Homemade Marshmallows
Aahhhh s’mores… They remind me of camping and fall and leaves changing colors and brisk weather and sitting around campfires. There’s really nothing better than a smore. It’s such a great little treat. Day or night, for kids or adults, I have yet to meet someone who doesn’t love this gooey chocolately treat.
I personally love my marshmallows charred. I toast them gently at first, then light them on fire. Once I blow out the flames, I smash them onto the graham crackers and dig in!
As you know, making marshmallows is one of the things on my 30-by-30 list. And since I recently purchased a candy thermometer while up at King Arthur Flour, I decided to give it a shot to kick off a week of S’mores recipes.
After making these little fluffy white pillows of sugar, I will never go back to store-bought again. I swear to you, they are so easy and SO delicious. In fact, I just went to grab one out of the pantry to snack on just now.
I have to admit that to prep for making the marshmallows, I did do some research. I knew Alton Brown had done an episode on marshmallows, so I checked my DVR. No luck there, so I headed over to YouTube. Sure enough, the entire episode was on there (Part 1 here, Part 2 here). Now I’d trust AB with my first born child, so clearly I trust his recipes. After printing it, reading it, watching the episode about marshmallows and measuring out all of my ingredients I was ready to go!
In the end, all that prep work and research wasn’t really necessary. You do need a good stand mixer. My KitchenAid worked up quite a sweat while beating the marshmallow, but that was the hardest part. Well that or watching the thermometer while the sugar was boiling. Either way, this recipe is easy peasy. The marshmallows do require a 4 hour wait time (mine set overnight) so factor that in if you plan to make these. You definitely won’t regret it!
Two Years Ago: Grilled Beef Ribs
Homemade Marshmallows
Yield: ~9 dozen
Ingredients:
3 packages unflavored gelatin
1 cup ice cold water, divided
12 ounces granulated sugar, approximately 1 1/2 cups
1 cup light corn syrup
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
Nonstick spray
Place the gelatin into the bowl of a stand mixer along with 1/2 cup of the water. Have the whisk attachment standing by.
Directions:
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 F, approximately 7 to 8 minutes. Once the mixture reaches this temperature, immediately remove from the heat.
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. While the mixture is whipping prepare the pans as follows.
Combine the confectioners' sugar and cornstarch in a small bowl. Lightly spray a 13 by 9-inch metal baking pan with nonstick cooking spray. Add the sugar and cornstarch mixture and move around to completely coat the bottom and sides of the pan. Return the remaining mixture to the bowl for later use.
When ready, pour the mixture into the prepared pan, using a lightly oiled spatula for spreading evenly into the pan. Dust the top with enough of the remaining sugar and cornstarch mixture to lightly cover. Reserve the rest for later. Allow the marshmallows to sit uncovered for at least 4 hours and up to overnight.
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. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 weeks.
If you want to make mini-marshmallows, click through to the original recipe for directions.
Recipe from Alton Brown
Don’t forget about my Power of Pink Challenge – make something PINK by the end of the month to raise Breast Cancer Awareness!
I am Jen the Beantown Baker. Engineer by day and baking maven by night. Hubby serves as my #1 fan and official taste tester. We got hitched back in 2006. Barefoot. In the sand. With the waves crashing behind us. It was one of the best decisions we’ve ever made. 
Yum! These look FABULOUS!!
http://www.simplysweeter.blogspot.com
I’m so curious to see what homemade marshmallows taste like! They look pretty awesome in the pictures!
yum!!! i love homemade marshmallows!!! i like to chocolate dip 2 sides so they look like little ice cream sandwiches!
I wouldn’t even need chocolate and graham crackers to enjoy these. I could gobble them up all by their lonesome.
Hmm, I would think they’re really tricky but it sounds like I was wrong. I’m not the biggest marshmallow fan but I have a feeling that homemade taste way better!
Marshmallows have been on my shortlist for a while now. You just pushed me over the edge. I can just see some dipped in chocolate or rolled in toasted coconut and packaged up for the holidays! Question – where do you find the gelatin in the supermarket? In the baking aisle?
Rachel
http://theavidappetite.com
You can actually put the marshmallows in the fridge, and they will set up faster.
I don’t like store-bought marshmallows (unless they’re toasted), but the homemade ones just have such an incredible texture… and I love that you can flavor them however you want. I used to make 5-spice marshmallows at Flour. I really want to make them at home.
These look gorgeous! I might have to make some for hot chocolate season.
I
WANT
THESE
NOW.
Seriously. These look amazing!!
How many grams of gelatine are in each pack? I have a feeling different countries have different amounts…
I had a great cassis marshmallow at an afternoon tea recently and thought they were really hard to make.
I have yet to make homemade marshmallows….I need to get over that fear!
Silly question…
If I was making Rice Krispie Treats could I just mix the cereal in and then pour it all into a pan to set up?
I just thought they might taste better with the homemade marshmallow.
Thanks.
Rachel – The gelatin is near the Jello in my super market. It’s up on the top shelf.
Cupcake Kelly – My box of gelatin says 1 oz for 4 small envelopes. Does that help?
yipeiokyay – Sounds like it could work. You might want to throw some butter in too? Alton Brown did say you can use them to make Rice Krispies treats during the episode, but he implied that you do it after they have set up.
To everyone who has been afraid of making marshmallows – it’s seriously SO EASY. Do it!
I love love love making marshmallows! You can flavor them, too, so try out different extracts and flavorigns in them for an extra kick. Peppermint ones with mini chocolate chips on top are AWESOME
Okay, even tho I read your blog often, this is the first recipe I’ve actually tried. I’ve been dying to do homemade ‘mallows because the stay-puff ones taste like the gas they use to puff them up.
Mine are drying now, so no report on how they came out yet, but I have to agree – except for my nervousness working with hot candy (legacy of a drop of hot caramel on a bare foot that left a mark for years) – these were super-easy.
Question: my gelatin smelled kind of bad when it had sat in the water for a while, tho the smell seems to have gone away. Did this happen to you? Could my gelatin have been a little funky? (Can gelatin even go funky?). Thx!!
Virginia – I do remember the gelatin having a weird smell that does go away. I hope you enjoy them as much as we do. A friend told me that if you can’t wait the full 4-hours you can pop them in the fridge to speed up the process.