Homemade Marshmallows

Oh my heck.  This project was like the recipe from you-know-where.  And it's not a good place.  Ok, not really.  It just took me A LOT longer to do than I had expected.  It all started when we oh-so-spontaneously decided to make a 300 mile trip for Christmas... in four days.  Eek.  And we had no Christmas gift for our gracious hosts.  Like, we didn't even have any gift ideas, not just zero gifts.  And we were at the end of our monthly budget.  So, I called on the powers of Pinterest and saw something I'd wanted to try last year and never got around to it.  Perfect, right?  Ha.

I found this cute cocoa basket on Under the Table and Dreaming, complete with homemade marshmallow recipe.  So, we set out to make our own cocoa basket (our cocoa mix wasn't homemade though).  On glass mugs, I etched our recipients' names.  I put a hot cocoa mix in a quart-size mason jar, some mini candy canes in a half-pint jar and then set aside a pint jar for some homemade marshmallows.  And then the adventure began...

HOMEMADE MARSHMALLOWS

Ingredients:

2 1/2 Tbs of unflavored gelatin (apparently, I live in a cave and didn't know what this was.  But, My Mr Right knew.  You can find it in the baking aisle for about $1 a box around the Jell-O.  Knox is a common brand.)

1/2 c. cold water

1 1/2 c. white sugar

1 c. light corn syrup

1/4 tsp. salt

2 Tbs vanilla extract (you can substitute peppermint extract... or any other extract, for that matter)

1/2 c. water

Confectioner's Sugar (the powdered sugar you find in the baking aisle)

Directions:

1.  Combine gelatin and 1/2 c. of cold water in a bowl.  (If you're using a stand mixer, put it in that bowl.)  Let stand for 30 minutes.

2.  In a medium-sized sauce pan, combine white sugar, corn syrup and 1/2 c. of water.  Place on medium-low heat and stir constantly until the sugar dissolves.

3.  {This is where I ran into issues...  and how I fixed it.}  GRADUALLY, increase the heat to high and continue to stir until the mixture begins to boil.  When the mixture boils, stop stirring and insert a candy thermometer into the goop.  (Technical terms, I know.)

4.  Let the mixture boil until it reaches 244 degrees on a candy thermometer.  When you reach the temperature, remove the pan from the heat immediately.

5.  Slowly, pour the mixture into your bowl with the gelatin.  Turn your mixer onto low and combine the syrup and gelatin.  Add in the vanilla or other extract.  (I forgot that last part... so my marshmallows are a little bland.)

6.  Increase the speed to medium or medium-high and beat for approximately 15 minutes until the mixture is white and very thick.  It will nearly triple in volume.

7.  Line a baking sheet with wax paper and sprinkle a thin, yet generous, coat of powdered sugar all across the pan.  I used a baking sheet and got super thin marshmallows.  However, I was trying to speed the solidifying time, as I needed to get the gift put together before we left.  If you want thicker marshmallows, I'd suggest using something more along the lines of a 9x13" pan.  Pour your mixture into the pan.  Just a heads up:  this stuff is SUPER, SUPER, SUPER sticky.  Like marshmallows-melted-over-the-campfire kind of sticky.  A little warm/hot water and it'll clean right up though.

8.  Put a thin, yet generous, layer of powdered sugar on top of the mixture.  Pat and shape the marshmallow mix so the top is generally flat.

9.  Let the marshmallow sit on the counter top until solid.  I put mine in the fridge (trying to hurry the process along) uncovered for somewhere between 3-4 hours.

10.  Pull the waxed paper, with the marshmallow on top, out of the pan and lay it on the counter top.  Cut your marshmallows down to size.  I used a plastic cake cutter to cut my marshmallows into strips.  Because my marshmallows were so thin, I rolled the strips to get a little more mallow for my money and give it more of a store-bought shape.  Dust any sticky edges with powdered sugar to keep them from sticking.  

11.  Store your marshmallows in an air-tight container.  They will keep for about a month.

It's a good thing this was my first recipe of my Christmas-baking marathon... I probably would have given up after the sugar syrup boiled over all over my stove and I had a huge, stinky hot mess to clean up.  However, should you need to clean any of it up, hot water will work wonders.  It was a much simpler clean up than I expected.  And when you clean out your bowl, let it soak in hot water for five to ten minutes and it will wash right out.  And, next time I have a few tips and tricks to {hopefully} make this go a lot more smoothly.  Although, next time might not be til next Christmas....