Chocolate Marshmallow Cookies

Cookie:

3 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup cocoa

1 cup shortening

2 cups sugar

2 eggs

2 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup milk

Big marshmallows, cut in half

Frosting:

1 cup brown sugar

6 tablespoons margarine

1/2 cup water

4 tablespoons cocoa

3 cups powdered sugar

2 teaspoon vanilla

Cookie:

Whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, cocoa.  Cream together remaining ingredients except marshmallows.  Add dry ingredients, mixing well.  Bake cookies at 350 degrees for 8 minutes.  Remove from oven and press half a marshmallow, cut side down on each cookie.  Return to oven 2 minutes more to partially melt marshmallows.  Cool on pan 2 minutes then remove to cooling rack.  When cookies are cooled, frost.

Frosting: 

Put brown sugar, margarine, water and cocoa in pan and bring to boil.  Remove from heat and cool.  Add powdered sugar and vanilla.  Spread on marshmallow and cookie.

If there is left over frosting, I put it on graham crackers.

Enjoy!

Lincoln Cake

Happy Birthday Lincoln!  January 19th was Lincoln's (nephew) birthday.  I made cake to help him celebrate!

I was searching the internet to find a special cake to honor Lincoln.  What better find than Lincoln Cake, vanilla almond cake.
Here's the website: http://www.visit-gettysburg.com/mary-todd-lincoln-cake.html.

Cake Ingredients:
1 cup almonds (I didn't have almonds so I replaced them with 1/4 cup all-purpose flour and 1/4 tsp almond flavoring.)
1 cup butter
1-1/2 cups sugar
2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1-1/3 cups milk
6 egg whites
pinch of salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Confectioners' sugar (I didn't use the confectioners' sugar for the topping.)

Frosting Ingredients:
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup water
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar (I didn't have any on hand, so I went without.)
Dash of salt
2 egg whites
1 teaspoon vanilla

Cake Preparation:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.  Grease and flour two nine inch round layer cake pans or one bundt cake pan.  (I accidentally 'floured' the pan with powered sugar.  It still turned out just fine.  I also used the bundt cake pan because I didn't want to go to all the work of a two layer cake.)  If using almonds, use a food processor to grind them into a course flour.

Cream the butter and sugar to and mix until well blended.  Sift the flour and baking powder.  Fold the dry flour mix into the creamed butter/sugar mix, alternating with milk, until well blended.  Stir in the almond powder and mix thoroughly.  (At this point I added 1/4 cup all purpose flour.  Folded it in, then added the almond flavoring and folded the batter a couple more times.)

In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until they form stiff peaks.  Add a pinch of salt for easier stiffening.  Add vanilla extract as eggs are forming still peaks.  Gently fold the egg whites into the batter with a rubber spatula.

Pour the batter into the pan(s) and bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.  Cool for at least 15 minutes before flipping the cake out of the pan.  Allow the cake to cool completely before serving.  If layer cake was made, use a jam for filling.  Sift confectioners' sugar on top for decoration or make the frosting and smother the cake with it.

Frosting Preparation:
Bring to boil sugar, water, cream of tartar and salt.  Boil until sugar dissolves.  Beat egg whites in mixing bowl.  White egg whites are beating, very slowly add hot syrup.  Beat until still peaks form, about 7 minutes.  Beat in vanilla for 1 more minute.

Cut the cake and scarf it down!

 Happy Birthday Lincoln!  I hope you enjoyed the look of the cake!  It was delicious!