Friday, October 17, 2008

Chocolate Marshmallow Cookies!

Lets take a culinary adventure back to the delicious decade of 1990 and an obsession that was equally as mouthwatering as it was to-die-for tasty: chocolate marshmallow cookies and Valley River Mall. Most of you will not know Valley River Mall, but I bet you do remember the old cookie stands that were a regular fixture in the suburban shopping paradise...the cookies were big (so big) and our favorite was a chocolate comatose of rich cocoa, gooey marshmallows and a smothering of luscious, fluffy frosting.

Not only was this cookie experience so memorable because of the sugared goodness that I can still taste to this day, but more importantly because it was my sister's first introduction into why the world of baking is so much more that an Oreo. In our 7 year old world, these cookies were gold and our allowance was currency. My sister LOVED these and she I will credit as my inspiration in the quest at recreating the cookies from our childhood that have long been lost in shopping mall turnover.


Ingredients
1 box of chocolate cake mix (I like devils food)
1/2 cup of butter
2 eggs
1 tablespoon of pure vanilla
1 bag of large marshmallows (cut each marshmallow in half and set aside)
Chocolate frosting (you can make it or by it canned - one can will do for this whole recipe and its easy!)

Recipe
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. With an electric mixer, cream butter (apx. 2 minutes)
3. Add cake mix, eggs and vanilla - mix until blended
4. Drop by spoonful onto cookie sheet lined with parchment (I use a medium cookie scoop)
5. Bake @ 350 for 8- 9 minutes
6. Remove cookies from oven and quickly place 2-3 marshmallow halves sticky side down on top of the cookie
7. Place pan back in oven for 1 minute
8. Remove cookies again and use the back of a buttered spoon to lightly flatten and spread the melted marshmallow across the top of each cookie
9. Allow to cool and frost with the chocolate frosting, making sure to cover all the marshmallow
10. Eat, eat, and try to share :)

33 comments:

Joie de vivre said...

These look simple and delicious!

Anonymous said...

What a fun story behind these delicious chocolatey cookies! I'd love to feature your recipe on our blog :), please let me know if you're interested.

Thanks!
Sophie, Key Ingredient Chief Blogger
sophie@keyingredient.com

andrea roesch said...

I as well was a lover of the chocolate marshmallow cookies sold at Valley River center. And no matter what mall I am in ,and in whatever city I look for these cookies! Thank you for your easy recipe to childhood past!!

Anonymous said...

Wow, I was actually online trying to find THESE cookies. I'm from Florence and when ever we would go to Eugene to go school clothes shopping we used to get these at the Valley River Mall!!! Every once in a while I will crave them! So for the our 4th of July party this year I thought I'd try and make them. Thanks!!
Christina Ory

KelseyKakes said...

Christina, I am so glad you found these too!! They are delicious as well as memory lane worthy :) Let me know how they turn out!

Anonymous said...

I also was just online trying to find a recipe for these cookies. My 3 daughters and I have fond memories of these cookies at Valley River Mall in the 1980's. We couldn't get them out of our mind. So, we all have been trying to find the recipe. Isn't the internet delightful for things like this. Thanks for your post.

Gloria in Gig Harbor, WA

Anonymous said...

Thank you so much for posting these cookies. My brother inlaw just loves these cookies and the bakery by us makes them but they are not the same. So thank you i am going to give these a try.

Ginger Jones said...

Thanks for sharing this one! They look so yummy and kinda retro LOL Can't wait to give 'em a try :)

Anonymous said...

i used to get these cookies when i went to the mall ive been craving these cookies for a long time
thank you becky from
tenino wa

Melissa said...

Yes! I remember eating these in
Valley River when I'd get to go on a shopping trip from Bend to Eugene - Bend shopping was NOT what it is now. Thanks for posting, because I can't wait to share them with my young daughters!

Anonymous said...

A mall in my home town kelso called Three Rivers sold this very cookie and like all of you i loved it. Thanks so much its been ages since ive got to enjoy this cookie:)

Anonymous said...

Was the shop called The Cookie Cutter? I am from Vancouver, and just this morning I was asked to find a recipe for these cookies.
I am not a fan of cake mix cookies, but I will try them.
Thanks,
Jenny

Megan said...

I am so happy you have this recipe! I was telling my husband about the Warm Cookie Store at Valley River and how I always used to get these cookies and how much I wished I could have one again. Can't wait to try it!

Anonymous said...

I am also looking for the recipe from the Vancouver Mall Cookie Cutter Shop. My husband and I both loved them!! I'll give this one a try & see how it goes :)

Anonymous said...

OMG... Warm Oven Cookies... originally they were in what used to be the tiny little (now very overgrown) Oakway Mall... then they moved to the Valley River Mall... and then when I came back from college back east, they were gone!!! This is so wonderful, thank you!!!!!

Anonymous said...

Love this! Grew up in Eugene and these are the BEST! I thought I would never taste them again! Thank You!
EWoods

Anonymous said...

I DO know Valley River Center!...and fondly remember those cookies:) In fact, those are the very cookies I was searching recipes for! Imagine my surprise when you actually mentioned them & VRC! I am so anxious to try your recipe after I convert it to gluten free--THANK YOU!!!

Jennifer said...

thank you thank you thank you i have been trying to locate that recipe for years i have great memories of going to the cookie cottage at the oakway mall and getting one of them cookies cant wait to make them so my kids can enjoy that nummy ness

Unknown said...

Awesome! I grew up in Eugene as well, and have such great memories of these cookies, thanks a bunch for reconfirming my love of them, and the recipe, you made my Holiday season!
Peace
jim barbano

Bailey10 said...

I love these cookies!!! I've made them prior with brownie mix, but I'll try this recipe instead. :)
The SUGAR COOKIES at Warm Oven cookies were my favorite!!! Do you have a recipe for those? I'd love to make them for my family... I've looked and tried so many recipes and I can't quite find the right one. Thx.
Sara :)

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Anonymous said...

I grew up in north Eugene and now live in Springfield and loved these cookies from VRC. I found a recipe that I thought might replicate them, but was sadly disappointed so I went to Pinterest and found this recipe! I can hardly wait to try it so I can share that wonderful chocolate cookie experience with my own kids. Thank you for sharing with us!

Mama Bear said...

My mom and I were just talking about these awesome cookies I loved as a kid. I can't wait to try them. Thanks!

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Anonymous said...

Yes! I was just planning a trip back to eugene and googled "cookie cottage" to see if it still existed anywhere! These are the cookies i crave, as well as the "dough cones" they used to have. Thanks so much for posting this!

Unknown said...

I cannot wait to try these... this has been my favorite cookie since having my first one in 1986. I used to buy them when I was pregnant with my first child... allowed myself one of these cookies every Friday as my treat for the week. They are heaven!

Unknown said...

OMG I was online looking for something close to the cookies at the Valley River Mall, so happy you posted this! Thank You!

Anonymous said...

I worked at Warm Oven Cookies at VRC when I was in high school and these were my favorite cookie! We left the marshmallows whole and flattened them with the tip of the oven mitt once they started to melt then put the tray back in the oven for a few more minutes to let the marshmallow spread out over the cookie a little more.

Unknown said...

Me and my family are so excited to find this recipe! We all remember this cookie from VRC and have always missed it. It’s legendary :)
Can’t wait to try this - thank you!

Brooke said...

Agreed! I still dream about the sugar cookies I got there as a child. I would love to recreate them.

Anonymous said...

I’ve been looking for this recipe for years! We used to go shopping and that was our treat afterwards-miss those cookies! 💕

Anonymous said...

My mother and I have been trying to find these cookies for going on three decades. Once upon a time in the 80’s/90’s these were our favorite mall treat.

Anonymous said...

The Cookie Cottage