Seasonal Sunday: Homemade Marshmallows.

I was so excited to find yet another yumm-o recipe from the girls at Our Best Bites. Today we are making marshmallows. I only sort of like marshmallows that some out of a bag. I'll admit that before this recipe I had never even tried a real marshmallow. If you aren't a marshmallow lover, or even liker, I advise you to try one. And I bet one will turn into two or three depending.

Homemade Marshmallows

Go get it:

3 packets unflavored gelatin

1 C ice water, divided
1 1/2 C sugar
1 C light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 C corn starch
1/4 C powdered sugar (oops not in the picture above)

9 x 13" pan
non stick spray

Go make it:

1. Pour packet of gelatin into stand mixer bowl. The girls advise you don't use a hand mixer unless you carry some sort of insurance on it lol. Add 1/2 cup of your ice water to gelatin. Gently stir to dissolve.

2. Add corn syrup, sugar, other 1/2 cup of ice water, and salt to a small heavy bottom sauce pan. blend ingredients. Bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer until you have reached 245 F. A candy thermometer is real handy here unless you have super powers. And if you don I am making candy with you next year.  Once you hit 245 F remove pan from heat.

3. Pour hot mixture slowly into your bowl containing gelatin. Mix on low. After all the mixture is in the gelatin bowl turn mixer to high. Beat for 12-15 min. This is where a stand mixer comes in handy. Add the vanilla during the last couple of minutes.

4. Prepare pan by spraying with cooking spray. Don't forget to do up the sides. Mix corn starch and powdered sugar in a small bowl. Pour into greased pan. Tap out excess and save.  

5. Once marshmallow mixture is super white and fluffy and gorgeous spoon into prepared pan. Use a greased spatula. Smooth with spatula or the back of a greased spoon. I will be honest, it will put up a fight. See the picture below. That's where I drew the line with my sanity. The bowl did not get scraped clean. Nowhere close lol. Let sit at room temperature for an hour or so. You want a nice dry layer to form. Sprinkle remaining cornstarch/sugar mixture on top (If you have lots left you should save it for later to dust your work space and marshmallows). Then cover in plastic wrap and let sit overnight. These could be ready in less time, but the girls (This is Sara and Kate. I refer to them as 'the girls.' Kind of like my personal chefs. Hee hee) recommend longer is better.

6. Once enough time has passed plop the marshmallow 'sheet' out of the pan onto a Silpat, large cookie sheet or counter. You will notice the bottom is perfect and smooth. You may want to make this the top of your marshmallows. You can either use tiny cute little cookie cutters (not that I would judge if you wanted monster size marshmallow treats....),  sharp knife or a pizza cutter to cut. I settled on a tiny star, snowflake and candy cane cookie cutters and an over sized pizza cutter (no that is not a cookie cutter shape!). The remains I cut up with kitchen shears to keep for myself. The rest will be gifts. Dust cut marshmallows with remaining cornstarch/sugar mixture to prevent sticking together. Store in an airtight container. Will keep for a couple weeks if stored properly.
*Note: If planning on dipping marshmallows in chocolate you may want to only try to tap off excess powder or chocolate will have a hard time sticking. You could always go the drizzle route like Sara did. Just go slow and keep at it. What's not better than a marshmallow dipped in chocolate? Oh my!