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. 
YUMMY YUMMY YUMMY! I love this idea!! 🙂
Perfect! I crave sugar cookies a lot but just can’t handle the rolling out process sometimes.
These look yummy! My kids are always asking me to make sugar cookies and I start out strong and by the end am regretting making them. This may be the perfect tradeoff.
Yum! These look delicious and way easier than frosting individual cookies!
What a great idea – I rarely take the time to make cookies since bars are so much faster and just as tasty. I love all the sprinkles too 🙂
Just the recipe I was looking for – I may have to try it this week as an Easter treat for my coworkers.
Anyone who is thinking about making these definitely should. They’re seriously SO GOOD. I just made them Sunday and I’m making them again for Easter.
I had the same reaction when they popped up in my google reader – and now again this time. They are on my list!
I keep seeing these and now I must try them. I love, no crave, sugar cookies all the time.
I will be making this soon! Looks incredible!
Thanks for sharing!
Yum, I’ve made these before. They are excellent and soooo much easier. Yours looks good. I’m going to try them with buttercream instead of cream cheese frosting next time.
~ingrid
I think it will be better to put up the size of the baking pan too.
Thank you very much for the recipe. =D