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!

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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!

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8 Responses to “Christmas in July – Homemade Taco Seasoning”

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    1
    How To Be Perfect — July 28, 2010 at 11:34 am

    I’m loving your gift ideas, at the bakery we always start planning the Christmas cakes/cupcake in August, I get very excited. It is after all the most magical time of the year, Christmas that is, not August.

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    2
    newlywed — July 28, 2010 at 12:55 pm

    These are great ideas! You get so many boxes of cookies during the holiday season…I love the idea of giving something homemade to cook with instead.

  3. #
    3
    nutmegnanny — July 28, 2010 at 3:51 pm

    This is so cute! I could make adorable little baskets of homemade gifts. Thanks for the recipe 🙂

  4. #
    4
    Fun and Fearless in Beantown — July 28, 2010 at 4:16 pm

    This is such a great idea – perfect for a stocking stuffer! Thanks for sharing!

  5. #
    5
    booksncooks — July 28, 2010 at 11:38 pm

    Great blog series! I’m definitely going to make this in fall!

  6. #
    6
    *Maybe* Baby ♥ Mama — July 29, 2010 at 10:48 pm

    Our journey has begun!… secretly though =)

    If I’ve left you this message, you’re a follower of my original blog ~OR~ just someone I’ve happened upon while sending out these invites and decided I would LOVE for to come along for the ride! Though I won’t be revealing who I am just yet – until we’re TO and THROUGH the first trimester! Just getting the word out about our new site – further explanation of all the secrecy and what we’re about on my first post now up. I’d love for you to stop by.

    Exciting things going on around here!

    http://www.definitelymaybebaby.com/

    ~ the {secret} *Maybe* Baby Mama

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    7
    gay barnes — July 9, 2013 at 5:28 pm

    would love your recipe for taco seasoning thanks

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