With the summer winding down and a cool breeze in air, thoughts turn to wintertime treats that comfort the soul. On a particularly chilly day, I had a hankering for hot cocoa. What accompanies hot cocoa best? Marshmallows. However, the stuff that you buy in the clear plastic bags taste like vanilla-flavored cardboard. Real marshmallows melt in your mouth and are full of flavor. They toast just as well as the store-bought variety. Marshmallows are incredibly easy to make and you can tweak the recipe to change the color, shape, and flavor (swap out the vanilla with a flavor extract of your choosing). Don't waste your money on the kits. Most folks have the ingredients to make marshmallows in his/her pantry. The only special tool you need is an instant-read or candy thermometer.
3 packages unflavored gelatin
1-1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1-1/2 tablespoons vanilla
Confectioners' sugar
Mix the gelatin and the 1/2 cup of cold water in an electric mixer bowl. For this recipe, you will need to use the whisk attachment. Put it off to the side and now it's time to make the syrup.
Combine the sugar, light corn syrup, salt, and 1/2 cup water in a small saucepan. Cook over medium low heat until the sugar dissolves. Once dissolved, turn the heat up to high and cook the syrup until it reaches 240 degrees on the thermometer.
Remove the saucepan from the heat. Turn the mixer on to a low speed and slowly pour the syrup into the dissolved gelatin. Once all the syrup is in the gelatin, increase the mixer speed to high. Whip the mixture until it is very thick. This will take roughly 15 minutes. Add the vanilla and make sure it is thoroughly incorporated in the mixture. If you wanted to add a little color to your marshmallows, add the food coloring/gel at this stage.
While the mixture is whipping, lightly coat an 8X12 or 9X13 pan with cooking spray (I prefer butter-flavored Crisco spray). With a sieve, dust the confectioners' sugar over the pan, covering the sides and bottom of the pan. When the mixture has thickened, pour it into the pan.
The mixture is incredibly sticky. I will also spray the silicon spoon with cooking spray and dust it with confectioners' sugar when it comes time to scrape the remaining mixture from the sides of the bowl. Level the mixture in the pan with the spoon. Another trick is to spray down wax paper or parchment paper with cooking spray and dust with confectioners' sugar. Lay the sugar-side down on top on the pan and pat the mixture down so it's even. Once level, dust with more confectioners' sugar. Let it stand uncovered for at least 8 hours or overnight to dry out.
Turn the marshmallows out onto a board and cut them into squares This is accomplished by spraying a pizza cutter with cooking spray and dusting with confectioners' sugar. You can also make the marshmallows into different shapes by using cookie cutters in the place of the pizza cutter. Be sure to give them the cooking spray/sugar treatment!
After the marshmallows are cut out, in small bowl with confectioners' sugar, briefly dredge each marshmallow. Place the marshmallows in a airtight container. They will last about a week, but I doubt there will be any remaining by that time.
