Marshmallow Cookie Bars. In any flavour you like.
Marshmallow Cookie Bars. Easy to make in any flavour you like. The shortbread cookie bottom gets topped by a homemade marshmallow layer made from your favourite flavour of Jello!
Originally published Nov 2016.
These Marshmallow Cookie Bars are another common cookie treat around Christmas time here in Newfoundland.
Some of the recipes for the marshmallow layer that I've tried in the past were quite bland though, so I decided to make them a bit differently than some of the local bakeries.My biggest issue was the marshmallow layer on top. A couple of recipes that I'd been given over the years produced a marshmallow that was pretty lacklustre, both in flavour and in texture.
The marshmallow was relatively flavourless and worse, the marshmallow was more like whipped jelly than anything else.
My solution to improve this recipe was first to make a slightly thicker base for the cookies. That extra strength would hold up better to support a thicker and denser layer of marshmallow.
Secondly, I decided to use a very old recipe which I believe at one time came on an insert in Jello packages. The recipe was a very simple one for making homemade marshmallows from Jello jelly powder.
I whipped up the recipe as directed and spread the thick gooey warm marshmallow all over the prepared, cooled cookie base. I then sprinkled on some dried coconut for decoration and waited for the marshmallow layer to cool and set.
A real family favourite.
Honestly, I loved the way these turned out and I am a bit ashamed to say that I've eaten a few too many. It really was like stepping back into kid-dom, tasting these.
Just as I was writing this post, lunch guests arrived at my front door. My Sister Brenda is visiting from Alberta and she came to lunch with my Mom and Dad, my sister Barb and her daughter, Taylor.
After our lunch of Dijon Brown Sugar Glazed Ham and various potato and pasta salads, I put out a selection of goodies that I'd been baking for the upcoming Christmas season.
These Lime Marshmallow squares were the hit of the cookie of the cookie platters! I guess maybe my family are all kids at heart like me.
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If you liked this recipe you many want to check out this great collection of No Bake Cookies that was incredibly popular during our last Holiday season.
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Marshmallow Cookie Bars. Easy to make in any flavour you like. The shortbread cookie bottom gets topped by a homemade marshmallow layer made from your favourite flavour of Jello!
Ingredients
For the cookie base
- 1 cup butter, room temperature
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups flour
For the marshmallow top layer
- 1 cup water
- 2 pkg lime or other flavour Jello powder, 3 oz/85 g each
- 1 ½ cups sugar
- ¼ cup light corn syrup
- ½ cup dried unsweetened coconut, to garnish top; optional
Instructions
- Instructions
For the cookie base.
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
- Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking pan and line it with parchment paper.
- Cream the butter, brown sugar and vanilla well until light coloured and fluffy.
- Fold in the flour to form a soft dough.
- Press the dough evenly into the prepared pan.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes until golden brown around the edges.
- Remove from oven and cool completely before adding the top layer.
To prepare the marshmallow layer.
- NOTE: You are going to want to keep the temperature on low throughout this stage. You don't want the mixture to boil; just keep the heat steady to allow you to fully dissolve the jelly powder and sugar.
- In a small saucepan bring the water to a boil and reduce the burner setting to low.
- Add the 2 pkg of Jello powder and stir continuously until it is completely dissolved. This can take 4-5 minutes.
- Add the sugar and again, continue to stir ver low heat until the sugar is fully dissolved with no sugar grains left at the bottom of the pan. This may take 4-5 more minutes or so.
- Remove from heat and stir in the corn syrup.
- Transfer the mixture to a very clean glass or metal bowl or the bowl of your electric mixer.
- Chill in the fridge for about a half hour, stirring occasionally until the mixture is just lukewarm. It should not be hotter than lukewarm, nor should it me too cold.
- When the jello mixture reaches the lukewarm point, begin beating it at high speed with the whisk attachment on your electric mixer.
- Beat for 10-12 minutes or until very thick and fluffy.
- Spread the marshmallow layer over the cooled cookie layer and sprinkle with coconut if you like. Refrigerate for 6-8 hours or overnight before cutting into cookie bars.
- Store in airtight containers. These freeze particularly well for several weeks.
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Nutrition Information
Yield
36Serving Size
gAmount Per Serving Calories 130Total Fat 6gSaturated Fat 4gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 2gCholesterol 14mgSodium 45mgCarbohydrates 19gFiber 0gSugar 13gProtein 1g
The nutritional information provided is automatically calculated by third party software and is meant as a guideline only. Exact accuracy is not guaranteed. For recipes where all ingredients may not be used entirely, such as those with coatings on meats, or with sauces or dressings for example, calorie & nutritional values per serving will likely be somewhat lower than indicated.
I made these to take to an office group and they all raved about them. My cutting wasn't as nice as yours but nobody complained. 🙂
The conversion of flour to metric I think should be 250 gm/ml and not 475 ml
@Elaine, That conversion is not in grams, as is usual. The software developers just changed to metric volumes, not weights. It is a disappointing feature of what I thought would be better conversion built in. Take it for what it is. I use 140g per cup for all purpose flour.