If I had to choose only 5 foods to have for the rest of my life, ice cream would be high on that list. And while there are certainly ice cream purists out there, I’m the type of person who prefers my ice cream highly adulterated with multi-textured mix-ins. That’s why Rocky Road has been a favorite flavor of mine, for seemingly forever. There’s something about the crunchy almonds and gooey marshmallow that complement a rich and decadent chocolate ice cream like nothing else.
For me, my love of Rocky Road ice cream started as a kid, when my friend and I would on occasion treat ourselves to some French-fried lizard guts after school. Of course, we weren’t really indulging in any battered reptiles…this was our code name, since we knew our moms would worry that we’d ruin our appetite for dinner if they knew we snacked on ice cream. Even then, Rocky Road was my flavor of choice.
In my opinion, one of the few ways to improve on ice cream, in particular Rocky Road ice cream, is to turn it into a cookie. That’s why for Purim this year, I’m trying my hand at Rocky Road hamantaschen. With a cocoa sugar cookie shell filled with creamy chocolate chunks, buttery almond bits, and melted mini-marshmallows, I can’t think of any reasons this would be bad idea. And who knows…it might even work as a new ice cream topping!
Ingredients
¾ cups sugar
½ cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
½ tsp vanilla extract
¼ tsp almond extract
1/8 tsp salt
2 ¼ cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
¼ cup cocoa powder
2/3 cups coarsely chopped whole almonds
2/3 cups chocolate chunks
2/3 cups mini marshmallows
Directions
In a large bowl, cream together the sugar and the oil. Add eggs, and mix well.
Add the vanilla extract and almond extract, and stir to combine.
In another bowl, sift together the salt, flour, baking powder, and cocoa powder, then add to the bowl with the wet ingredients, mixing only until everything is well combined.
Split the dough into two sections, and wrap each section with plastic. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Take one of the two sections of dough from the refrigerator, and on a lightly floured surface, roll to ¼-inch thick. Cut discs using a 2½-inch cookie cutter, and place on a parchment lined baking sheet.
Fill each disc with ½ tsp chocolate chunks and ½ tsp chopped almonds.
To mold the hamantaschen, fold over the three sides, creating a pinwheel look, interweaving the sides over each other. Slightly pinch the edges of each triangle.
Bake for 13-15 minutes, remove from the oven, and immediately top with 2 mini marshmallows. Let the marshmallow slightly melt into the cookie.
Cool completely, and serve or store in an airtight container.
Purim
Pronounced: PUR-im, the Feast of Lots, Origin: Hebrew, a joyous holiday that recounts the saving of the Jews from a threatened massacre during the Persian period.
