Coffee Marshmallow Recipe

Rows of cube-shaped coffee marshmallows criss-crossed with lines of melted chocolate.

This recipe makes one quarter-sheet pan (9" x 13" x 1" pan) of marshmallows which yields about 100 mallows, depending on how large or small you cut them. You can increase or decrease the amount of instant coffee in the recipe depending on how much you like that flavor. Intensify it more by adding a little coffee extract. Nutritional information is based roughly on 2 marshmallows per person.

To make a larger batch in a half-sheet pan, see NOTES section for amounts

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 10

Curing Time 8

Total Time 8 20

Servings

Calories 55kcal

Author Jennifer Field

Equipment

Ingredients

4.5 oz cold water
2 Tablespoons powdered gelatin PLUS 3/4 teaspoon, 21 grams
heavy pinch kosher salt about 1/4 teaspoon (I use Morton's)
2 Tablespoons instant coffee more or less, to taste
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon coffee extract optional but nice if you really want to punch up the coffee flavor
10.5 oz sugar 298 grams or 1 1/2 cups
11.5 oz light corn syrup 326 grams or 1 cup
A mixture of half powdered sugar/half corn starch for dusting both the pan and the marshmallow 3/4 cup each should be sufficient for sprinkling the pan, the mallow, and tossing them once cured)
4 oz chocolate chips melted and cooled to warm

Instructions

To Prepare the Pan

Spray your pan with pan spray. This is what will hold your plastic wrap in place.
Press a sheet of plastic wrap down onto the pan making sure it sticks along the bottom and up the sides. Use two overlapping sheets if necessary.
Dust the plastic wrap with a very heavy dusting of half powdered sugar/half corn starch. I use a fine mesh strainer for this.
Set the pan aside.

To Make the Mallows

In the bowl of your stand mixer, pour in the water. Sprinkle the gelatin evenly over the surface along with the salt, instant coffee, vanilla, and optional coffee extract. Let sit for 5 minutes so the gelatin can soften and bloom.
Place the bowl on the mixer fitted with the whip attachment and turn it on low. Let it slowly mix while you do the next steps.
In a medium, heavy-bottomed sauce pan, bring the sugar, corn syrup and about 1/4 cup of water (this is additional to what you used at the beginning. No need to measure it--you just need a couple of ounces to ensure the sugar dissolves evenly) slowly to a boil, stirring occasionally to make sure all the sugar is wet.
Once it has come to a boil, put the lid on and let boil 1-2 minutes to wash down any sugar crystals from the sides of the pan.
Remove the lid and cook until it reaches 244F. I use my instant read thermometer for this, but you can also buy a candy thermometer that stays in the pan. This will only take a couple of minutes once you take the lid off, so be ready.
Once the sugar syrup reaches 244F, remove the pan from the heat. Turn up the mixer speed to medium-low and carefully stream the sugar syrup into the gelatin mixture. (See Video)
Let whip at that speed for a minute or two and then turn the speed up to medium and let whip for a minute or two. Once the mixture starts to thicken a bit, turn the speed up to high--be careful. If it's not thick enough, it will slosh out and it's still hot, so go slowly.
Leave the mixer on high speed until the the mixture is very thick and pretty much fills the entire mixing bowl. It will triple in volume and be a very light beige color. Before it gets too thick, taste it and add more instant coffee and/or extract if you think it needs it.
Whip until warm but not hot. You will know it's ready when the mallow starts pulling away from the sides of the bowl and starts looking a bit "webby."
Spray a large silicone spatula with pan spray and scoop all the mallow out into your plastic wrap-lined pan.
Spray the top of the candy with pan spray and use an offset spatula to spread it as smoothly and as evenly as you can in the pan.
Sift another heavy coat of the powdered sugar/corn starch mixture on top of the mallow and let it sit for several hours or overnight to cure. You can cover it loosely.
Cover loosely and let the candy sit out at room temperature for about 8 hours or overnight.
When cured, turn the slab of mallows out onto a cutting board, and cut them into whatever shapes/sizes you like. I use a pizza cutter coated with pan spray, but use what works best for you.
Once cut, make sure they are all completely separated, and toss them all in a bag or tightly-sealing container with powdered sugar/corn starch to cover.
Fish them out and knock off the excess powdered sugar/cornstarch.
If you like, use the melted chocolate to pipe thin lines of chocolate over the flattest sides of the mallows (usually the underside that was next to the plastic wrap in the pan is the smoothest side).
You can also completely coat the mallows in chocolate or coating chocolate or just dunk the bottoms. It's your choice!
Keep the mallows in a tightly-sealed container at room temperature for up to a week or so.

Video

Notes

To Make a Large Batch

For a half-sheet tray or a 9 x 13" pan filled to the top (not just halfway), here are the measurements. The procedure is still the same.

9 oz cold water (255 grams or 1 cup plus 2 Tablespoons)
4 1/2 Tablespoons (42 grams or 4 Tablespoons plus 1 1/2 teaspoons)
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (use less if using table salt or other fine salt)
4 Tablespoons instant coffee (use 5-5 1/2 Tablespoons for more assertive coffee flavor)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 teaspoons coffee extract, optional to punch up the coffee flavor
21 oz granulated sugar (595 grams or 3 cups)
23 oz corn syrup (624 grams or 2 cups--corn syrup is heavy!)
4 oz water to help dissolve the sugar (no need to measure--you just need enough to wet the sugar)

Storing

Keep your mallows, chocolate-dipped/drizzled and/or plain--in a tight-sealing container at room temperature for up to a week. After that time, they may start to get a little too firm. But you can still melt them into hot chocolate!

Nutrition