The Pan-Banging Hits Keep Coming: Pan-Banging Rocky Road Cookies

I'm steadily baking my way through 100 Cookies by Sarah Kieffer. I've had great results with the recipes I've tried so far and I especially love her pan-banging cookies. There are only twelve pan-banging cookie recipes in the cookbook and I intend to try them all. Well, maybe not the rum raisin cookie, because I don't drink alcohol and I happen to find rum raisin particularly repulsive (rum raisin has always been my absolute least favorite ice cream flavor).

But there's nothing I don't like about rocky road. And Kieffer's pan-banging "Rocky Road Cookies" -- a chocolate cookie with chocolate chips, sliced almonds, and marshmallows -- looked like they would be right up my alley. The recipe is straightforward. You cream room softened butter with sugar and brown sugar until light and fluffy; add an egg, water, and vanilla; add the dry ingredients (flour, Dutch cocoa powder, salt, and baking soda); and mix in chocolate chips and sliced toasted almonds.

 

You form the dough into balls (I used a #16 scoop and got 17 cookies from a batch), and roll the cookies in more sliced toasted almonds before putting them on a foil-lined pan to bake. A little more than halfway through the baking time, you bang the pan and scatter miniature marshmallows on top of each cookie. I had problems with marshmallows just rolling off the cookies onto the pan, but they stayed put after I pushed them into the uncooked batter. Then you keep banging the pan every couple of minutes during the remainder of the baking time, to deflate the cookies and form ripples around the edges.

I really liked the eye-catching blobs of melted marshmallow on top; the cookie practically screams "Rocky Road!" The cookies had a decent amount of rippling around the edges, but it was a little difficult to see because of all of the almonds. This was an excellent cookie. It was very chocolatey, and I loved the crunchy almonds inside and on the exterior. It was difficult to identify the marshmallows as a distinct component. They definitely added extra sweetness (and I would have preferred if the sweetness of the cookie overall was dialed back just a tad), but the melted marshmallows just blended in. 

 

And of course, I loved the chewy texture that is characteristic of all of Kieffer's pan-banging cookies, which I prefer eating chilled. There are definitely more pan-banging cookies in my future!

 

Recipe: "[Pan-Banging] Rocky Road Cookies" from 100 Cookies by Sarah Kieffer.