Vanilla Marshmallows and Smores

Sometime late last summer, I was sitting around a fire pit where folks were roasting marshmallows for smores. With a few glasses of wine in me, I boldly proclaimed, “you know, I can MAKE marshmallows!” Not that I had ever made marshmallows, but I had seen people on the internet do it, so I was sure it could work for me too. Pairs of surprised eyes turned to me. And then someone said, “or we could just buy and eat the store bought ones.” Marshmallow roasting resumed. But I felt a challenge had been issued. I needed to make marshmallows. And they needed to be made into smores!

Fast forward six months. It was December, and I still hadn’t made marshmallows, and now they were appearing in holiday baking magazines everywhere, cutely shaped into snowmen and other festive creations. Taunting me. I took another look at the marshmallow recipe I was planning on using, and realized I had everything I needed except gelatin, so I picked some up at Safeway. But then, further derailing, compliments of fear. After the near epic fail with these, I decided that I should really stop trying to eyeball the temperature of hot liquids. Candy making was delayed until a candy thermometer could be obtained.

Christmas came, and I got not one but TWO candy thermometers! And someone was nice enough to find me a sleeve of digestive biscuits–which I was certain would form the perfect base for homemade smores. After the bustle of the holidays was over, there was no excuse, marshmallow time had arrived. Noel and I set aside some time on a quiet Saturday night, read and re-read the directions, and then we were off. We weren’t quite ready for the revelation that was waiting for us at the other end of our journey, but we were soon really glad we made the trip!

Revelation? Yes, revelation, as in, homemade marshmallows are a food revelation. They are fantastic, and after you have one–which is an experience like having a cloud melt on your tongue–you are never going to want jet-puffed again. And you know what, after all the time it took me to getting around to making them, the marshmallows really weren’t that hard. But definitely worth the effort, oh, a thousand times over!

Vanilla Marshmallows
Adapted from Baked: New Frontiers in Baking

As I mentioned above, once I fully comprehended the technique (it took several reads through the instructions!) these marshmallows were pretty simple to make. You just dissolve the gelatin, bring the sugar and corn syrup to temperature and then whip until you have marshmallow. But there are a couple of things you should not try this recipe without–mainly a candy thermometer and a stand mixer. No, you cannot use a hand mixer, because my KitchenAid Artisan barely had enough horsepower to handle this job. Also, the marshmallow base itself is pretty tasteless, so you can add which ever type of extract you please to flavor your marshmallows. I’m already dreaming of peppermint ones dipped in chocolate!

Ingredients:

• 4 packets of gelatin
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 cup light corn syrup
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup sifted confectioners sugar, plus more for dusting

Directions:

Grease a 9×13 pan with veggie shortening or cooking spray (like Pam for Baking). Make sure you really coat that pan!

Put gelatin packets in a bowl with 1/4 cup cold water. Allow to dissolve, the gelatin will soak up all the water and will be solid to the touch at this point. Place the bowl in the microwave and heat in 30 second increments until the gelatin is liquid.

In a medium saucepan, gently stir together the sugar, 1/2 cup of the corn syrup, and 1/2 cup water. Be careful not to splash the ingredients onto the sides of the pan. Put the saucepan over medium high heat and clip a candy thermometer to the side of the pan.

Put the remaining 1/2 cup of corn syrup in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Turn the mixer on low speed and slowly pour the melted gelatin into the corn syrup. Keep the mixer on low.

Bring the sugar mixture (the one on the stove with the candy thermometer) to the soft ball stage on your candy thermometer (235-240 degrees), then remove from the heat. Take out the candy thermometer. Turn the mixer up to medium for one minute, then slowly pour the hot sugar mixture into the gelatin mixture. When all of the sugar mixture has been added, turn the mixer to medium high and beat for about 5 minutes. The marshmallow mixture will begin to turn white and fluffy. Add the vanilla extract and salt and turn the mixer up to its highest setting for another minute. Your mixer will probably sound strained at this point–mine did!–but don’t worry, it will be okay!

Working very, very quickly, pour the marshmallow into the prepared pan. Use an offset spatula to spread out the mixture evenly. Sprinkle with a bit of sifted confectioner’s sugar and let set for 6 hours, or overnight.

Use a knife to loosen the marshmallow from the edges of the pan, and use your hands to pull the marshmallow out (it will come out in one HUGE piece). Place on a surface you can cut on dusted with powdered sugar. Prepare a bowl with some powdered sugar. Use a chef’s knife to cut the marshmallows into a 6 by 8 grid. Roll each marshmallow in confectioner’s sugar. The marshmallows will keep in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

These marshmallows are delightful treats as is, but my favorite way to eat them is in smores, particularly ones made with digestive biscuits. Yeah they sound funny, but digestive biscuits are absolutely fantastic wholemeal biscuits (think first cousin to a graham cracker) dipped in chocolate, that are sold mostly in the UK. They’re my absolute, all time favorite packaged cookie, and I usually beg anyone going on holiday to the UK to bring me back a few sleeves. But luckily for me, Carlos found some at World Market last week! Woohoo! Lots of digestives for me!

So, to make the fantastic digestive smores, take one biscuit and top with one homemade marshmallow. Place it on a foil lined sheet in your toaster oven (you could also do this under the broiler in your big oven, but keep an eye on them!) and set to toast for about 4 minutes. Remove when the top is browned and crystallized, allow to cool slightly, and enjoy the most amazing smore of your life! And don’t forget to share the joy with your friends–you know they’re worth it!

{ 23 comments } |  Print This Post |  Email This Post |