do it for me. The base cookie dough is soft and fluffy with enough density to hold all the fix-ins you could imagine. The peanut butter base is already a win for me, but pretzel pieces mixed in adds another layer of sweet and salty, top it with some milk chocolate chinks and big globs of gooey marshmallow? It’s purely entertaining to eat.
My Favorite Cookie Hacks
• Add a tablespoon or two of dry milk powder.
I learned this from Christina Tosi of Milk Bar — it’s her secret to deeper, richer flavor in cookies. You can add it to almost any recipe and it just elevates everything.
• Add spices during the creaming stage.
Incorporate vanilla, cinnamon, or any spices while the butter and sugar are still being creamed. It “blooms” the flavors, making them more intense, even, and aromatic throughout the cookie.
• Chill the dough.
Not new, but essential. Chilling keeps the butter cold, which means it melts more slowly in the oven and helps the cookies stay soft and thick instead of spreading too fast.
• Pull them from the oven early.
Cookies continue to cook from residual heat. Taking them out 1–2 minutes before they look done ensures they finish perfectly soft and stay that way for days.
Note: The best way to make sure your marshmallows don’t evaporate into thin air while baking is to freeze them and just place them on top rather than mixing them into the dough. This way they come out just toasted and perfectly golden brown.
Recipe:
| Prep: 15 mins | Cook: 18 Mins | Category: Cookies | Servings: 15 |
Ingredients:
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
- 1/4 cup white sugar
- 1 egg and 1 egg yolk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/3 C Peanutbutter
- 1/3 C Crushed Pretzels
- 1/2 C Chocolate Chunks
- Mini Marshmallows, frozen, optional
Directions
- Cream the butter and sugar.
In a large bowl or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until wet and fluffy. - Add wet ingredients and spices.
Mix in the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla until fully combined. - Add dry ingredients.
Add the flour, baking soda, and salt. Mix until the dough comes together. - Add mix-ins.
Add in the peanut butter, crushed pretzels and chocolate chunks, mix until evenly distributed. - Scoop and chill.
Using a medium cookie scoop, portion the dough onto a parchment-lined baking sheet, leaving space for spreading. Chill the tray for at least 30 minutes. - Add marshmallows.
Place the frozen marshmallows on top of each cookie and gently press them in, 1-2 per cookie. At this step, you can also add a couple pretzel pieces and chocolate chunks as a garnish. This is how you get those big puddles of chocolate on top of the cookie. - Bake.
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Bake the cookies for 15-17 minutes. About two minutes before they’re ready, take the pan out of the oven and bang it one on the counter top to flatten them down. Continue baking until just golden brown, chocolate is melted, and the marshmallows are toasted. - Cool before serving.
Thank you so much for visiting QCK! I’m happy to have you here. If you try any recipes, or have any requests, please let me know! Otherwise happy cooking and lots of love from my kitchen to yours. ❤
Quarter Cup Kitchen 
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