Can Adding Lucky Charms Marshmallows To Other Foods Make Them Magically Delicious?

Last week, we reviewed a bag of Lucky Charms Just Magical Marshmallows—that is, a sackful of the little sugary bits, with none of the pesky cereal nonsense. Our Taste Test was measured, but none too positive; the takeaway was that it's simply too much sugar, in too high a concentration, to be enjoyed. Readers were quick to point out that the bag wasn't worth writing off just yet, and suggested many alternative applications that might make the marshmallows more worthwhile. User Duke of Kent proposed a whole article dedicated to this concept:

Marnie Shure

So I took a still very full bag of Just Magical Marshmallows and set to work. Here's a list of items that received a sprinkling of their magic, and whether or not I'd recommend each use.

Now that the marshmallows have been uncoupled from their oat pieces, what other cereals can they garnish? I went with a reader's suggestion of Cocoa Puffs, which was a clever one; might as well fully lean into the unhealthy cereal concept. When I got to the store to purchase the first box of Cocoa Puffs I've ever spent my own money on, I found the Cocoa Puffs beside a box of... Chocolate Lucky Charms. Clearly General Mills understands the needs of its consumers.

And this combination definitely works, in a sort of "dessert soup" way. The sticky, enriched corn consistency of the puffs does a lot to hide the sins of the marshmallow texture, and as each grow soggy, their textures grow steadily more similar until it's a bowl of half-gooey, breakfast-approved sweetness. (I also must fly in the face of this Taste Test and say that I love the chocolatey milk left behind.)

Verdict: Recommended

I also tried the marshmallows with a decidedly plainer cereal: Rice Krispies, a favorite of mine. One thing I forget about this cereal is how comparably savory it can taste, and the presence of the marshmallows only made that clearer. It was an interesting contrast, but not one that I'd welcome into my bowl in the future.

Verdict: Not recommended

Using these things as an ice cream topping was suggested by many readers. I went with a scoop of Jeni's Splendid Ice Cream's Cream Puff flavor, not only because it's one of Jeni's finest but because I thought this pastry-based variety might best mimic the flavors of the sweetened oat cereal pieces found in a regular box of Lucky Charms. On this point, I was correct: once it was bejeweled with all the little cereal marshmallows on top, this ice cream was a dead ringer for soggy cereal—and I mean that in a good way. Unfortunately, when you have chewy/crunchy/otherwise solid toppings on your ice cream, that ice cream must be bitten into rather than simply licked from the spoon, and given that these grainy marshmallows are already a substance against which my teeth reflexively brace for impact, adding shivery cold ice cream to the mix left my mouth with a minefield of textures and temperatures to negotiate, for minimal payoff. The ice cream was plenty sweet without them.

Verdict: Not recommended

Okay, so I don't believe a single person asked for this, but call it fate: I was enjoying some leftovers from Spacca Napoli in Chicago as I conducted various other marshmallow experiments and I figured, hey, why not ruin a perfectly good slice of pizza? To be fair, the marshmallows don't have much effect on the slice at all—it'd take more than some nasty sugar nuggets to take down some of the best Neapolitan pizza in Chicago. The only good thing about this combination is that the tang of the pizza sauce and the char on the crust was enough to dull the aftertaste of the marshmallows.

Verdict: Not recommended

A suggestion that makes all the sense in the world. I chucked a handful of charms into the mug and planned to wait 30 seconds for the marshmallows to get good and saturated with cocoa before taking a sip—but after 10 seconds, I had to hurry up and try some before the shapes and colors dissolved completely into a toxic rainbow spill. In a typical bowl of Lucky Charms, the application of milk never makes the marshmallows soggy all the way through; a grainy core remains at the center of each marshmallow for your teeth to hook onto. But in a steaming mug of cocoa, the marshmallows finally, finally relent, and I was able to consume them without having to bite into them at all. This is a cup of slurpable, foamy-sweet topping superior to the typical tiny marshmallows that accompany a packet of Swiss Miss—and it's a lot prettier, too. Success!

Verdict: Recommended

This experiment was among the bigger surprises. I don't know why I expected the marshmallows to bubble and turn to a runny mess inside the oven, but I placed the cookies on a high-rimmed baking sheet at the last minute, just to be safe. I went with a simple, straightforward shortbread dough with a flavor that wouldn't drown out the taste of the marshmallows (to whatever extent these things have a unique flavor). And I don't know what was more shocking: that the marshmallows came out of the oven having doubled in size on the surface of the cookies; that the marshmallows had turned a slightly leathery, puffy consistency, like a piece of stale Pirate's Booty; or that the latter was not altogether unpleasant as I took my first bite. The sweetness of the marshmallows flowed rather beautifully into the buttery taste of the shortbread, not having been fully "activated" by milk or any other sort of liquid. Unfortunately, as the cookies cooled, the marshmallow bits became tougher and felt a little like biting down on stale old gum. But you know who wouldn't care about that? Those sugar-seeking missiles known as children. And these would make an awesome birthday party treat for their little unrefined palates.

(If you do make these, take note: pressing the marshmallows in too firmly will create a divot in the dough that grows wider while baking, creating ugly goopy strings of melting marshmallow, as seen in the top right cookie above. Just secure them lightly to the surface of the cookie.)

Verdict: Recommended

"Mixed into party mix. For real. Pretzel sticks, lucky charm bits, and fresh buttered popcorn, *just* warm enough to make 'em stick a little, but not hot enough to melt." This was the suggestion of Takeout reader lectroid, and it contained such a clear vision that I felt compelled to honor it. I didn't have pretzel sticks, but I did have chocolate graham cracker pretzels, which I balanced out with some extra salty, buttery popcorn. And hey, why not throw in some Cocoa Puffs, since they were on hand? Taken together, this mix is perfectly serviceable as something you can eat mindlessly during your favorite movie. The sweets and salt crash into each other in a not-incredibly-interesting way, and each mouthful is a cacophony of all the different sources of crunch. But sometimes crunching is all we want to do. And this mixture makes such snacking photogenic, if not magically delicious.

Verdict: Recommended