Nothing completes a yummy cup of hot chocolate like fluffy marshmallows floating around in your mug…but what makes that even better, are homemade marshmallows. Something has always intrigued me about them. I’ve always wanted to make them, but for some reason it seemed intimidating. I’ve only seen the puffy bites of sugar in the baking aisle at the grocery store, and it just doesn’t seem possible to replicate them. I was wrong. Not only could I replicate them, but they are so amazing that you’ll never buy them at the store again. They key to this recipe is a standing mixer. Get out your Kitchenaid, because these delights need to whip around for a good 15 minutes. Something you may not have in your cupboards is unflavored gelatin, which is a key ingredient in marshmallows. You can use gelatin sheets, but powdered gelatin is much easier to work with. You can usually find it where the boxed JELLO is in the baking aisle.
Ingredients
- 3 packages unflavored gelatin: I used Knox. It comes in a box of 4 packets, you will need 3.
- 1 cup ice cold water: 1/2 for the gelatin and 1/2 for the sugar mixture.
- 1.5 cups of granulated sugar
- 1 cup light corn syrup
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2/3 cup confectioners’ sugar
- 1/3 cup cornstarch
- PAM cooking spray
Other things you will need
- Standing mixer with whisk attachment
- Candy thermometer (digital works best)
Directions
- Place the 3 packets of gelatin into the bowl of a standing mixer with whisk attachment and add 1/2 cup of cold water.
- In a small saucepan on medium high heat, combine the remaining 1/2 cup water, granulated sugar, corn syrup and salt. Cook for 4-5 minutes covered.
- Uncover, clip a candy thermometer onto the side of the pan and continue to cook until the mixture reaches 240 degrees F. (about 9-10 minutes) Once the mixture reaches 240 degrees, 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, approximately 12 to 15 minutes. The mixture should be lukewarm by this point.
- Add the vanilla during the last minute of whipping.
- While the mixture is whipping, prepare your pan. You can use either a cookie sheet that has sides, or a 9×13 baking dish. It just depends on how thick you want your marshmallows.
- Combine the confectioners’ sugar and cornstarch in a small bowl. Lightly spray your pan with with nonstick cooking spray. Coat the entire pan with the cornstarch and confectioners sugar.
- 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. You can also use small cookie cutters to create marshmallow shapes. Just remember to dust the cookie cutter with confectioners sugar
- Once cut, lightly dust all sides of each marshmallow with the remaining mixture, using additional if necessary.
- Store in an airtight container. Should last 3-4 weeks.
The Simple Elements 