Homemade Vanilla Marshmallows

Those things up there?  They’re springy.  Stickyish.  Sweet and sugared, square and bouncebouncebouncy.  Those, my friends, are marshmallows.

They’re actually Halloween-themed marshmallows, on account of they’re orange.  That’s on account of the food coloring which, of course, is on account of the upcoming jack o’lanterned holiday.  So, you know.  Themes.

I’ve been wanting to make my own marshmallows for awhile now.  When I worked in the kitchen at Liddabit Sweets, I made marshmallow all the time – sticky, gooey stuff we’d spread as filling for some sick (like, si-hiiiick, in a good way) candy bars, but until now I’ve never tackled the at-home marshmallow set.  Now that it’s done, it’s going to be a thing.  I’m pretty sure of it.  I’ve got long lists of mallowy flavors in my head, so I’m just saying: consider yourself warned.

 

Now, this is important.  The ways to correctly eat marshmallows are as follows:

Straight up, while wearing a Halloween costume.  S’mored.  Toasted black and eaten off a stick.  Cooked down with a bit of butter and then swirled into krispies, treat-like.  Swallowed whole during a fiery game of Chubby Bunny.  Or else dropped neatly into a mug of smooth, rich hot chocolate, and then swallowed in melted gulps.  Whichever way you choose to eat them, remember: these are no puffed-by-a-jet mallow monsters.  These are sweet, vanilla scented, orange-hued marshmallows, made entirely from scratch.  Costume or no, sounds sort of perfect, don’t you think?

Homemade Vanilla Marshmallows

Lightly adapted from Joy of Baking

Full disclosure: you’ll definitely need a stand mixer to make these, so if you don’t have one, I’m afraid you’re pretty much out of luck, in the homemade marshmallow department.  Bummer city.  You’ll also need a candy thermometer.  If you don’t own one, no worries – you can get one for about six bucks at your local kitchen supply store.  Happy mallow making!

Ingredients:

• 2 cups sugar
• 1 cup light corn syrup
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup cold water, divided
• 12 sheet gelatin (or 3 1/4-ounce packets unflavored powdered gelatin)
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 2 drops yellow and 1 drop red food coloring
• powdered sugar, for dusting and rolling

Directions:

Spray an 8×8 inch brownie pan with cooking spray, and then gently sift powdered sugar atop the cooking spray to evenly coat the bottom and sides of the pan.  Fit your stand mixer with the whisk attachment.

In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar, corn syrup, 1/2 cup water and salt.  Place over high heat and bring to a boil.  Do not stir.

While the sugar mixture is heating, place gelatin sheets into a bowl or glass and cover with cold water, to bloom.  Let gelatin sheets sit in the water for about 10 minutes, until no longer hard and brittle, but soft and squishy.  Squeeze the gelatin to release extra water, and set aside. (If using powdered gelatin, pour the gelatin packet into the bowl of your standing mixer and then pour 1/2 cup cold water on top – allow to sit for 10 minutes.)

Once the sugar mixture is boiling, attach a candy thermometer to the side of the pan.  Boil the mixture until it reaches 240 degrees F (115 degrees C).  Once at 240, remove the pan from the heat and turn your mixer on low speed.  Slowly pour the hot syrup, in a thin stream, into the bowl of your standing mixture.  Once all of the syrup has been added, carefully throw in your bloomed gelatin (if using powdered gelatin you can skip this step – your gelatin should already be in the bowl of the mixer).  Gradually increase the speed of the mixer to high, and beat mixture until it has turned glossy white, tripled in volume and is thick and stiff, about 10 minutes.  Add the vanilla extract and food coloring, and beat well to combine.

Using a rubber spatula coated in cooking spray, pour the marshmallow into the prepared pan and smooth the top.  Dust with confectioner’s sugar, and allow to sit, uncovered at room temperature, for 12 hours, until set.

To remove marshmallows from the pan, run a paring knife around the edges of the pan to loosen the mallows before inverting onto a cutting board dusted with confectioner’s sugar.  You may need to pry the mallow out a bit with your hands.  Use a sharp knife or clean kitchen shears to cut the marshmallows into squares, and roll each one in additional confectioner’s sugar, to coat.  Shake off excess sugar and store the marshmallows in an airtight container until ready to eat.  Mallows will keep, well wrapped, up to two weeks.

Makes 16-20 marshmallows.