Make Your Own Marshmallows

I absolutely love homemade marshmallows. Their texture and consistency is exactly like that of store bought marshmallows, but they are softer and much more delicious. I will admit that if you have never made these before, it can get a little bit messy. Since I have made them many times I now know how to keep the sticky stuff {mostly} off of the surfaces in my kitchen. It just gets on my hands, and that part is my fault...

Homemade marshmallows make a great holiday gift: tie a little baggie of these to a container of homemade or store bought hot chocolate mix and you have a great little treat for neighbors and friends. You can also make them ahead for holiday dinner parties if you plan on serving hot chocolate. 

Don't be intimidated, they are actually really easy to make. You start by lining a pan with parchment paper, spraying it with non-stick cooking spray, and sprinkling it with a mixture of equal parts confectioners' sugar sugar and cornstarch. If you have a fine mesh strainer you can get a more even dusting of this powdered mixture. I do not have one.

The pan size is your choice. I spread my mixture over about 3/4 over a standard size cookie sheet because my cookie cutters are not very deep. If you want thicker marshmallows than mine, I recommend a 9x13 pan.

Next you sprinkle some unflavored gelatin over ice cold water in a stand mixer, fixed with your whisk attachment. Don't stir it. Just let it chill out on your kitchen counter. Notice my box of gelatin with 32 packets? We really like marshmallows...

While that gelatin mixture sits, you are going to cook a sugary mixture of ingredients over medium high heat, covered for 3-4 minutes (without stirring). It is really important that the heat is medium high. If the mixture gets too hot your marshmallows wont be as soft.

Then you will uncover it and keep cooking it (still on medium high heat) while stirring constantly for 7-8 more minutes. It is going to get really bubbly, see? Just make sure your pot is big enough so that it does not boil over.

Once you have cooked this mixture for the required amount of time, turn your mixer on at it's lowest speed. Slowly drizzle the sugar mixture into the gelatin.

Once it is all drizzled in make sure your splash-guard is on your mixing bowl, and turn the mixing speed to high (the highest setting your stand mixer has). You are going to let it run for 12-15 minutes. Don't be tempted to stop it. At first it is going to look all light yellow and liquid like.

As time goes by it will get lighter, whiter...

and much, much fluffier.

During the last minute of whipping, add in some vanilla for flavor. Once it's done, you might have a hard time not eating the entire bowl as is. It's lip lickin' good at this point, and really very sticky.

Carefully spread it in your prepared pan, and sprinkle with more of that powdery mixture. *Tip: Fill the empty mixing bowl with hot water and sit in sink. This will make for a much easier clean up.

At this point you are supposed to wait for at least four hours. The truth is I can only ever make it two. Basically you just want the marshmallows to be completely cool and firm before you cut into them. I like to use a cookie cutter, but you could use a pizza cutter and cut these into squares. I dip my cookie cutter in the cornstarch mixture every once and a while to keep it from sticking really badly to the marshmallows. 

Also, once they are cut, you are probably going to want to coat the edges in the powder mixture and then brush off all the excess. The powder allows you to store your marshmallows without them turning into a giant clump of gooey goodness. But definitely don't over do it, and really brush off any excess. You want to taste the sweet marshmallows, not powder. 

Now what to do with these perfect little treats... cover them in chocolate? Yes please. Stick three atop creamy hot cocoa? Don't mind if I do.

They're excellent covered in chocolate, but my favorite way to consume these is to drink them with my hot cocoa. Why, you ask? They get all melty and gooey on top of the hot cocoa, almost like marshmallow creme but they also retain a lot of their firmness. And the melty gooeyness is just to die for.

Homemade Marshmallows

Ingredients

• 3 packages unflavored gelatin
• 1 cup ice cold water, divided
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 cup light corn syrup
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar
• non-stick cooking spray
• parchment paper

Cooking Directions

1. Line desired pan (rimmed cookie sheet or 9x13) with parchment paper, spray the paper with nonstick cooking spray, and dust with the confectioners' sugar mixture. Set aside.
2. Place the gelatin into the bowl of a stand mixer along with 1/2 cup of the water. Have the whisk attachment standing by.
3. In a small saucepan combine the remaining 1/2 cup water, granulated sugar, corn syrup and salt. Place over medium high heat, cover and allow to cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Uncover, clip a candy thermometer onto the side of the pan and continue to cook until the mixture reaches 240 degrees, approximately 7 to 8 minutes. Once the mixture reaches this temperature, immediately remove from the heat.
4. Turn the mixer on low speed and, while running, slowly pour the sugar syrup down the side of the bowl into the gelatin mixture. Once you have added all of the syrup, increase the speed to high. Continue to whip until the mixture becomes very thick and is lukewarm, approximately 12 to 15 minutes. Add the vanilla during the last minute of whipping.
5. Spread mixture in prepared pan and allow to cool for 2-4 hours, or until marshmallows are set.
6. Turn the marshmallows out onto a cutting board and cut into 1-inch squares using a pizza wheel dusted with the confectioners' sugar mixture. Once cut, lightly dust all sides of each marshmallow with the remaining mixture, using additional if necessary. You can also use a cookie cutter dipped in the cornstarch mixture to cut out the marshmallows.
7. Store in an air-tight container.

Notes:

Larger marshmallows will stay fresh longer than miniatures. Store in an airtight container for 1 week (minis) to 3 weeks (large)--- though I doubt they will ever last this long because they are so freaking delicious.

If they get a little stale, stick a piece of white bread in the air tight container with them. This should make them soft again.

To dip in chocolate, freeze marshmallows for one hour before dipping.

Make homemade marshmallows ahead of time for parties or holiday gifts.

Unlike traditional marshmallow recipes, this one does not contain egg whites so it is perfect for those with an egg allergy.

Recipe by Alton Brown

5 out of 5 stars

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