Homemade marshmallows are lovely and bear little resemblance to store-bought. They are a bit denser and more flavorful. These are ridiculously easy to make. Once you try them, you’ll never go back to HIM again, ever. Read all of the rules before you begin so you know what to expect. There are a lot of rules, but they aren’t difficult. Honest.
Marshmallows
Ingredients
- 4 1/2 tablespoons powdered gelatin
- 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons cold water
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla, (or flavoring of your choice)
- 3 cups sugar
- 2 cups corn syrup
- 2/3 cup cocoa powder, (for chocolate marshmallows)
- water
- powdered sugar/corn starch, (1:1 ratio, more or less)
Instructions
- In the bowl of your stand mixer, combine gelatin, cold water, salt and vanilla. Add the cocoa powder here, if using.
- I highly recommend using some peppermint extract along with the vanilla whether you're making plain or chocolate marshmallows. Stir well so there are no clumps of gelatin. Let it sit there while you do this:
- Spray a half-sheet pan with pan spray. (The pan spray is glue, in this case).
- Line the tray with plastic wrap, making sure it goes up the sides, too. If you have big air pockets under the wrap, poke them with a pin and press the wrap down onto the pan.
- Spray the pan again with pan spray. Put about 1 cup of powdered sugar/corn starch mixture in a strainer or sieve or sifter and sift a thick layer of sugar in the bottom of the pan.
- In a heavy saucepan over medium-high heat, bring sugar, corn syrup and a splash or two of water to a boil. Cover with a lid or plastic wrap, let boil for 2-3 minutes, then uncover.
- Cook sugar to 244 degrees, F.
- While sugar is coming to temperature, turn mixer, fitted with the whip attachment, on to medium-low.
- When sugar reaches 244F, remove from heat and carefully pour syrup down the inside of the mixing bowl.
- When it's all in, turn up speed to medium for a minute or so, then crank it to high and whip until the mixture is tripled in volume and starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl in threads.
- Surprise, surprise: the mixture will look like marshmallow cream.
- Remove bowl from mixer.
- Spray your biggest rubber spatula very well with pan spray on both sides.
- Use the lubed up spatula to coax the sticky marshmallow into the pan in a big pile. If it starts sticking, turn over the spatula, or spray with more pan spray.
- Spray the top of the big pile of marshmallow and the spatula with more pan spray (all hail the pan spray), and smooth out the marshmallow as evenly as you can. It should reach the top of the half-sheet pan.
- Sift a generous amount of powdered sugar/corn starch over the top (you don't want any shiny marshmallow showing through) and let sit, uncovered, at room temperature to set up. This could take several hours.
- Once set, cut with a greased cutter into fun shapes, or use a greased knife or scissors. Toss cut mallows in more of the powdered sugar mixture to keep the sides from drying out.
Notes
This recipe makes one sheet pan or two half-sheets. Feel free to cut the recipe in half to make one 1/2 sheet.
Alternately, but much more messily, you could scoop the unwieldy marshmallow goo out of the mixer and into a large pastry bag. Use a well-greased spatula to do this. Once in the bag, you can pipe little kisses of marshmallow. If it has whipped enough, it will stand up in little peaks. Sift 10x mixture over the kisses until set up.
Brush off excess sugar, dip in tempered chocolate (or coating chocolate) or not. Throw them in your hot chocolate. Use your torch to brulee them for s'mores. Give them as presents. Eat them in the bathtub.
Wanna see me make them live? Here you go!