Strawberry snowballs

Pastel pink retro treats: coconut-dusted strawberry marshmallow with chocolate-strawberry centers on oat cookies

A fluffy, retro marshmallow treat with a strawberry-chocolate ganache center set on an oat cookie base, coated in a snowfall of coconut. A perfect and very pretty addition to Easter desserts, too!

I have a soft spot for packaged strawberry snowballs, stemming from childhood visits to my grandmother who lived in NJ, and who normally had stacks of cookie tins filled with her own homemade cookies and confections. The pink marshmallow treats were one of the few exceptions of store-bought sweets—the only others I recall (also the bane of my mother’s existence) were Apple Jacks and fancy moulded concoctions she made from pre-flavored Jello and whipped cream. An odd side note: when I developed the filling recipe for Tartine Bakery’s morning buns which have sugar, cinnamon, and orange zest, the first time we pulled them out of the oven they smelled exactly like Apple Jacks and they reminded my of my grandmother ever since. I imagine they must be flavored with orange and cinnamon?

Making marshmallow is very easy! They are made with just a few ingredients and just require a bit of organization and a candy thermometer. Read through the recipe first to be prepared for all of the steps. There are two general type of marshmallow: those with egg white and those without. Egg white creates a more billowy, soft confection, which I wanted for this kind of application, whereas white-less marshmallows tend to be firmer with a tighter structure.

I like the Oat Digestives (recipe linked below) because they are very low sugar, have a nice textural contrast to the soft topping, and taste similar to graham crackers. If you use store-bought GF cookies though, all the easier.

I tested several different ways to incorporate strawberry flavor: freeze dried powder, fresh puree, and jam. See video below for explanation of all three.

You could make this a really streamlined recipe if you forgo the chocolate in the center. I made a bunch of plain snowballs—just marshmallow on cookie base dusted with coconut—and enjoyed them immensely. Note in the video below, no chocolate centers!