Homemade Marshmallows - Smore's Bites

Every year at Christmas I make homemade marshmallows. And right now you are reading this thinking, " um its April not December" but I didn't make them this past Christmas so why not make them in April?  I made these for a friend's husband who totally loves s'mores, and I was going to be hanging out with her and him last weekend, so I whipped up a batch for him. And he LOVED them. I had made her cupcakes!!

If you have never tried a homemade marshmallow you have no idea what you are missing out on. Those nasty jet puffed chemical white blobs you get at the store and well pretty much tasteless and only good for setting on fire when roasting marshmallows for s'mores at camp when you're like 10 years old. But a  HOMEMADE marshmallow is a whole different thing. They're light, fluffy, sweet, melt in your mouth goodness. The first time I tried one was at a local coffee shop and thought  " I bet there is a recipe online and I want to try" Um there are about a million recipes online. Some with corn syrup ( gasp evil right?) some with honey, maple syrup, vegan, vegetarian, cage free, free range, dairy free, gluten free, you name it there is a recipe. I have two that I use that are basically the same. Only because I had lost my recipe I had first started using that I got off recipezaar.com and had seen Alton Brown make them on his show Good Eats on Food Network and thought the recipe was similar to the first one I had. So I use both. If you have a chance to catch the episode where Alton Brown makes them I suggest you do so. He is so informative and has great step by step live instruction. 

So here is my step by step on this yummy homemade marshmallowy goodness. My next feat is trying rice krispy treats with the homemade marshmallows. YUM

All the ingredients. I KNOW corn syrup - right?!? BUT honestly I don't eat these every day all day I make once a year. So you know what? its OK

Preparing the pan for the marshmallow GOOP with canola oil spray then covered WELL with a corn starch powdered sugar mixture.

Gelatin in mixing bowl

Blooming the gelatin

Cooking the sugar/corn syrup/ water/salt. You MUST have a candy/deep fry thermometer for this. The temperature has to be EXACT or else you make caramel, maybe even toffee

After just adding in the sugar syrup to the gelatin

The marshmallow "meringue" starting to form

Perfect.

Pouring into prepared pan. YES it is a major sticky mess. I suggest keeping either canola oil spray near by to spray your spatula occasionally to keep from sticking or get the spatula wet with water. And you wont be able to scrape it all out of your mixing bowl or beater. You can try though if you want. I have never been able to ha ha

Doesn't have to be perfectly smooth

Dusting with more powdered sugar. Use TONS

I had powdered sugar EVERYWHERE!!!

After drying out over night pull out the slab o' mallow carefully out of the pan leaving the powdered sugar in the pan

Ready to slice. Best way to slice is with a pizza cutter

Start with strips

Roll in powdered sugar after each cut to cover the sticky sides

All cut up ready to be cut into squares

Next cut into squares and roll them in the powdered sugar too. Easiest to cut one strip at a time and roll

Yummy

For the chocolate coating I used semi sweet chocolate chips thinned with a little canola oil melted over a double boiler

Time to dip

I only dipped the bottom a little less than half. I was afraid the hot chocolate was going to melt the marshmallows but it didn't. Phew!!

Crushed up graham crackers. I just smashed with my hands - didn't want huge pieces but didn't want powder either

I dipped and rolled a little back and forth to make sure all sides got even graham crackery goodness

I had them on wax paper covered cookie sheets to set. Parchment works too. I chilled overnight in the fridge which at first makes them seem like they dry out but once transferred to an airtight container or a ziplock baggie they were softer again. One friend said they looked like tofu thank goodness they're not. How gross chocolate dipped tofu??  eeeewwwww

SOOOO GOOD!!!!!


Homemade Marshmallow Recipe
Courtesy of Alton Brown

Ingredients

• 3 packages unflavored gelatin
• 1 cup ice cold water, divided
• 12 ounces granulated sugar, approximately 1 1/2 cups
• 1 cup light corn syrup
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar (or more!)
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• Nonstick spray

Directions

Place the gelatin into the bowl of a stand mixer along with 1/2 cup of the water. Have the whisk attachment standing by.

In a small saucepan combine the remaining 1/2 cup water, granulated sugar, corn syrup and salt. Place over medium high heat, cover and allow to cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Uncover, clip a candy thermometer onto the side of the pan and continue to cook until the mixture reaches 240 degrees F, approximately 7 to 8 minutes. Once the mixture reaches this temperature, immediately remove from the heat.

Turn the mixer on low speed and, while running, slowly pour the sugar syrup down the side of the bowl into the gelatin mixture. Once you have added all of the syrup, increase the speed to high. Continue to whip until the mixture becomes very thick and is lukewarm, approximately 12 to 15 minutes. Add the vanilla during the last minute of whipping. While the mixture is whipping prepare the pans as follows.

For regular marshmallows:

Combine the confectioners' sugar and cornstarch in a small bowl. Lightly spray a 13 by 9-inch metal baking pan with nonstick cooking spray. Add the sugar and cornstarch mixture and move around to completely coat the bottom and sides of the pan. Return the remaining mixture to the bowl for later use.

When ready, pour the mixture into the prepared pan, using a lightly oiled spatula for spreading evenly into the pan. Dust the top with enough of the remaining sugar and cornstarch mixture to lightly cover. Reserve the rest for later. Allow the marshmallows to sit uncovered for at least 4 hours and up to overnight.

Turn the marshmallows out onto a cutting board and cut into 1-inch squares using a pizza wheel dusted with the confectioners' sugar mixture. Once cut, lightly dust all sides of each marshmallow with the remaining mixture, using additional if necessary. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 weeks.

My additions to the recipe to make them S'mores Bites

2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips

2 tsp canola oil

Heat together in a double boiler or a heat proof bowl ( glass or stainless) set over a pan of simmering water - but not touching until melted stirring occasionally.

1 package ( not box just one package) of graham crackers

Crush coarsely by hand in bowl.

You can play around with adding food coloring, different extracts etc if making just plain marshmallows not the s'mores bites. I sometimes make peppermint at Christmas time by adding un 1/2 - 1 tsp of peppermint extract  ( not too much you don't want them tasting like toothpaste!! NASTY) and a few drops of red food coloring. Also can make several batches at Easter time and dye them pastel colors. The possibilities are endless!!!