Monday, December 29, 2008
Homemade Marshmallows
Wow, I had no idea so many of y'all would be interested in making your own marshmallows too! Of course I am happy to share my (er....her recipe). It was incredibly easy. Time consuming as it is done in two parts- you have to let the mallows sit overnight (or at least a few hours) before you cut them up and coat them in sugar. But easy. Oh, you will also need a candy thermometer. But if I was able to find one in the baking aisle of my never-has-fancy-pants-items local grocery store, y'all should be able to find one too. The recipe claims it makes 24 marshmallows but she must be cutting hers honkin' huge because I made about 2 large freezer bags full per batch. Certainly more than 24. Oh and I downloaded several recipes so the bits that I did differently from the big M, I have noted in parenthesis.
HOMEMADE MARSHMALLOWS
Ingredients
* Vegetable oil, for brushing (I used spray)
* 4 envelopes unflavored gelatin
* 3 cups granulated sugar
* 1 1/4 cups light corn syrup
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract (or other flavor extract)
* 1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
Directions
1. Brush a 9-by-13-inch glass baking dish with oil (I didn't use glass- actually used a variety of dishes including mini muffin cups which made adorable little nibbles). Line with parchment (totally didn't do this either), allowing a 2-inch overhang on the long sides. Brush parchment with oil (I used cooking spray); set aside. (I dusted the pans with a mix of 2/3 confectioners' sugar and 1/3 corn starch because I like it a bit less sweet)
2. Put granulated sugar, corn syrup, salt and 3/4 cup water into a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring to dissolve sugar. Cook, without stirring, (yes, in the same paragraph she tells me to stir and not stir. Love me some confusing Martha! I didn't stir because it didn't appear to be overly clumpy.) until mixture registers 238 degrees on a candy thermometer, about 9 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, put 3/4 cup cold water into a bowl of an electric mixer, sprinkle with gelatin. Let soften 5 minutes.
4. Attach bowl with gelatin to mixture fitted with the whisk attachment. With mixer on low speed, beat hot syrup into gelatin mixture. Gradually raise speed to high; beat until mixture is very stiff, about 12 minutes. Beat in vanilla (or other extract flavor). Pour into prepared dish, and smooth with an offset spatula. Set aside, uncovered, until firm, about 3 hours (or overnight).
5. Sift 1 cup confectioners' sugar (again, I preferred a combo of sugar and cornstarch) onto a work surface. Unmold marshmallow onto confectioners' sugar, remove parchment (I didn't use parchment but you know my history with following directions when baking so this is likely not shocking to you.). Lightly brush a sharp knife (I used a pizza cutter that I spritzed with cooking oil spray) with oil, then cut marshmallow into 2-inch (that's huge people- mine are cut about 1/2-inch and that is big enough for my needs) squares. Sift remaining 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar (again, I did a combo with cornstarch to cut the sweetness.) into a small bowl and roll each marshmallow in the sugar to coat. (just keep coating until there is no stickiness) Marshmallows can be stored in an airtight container up to 3 days. (Other recipes I found said they can be kept for a week or in the freezer for up to two months.)
I hope that I didn't make this more confusing for y'all. I swear it was easy as pie. But without the stand mixer your arm will fall off. I made my first batch using coconut extract and then I toasted coconut and coated them in that too. The second batch I made as it is listed above with the vanilla extract. Both are crazy good. Last night we had another family dinner and instead of adding any sugar to my coffee I added a marshmallow on top. Everyone thought I was nuts but seriously I don't see any difference in a cup of coffee vs. cocoa. Lots of recipes also called for egg whites - let me know if you make yours with whites- I'm curious to know the difference.
Happy marshmallow making!!
Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)
LinkWithin
3 comments:
Oh! I made marshmallows too this year. But, my recipe didn't have as many ingredients. I wonder why...? Weird.
-E
I'm not a marshmallow fan, but I'll have to tuck this one away - sounds like a fun project to do with kids!!! Ooey gooey goodness!
i tried to make homemade marshmallows once...didn't work out so well...it was a gooey mess. perhpas i'll have to try your recipie!
Post a Comment