If you love Rice Krispies Treats, chances are you're familiar with Costco's marshmallow treat inspired sugar cookies. Released earlier this year, they're sugar cookies with the flavor and chew of marshmallow treats. I couldn't wait to try them, and didn't have to because a kind friend (whose second home is Costco) brought over a pack for sampling. Here's a picture of the actual Costco marshmallow krispies cookies.
Costco Marshmallow Cookies Texture & Flavor
They have that extra firm chewiness that grocery store bakeries do so well, plus a little burst of butter flavor that melds with the Rice Krispies and makes you think of browned butter Rice Krispies Treats. And you can see from the picture above the marshmallows stay creamy and are not dried out.
Making Them at Home
As you might have guessed by now, I wanted to try making a similar version at home and figured it would be easy since I have so many cookie recipes to start with. One in particular, a recipe called 50 Good Cookies, seemed like a good springboard, so I started with that recipe and made adjustments. A lot of adjustments.
Making Sweet, Chewy, Buttery Cookies
The Costco cookies are sweet. The 50 Good Cookies recipe is also plenty sweet, but I needed to increase the chewiness, so I used a mixture of white sugar, brown sugar, corn syrup and organic King Arthur all-purpose flour. For tenderness and mouth feel, I added a little non-dairy coffee creamer -- nothing fancy, just plain unflavored Coffee Mate powder. And to get the buttery flavor of the Costco cookies, I used butter flavoring. This is the key because my tasters kept noting how deliciously buttery the cookies were. Real butter flavor is more subtle, but the Costco cookies taste like they may have butter extract.
Marshmallows
And then there were the marshmallows. My marshmallows kept melting into the cookies and drying up, unlike the creamy opaque marshmallows in the Costco cookies. To fix that I squished regular marshmallows flat and put them in the freezer. Frozen marshmallows hold up better in the heat, so it helped a bit. I also tried dehydrating the marshmallows by putting some in my Breville Smart Oven for 5 hours. The dehydrated marshmallows worked perfectly! They still melted a bit, but didn't spread quite so much.
Half an Egg
Here's the catch. I've kept this recipe to myself for months because it only works right with 2 tablespoons of beaten egg and people find that measurement annoying. I tried versions with a full egg, but they just weren't the same -- the texture was cakier and softer. The appeal of the original cookies is the chew, so the egg amount needs to be just right. Please use only half an egg if you try this. Or if you end up making it better with a whole egg (or no egg), let me know!
Quick Oats and White Chips
A few other things that are different from Costco's are that these have oats, which add a little structure and more chew. The cookies aren't supposed to be oatmeal cookies, so I use quick oats because they are less intrusive. I also threw in some white chips -- not too many, just enough for a sweetness burst.
Tips
- Be sure to measure the flour by weight. If you can't find King Arthur all-purpose and need to use another brand, try bread flour.
- Make sure the vegetable oil you use is super fresh. Grapeseed and sunflower oil always seem more neutral to me, while canola can sometimes taste unpleasant if it's been around for a while.
- Resist the temptation to add more Rice Krispies. I tried it with a full cup and too many Rice Krispies gives the cookies a mealy texture. Using more works well in other recipes, but these cookies only need a half cup.
- To keep the cookies from spreading too much, line your baking sheet with parchment. If you have an insulated baking sheet such as an AirBake, use that. Otherwise, stack on large baking sheet on a smaller rimmed baking sheet. This helps reduce spread and keeps the bottoms from browning getting too brown.
- Chilling the dough is not absolutely necessary, but it does make the cookies a little thicker and gives them a more rounded shape.
Recipe
Marshmallow Krispies Cookies Inspired by Costco
Ingredients
- ⅔ cup marshmallows (35 grams)
- 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour such as King Arthur (230 grams)
- ½ cup quick oats (40 grams)
- 2 tablespoons plain non-dairy coffee creamer powder (15 grams)
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon cream of tartar
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter, cut into chunks at room temp. (114 grams)
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar (65 grams)
- ½ cup light brown sugar, tightly packed (100 grams)
- 2 tablespoons beaten egg (25 grams)
- 2 tablespoons corn syrup (40 grams)
- ⅓ cup plus a teaspoon neutral oil (68 grams) -- go by weight
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon butter flavoring
- ½ cup Rice Krispies
- ½ cup white chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Squish the marshmallows flat, lay them on a small tray or plate and put in the freezer for at least 30 minutes while you make the cookie dough. Alternatively, dehydrate some marshmallows ahead of time.
- Combine flour, oats, non-dairy creamer, baking soda, cream of tartar and salt. Whisk until evenly blended
- Beat butter and both sugars with the paddle attachment of a stand mixer until creamy and light (2 minutes). Stir in the egg, corn syrup and flavorings, scrape the bowl, then beat for another two minutes, scraping side of the bowl again.
- Add the oil and stir with a scraper until it is "mostly" blended, then beat with the paddle attachment on medium for about a minute until it is completely emulsified and you have a shiny batter.
- Add flour mixture and mix on low with the paddle just until blended, then mix in cereal, white chips and frozen marshmallows.
- Scoop dough using a generously rounded medium size cookie scoop (about 40 grams each) onto a parchment lined insulated baking sheet, spacing 3 inches apart. For thicker, better looking cookies, scoop the balls onto a tray and chill for 3 hours. Or do a combo -- bake a few right away and chill the rest of the dough.
- Bake cookies one sheet at a time for about 15 minutes (check at 12) or until edges are browned and centers appear set. Slide parchment onto the counter and let the cookies cool for about 10 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely. Their texture improves quite a bit when completely cool.
Notes
Recipe
Marshmallow Krispies Cookies Version 6
Ingredients
- 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour (220 grams)
- 2 tablespoons milk powder
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 14 tablespoons unsalted butter softened
- 1 ½ tablespoons neutral oil
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- ½ teaspoon butter flavoring
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- ¾ cup Rice Krispies
- ½ cup mini white chips or marshmallows
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Combine flour, baking soda, salt and milk powder. Whisk until evenly blended
- Cream softened butter, oil and both sugars just until smooth; Add egg and beat for 1 minute. Add the vanilla and butter flavoring.
- Stir flour mixture into butter mixture, then stir in cereal, and white chocolate chips or mini marshmallows.
- Scoop up big tablespoons of dough and shape into balls. Place on parchment lined cookies sheets, spacing 3 inches apart, and flatten lightly with palm of hand so they'll cook evenly.
- Bake cookies for 12-15 minutes or until edges are browned and centers appear set. About 8 minutes into the bake time, press 3 marshmallows in the top of each cookie.
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