Air Fryer Chef: Bisquick Chocolate & Toasted Marshmallow Thumbprint Cookies
Maylee at Beyond Gumbo
6 min read
Who doesn’t like a soft sugar cookie? And, how about a chocolate version of the cookie? Those are the best. In my quest to find recipes to cook and bake in the air fryer, I decided to adapt my highly successful basic Bisquick Sugar Cookie recipe. I included several embellishments — rolling the cookie dough balls in cinnamon sugar and adding marshmallows to make a “thumbprint” cookie center. I used a Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Bar for chocolate flavor. This is a very easy recipe — just melt the chocolate, add Bisquick and the other ingredients in a bowl and mix. Chill, then roll into cookie balls with your hands and bake. The cookies are soft in the middle and crunchy on the surface. These are delicious. And, no air fryer? These cookies can easily be baked in a conventional oven. The main accommodation for an air fryer is that the cookies need to be smaller in size. Let’s bake.
Bisquick Sugar Cookie
My Bisquick sugar cookie recipe has become my “go to” recipe whenever I want a simple sugar cookie. It is so easy to mix up by hand in one bowl. Best of all, it takes just a few ingredients. My recipe makes a small batch — sometimes I just want a couple of cookies — not a full kitchen. Over time, I have tweaked the recipe making many variations. This time I decided to make a chocolate cookie. For a whimsical twist, I placed mini-marshmallows in the middle of each cookie and let them toast to make “thumbprint” cookies. I rolled the cookies in cinnamon sugar prior to baking to add sweetness and crunch. The cinnamon flavor pairs well with chocolate — but it can be omitted if you don’t care for cinnamon..
Here are the ingredients for my cookies. The main “players” are Bisquick, sugar, an egg and butter. The embellishments are the Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Bar, marshmallows and cinnamon.
Tricky Step – Melting a Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Bar
Although the cookies are simple to mix up; there is one tricky step. Successfully melting the chocolate bar takes attention to detail. If you heat the chocolate bar too much, then it will “seize” up. The chocolate will turn in to a hard, grainy blob. And, then it is useless. So, going slowly over low heat when melting chocolate is the key.
To successfully melt the chocolate, I use my microwave oven. I mix chopped chocolate with the butter and melt them together. Put both in a small bowl. Cover the bowl with a damp paper towel (so it won’t explode all over the microwave oven). Heat for 30 seconds. Both the butter and chocolate will be partially melted. Stir the bowl with a spoon to melt the rest of the butter and the chocolate. If the chocolate doesn’t completely melt, that’s okay. A few chunks of chocolate inside the cookies add to the flair.
To make the cookies, add the Bisquick and 1/2 cup sugar to a large bowl. Beat the egg with a fork or white whip until it is frothy — for this recipe the white needs to be completely blended with the yolk.this might take a several minutes of frantically mixing with a fork. Add the beaten egg and melted butter/chocoolate to the Bisquick. Stir. The ingredients should gather into a ball.
This dough is sticky — it is difficult to form into cookies. So, cover the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate it for half an hour or longer (even overnight.) Then it can be handled.
Baking the cookies
When it is time to bake the cookies, mix up the cinnamon sugar. Since this is such a small batch you really need just a little bit of cinnamon sugar. Take the dough out of the refrigerator. Use a two small spoons to scoop out small cookies and roll into balls. (Large cookies won’t fit in an air fryer.) To be precise, the dough measured one Tablespoon. Roll in the cinnamon sugar. Line the air fryer basket with parchment paper. Place 5 of the cookies onto the air fryer basket.
I purchased pre-cut 6″- diameter, round parchment paper pieces from Amazon. They fit perfectly in my air fryer basket. I find that these parchment paper circles are very useful.
Since my air fryer basket only accommodates 5 cookies; I baked the cookies in several batches. Alternatively, you could freeze extra cookie dough and bake later.
Toasted Marshmallow Embellishment
To make these cookies special, I added marshmallows when the cookies were partially baked. (This was 5 minutes.) The cookies will puff up. Make an indentation into each cookie with the back of a spoon. Press in several mini-marshmallows and bake until the marshmallows toast. (Don’t burn the marshmallows!) Use tongs to grab the center knob of the grate and lift the cookies out of the basket.
And, we have a plate of cookies. These are delicious when warm.
Slide the cookies off the grate using the parchment paper and let them cool just enough to be handled.
Bake the next batch of cookies — meanwhile, try not to eat the entire first batch!
There is just enough chocolate flavor in the cookie to give make it a “chocolate” cookie — the Hershey’s Bar doesn’t overpower the cookie. Plus, the cinnamon gives crunch and flavor. The toasted marshmallows give a nice touch.
Using the air fryer to bake cookies is another unconventional use for this kitchen appliance. It comes in quite handy for small batches. I am enjoying my sessions cooking up new recipes for the air fryer. More than just an appliance for heating frozen meals and leftovers.
Just in time for Valentine’s Day. Enjoy!
Air Fryer Chef: Chocolate & Toasted Marshmallow Thumprint Cookies
Ingredients:
- 1-1/4 cup Bisquick
- 1/3 sugar, plus 2 Tbsp sugar for dusting cookies
- 1 large egg
- 3 Tbsp butter
- 1 small (1.55 oz) Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Bar, (1/4 cup chopped)
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- 3/4 cup mini marshmallows
Method and Steps:
- Turn air fryer heat to 350 degrees. Line air fryer basket grate with parchment paper.
- Add the Bisquick and 1/3 cup sugar to a large bowl, stir to combine. Set aside
- In a small bowl, beat the egg with a wire whip or fork until blended and frothy. Set aside.
- Add butter to another small, microwavable bowl. Break Hershey’s Chocolate Bar into small pieces and add to bowl. Cover bowl with damp paper towels. Place in microwave oven and heat on high heat for 30 seconds. The butter and chocolate should soften — but they will not melt completely. Stir to melt butter and chocolate bar completely. However, if some chunks of chocolate remain, that’s okay. Resist the temptation to microwave longer.
- Add the beaten egg and butter/chocolate mixture to the Bisquick/sugar mixture. Stir to combine ingredients. The dough will be sticky.
- Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes or longer. (If desired, may refrigerate overnight.)
- Combine remaining 2 Tbsp sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl.
- After the dough is chilled, using 2 teaspoons, scoop out a Tablespoon of cookie dough. Roll into a round ball about 1″-diameter with the palms of your hands. Repeat with remaining cookie dough.
- Gently roll each cookie dough ball in the sugar/cinnamon mixture to coat all sides. Place 4 to 5 of the cookies on the parchment paper in air fryer basket. (Bake remaining cookies in a successive batches using a new piece of parchment paper for each batch. Alternatively, freeze remaining cooking dough balls to bake at a later date.)*
- Place air fryer basket in air fryer and bake in 350 degree oven for 5 minutes until the cookies are almost baked and the edges begin to turn slightly brown. The cookies will puff up and be soft in enter.
- Use the back of a spoon to make a “thumbprint” indentation in each cookie. Place 5 or more marshmallows in the center of each cookie, pressing down.
- Bake the cookies for 3 additional minutes until the marshmallows begin to turn brown.
- Remove air fryer basket from oven by using tongs to grasp the center knob of the grate. Lift the grate with the cookies out of the air fryer basket. Slice the parchment paper with the cookies onto a wire rack or plate to cool until they can be handled. Best when served warm.
- Store remaining cookies in an air tight container.
*NOTE: If you wish to bake only one batch of 6 cookies, the remaining cookie dough may be placed in a ziplock bag and frozen for later use. When ready to bake, remove from freezer and let cookies thaw for an hour prior to baking.
NOTE: Cookies may be baked in a conventional oven at 350 degrees rather than an air fryer. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and bake in one batch.
Good combination of flavors! Just need a campfire.
Yes, or a fireplace!