A three generational road trip from California to Connecticut (to drop my granddaughter off at college) was full of adventures and lots of laughter. You’re invited to travel along as I share recipes inspired by my favorite memories.
If you are ever in Altoona, Pennsylvania you must stop at the Boyer Candy Factory Outlet. You can stock up on essentials like Mallo Cups, Clark Bars, and my new favorite. . . Jimmie Stix. (I won’t be using Jimmie Stix in a recipe because I ATE THEM ALL.) Seriously, retro candy never tasted so good.
Mallo Cups are filled with creamy marshmallowy filling. There is a little coconut in there too, which is very subtle in flavor and texture. Since I’m not a fan of coconut in candy, I was a little leery about this, but found the coconut added something special to the candy cups.
I brought quite a few home with me, but since it took me a few tries to nail the cookie recipe, I ran out and had to order more online. I found that the small (.5 ounce) cups worked best. You can order directly from Boyer: Boyer Candies
Or you might want to try Ebay. I ordered some from there (hello . . . .free shipping!) and they were mailed quickly in a protective bag with a small freezer pack inside. Nicely done!
Topping graham-based cookies with Mallo Cups created little cookie mountains in various stages of volcanic activity. Some stayed solid, some oozed marshmallow filling, and a few erupted dramatically. All were delicious.
No mixer is needed for this recipe. It all gets stirred up by hand in one saucepan! No chilling, no rolling . . . so easy. (I don’t use a microwave, but if you do, you can simply melt the butter and chocolate in a sturdy microwave-proof bowl instead of using the stove.)
| Mallo Mountain Cookies | Print |
- 24 Mallo Cups - .5 oz. each
- 9 full graham crackers (1 sleeve) finely crushed
- ½ cup butter
- 4 ounces milk chocolate (if using chips, this is ¾ cup)
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1¾ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- pinch of salt (if using unsalted butter, increase to ¼ teaspoon)
- Preparation: Line two large baking sheets with parchment. Unwrap 24 Mallow Cups and set aside. Remove ¼ cup of the graham cracker crumbs and set aside in a small bowl. Heat oven to 375 F.
- In a large saucepan on lowest heat, melt the butter and chocolate, stirring often.
- Remove from heat and add the brown sugar and graham cracker crumbs (except for the reserved crumbs in bowl). Stir to combine.
- Add eggs and vanilla. Stir well.
- Stir in flour, baking powder, and salt. Allow mixture to sit for 5-10 minutes; it will thicken during that time.
- Each cookie will use 1 rounded tablespoon of dough (about 4 teaspoons). My medium-size cookie scoop is perfect for this. Using your hands, roll each scoop into a ball and dip in the reserved crumbs, leaving the top bare. Place on baking sheet and press one of the Mallo Cups onto the ball of dough, pressing firmly until you can see a little dough around the edge of the cup. (The Mallo Cup will not be pressed all the way into the dough.) Repeat, keeping cookies 2 inches apart.
- Bake for 11 minutes, remove from oven and allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for a minute or two before transferring to a cooling rack.
Finely crush the graham crackers. Remember to set aside 1/4 cup for rolling the balls of dough in.
Melt the butter and chocolate, then stir in the graham cracker crumbs and brown sugar.
Add eggs and vanilla. Stir well.
Add the flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir just until combined and let mixture sit for 5 minutes to thicken.
Dip each ball of dough in reserved crumbs, at least halfway up. You can roll the entire ball in crumbs, but you may need to crush another cracker or two.
Press a Mallo Cup on each ball of dough and bake.
I’m doing this as inspiration strikes, so don’t be surprised if I backtrack to Reno or speed ahead to Connecticut!
Enjoy,
Lorinda