Homemade Marshmallows

Yield 48

Author The Appalachian Tale Jimmy Proffitt

Prep time

10 Min

Cook time

25 Min

Inactive time

8 Hour

Total time

8 H & 35 M

This is a basic recipe for homemade marshmallows. Once you get the technique down for these, you can play with them to change up the flavor combinations, and add spirits such as moonshine or liqueur.

Ingredients

1 cup cold water, divided
1 1/2 cup white granulated sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt (1/8 teaspoon if using table salt)
3 packets of unflavored gelatin, or 7 1/2 teaspoons
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

Empty the 3 packets of gelatin into the bowl of your stand mixer. Gently pour 1/2 a cup of the cold water into the bowl, being careful not to splash the gelatin powder around. I always pour the water down the sides of the bowl all around the gelatin. Gently stir the gelatin into the water to moisten it. It will need about 10 minutes for the gelatin to bloom. It will look like a cloudy grainy gel when ready.
While the gelatin blooms, begin cooking the sugar mixture. In a small saucepan, combine the remaining 1/2 cup of water, granulated sugar, corn syrup, and salt and cover with a lid. Do not stir the mixture.
Bring the sugar mixture to a boil over medium-high heat. Leave the lid on so the condensation will run back down the sides of the pan to keep the sugar mixture from crystallizing. After about 4 minutes, remove the lid and continue to boil the mixture.
Attach a candy thermometer to the pan as the mixture continues to boil. You want your thermometer to be deep enough into the mixture, but not touching the bottom of the pan. It needs to get the most accurate reading it can. You want to bring the temperature up to 238 degrees. This will take several minutes more after removing the lid. Once it comes up to temperature, immediately remove it from the heat. Leave the thermometer in and let it cool down to 200 degrees.
With the whisk attachment and your stand mixer on low, begin whipping the gelatin mixture. Slowly stream the cooled sugar mixture down the side of the mixing bowl, being careful not to let the stream enter the path of the whisk. As you stream the sugar mixture in, you can increase the speed of the mixer a step at a time until all of the sugar mixture is streamed in. On the highest setting, whip the marshmallow mixture for 10 - 12 minutes. The marshmallow mixture will increase in volume as it whips. After about 8 minutes, keep an eye on it. It should begin to firm up and you will see it pull long strings as the whisk moves around the bowl, but you still want the center to be a bit fluid.
At 9 minutes, stream in the vanilla. When you do, the marshmallow mixture will flop a bit around the bowl for a few seconds. Continue to whip for another minute. If the mixture is still too fluid, continue to whip another minute or two. The longer you whip it, the firmer your marshmallows will be when done. If you don't whip it enough they will remain too soft and may not set up, but will be marshmallow cream. Firm marshmallows will melt slower in hot drinks, but softer marshmallows are great for snacking.
While the marshmallows are whipping, prepare a 9 x 13 pan by spraying with cooking spray and dusting with a solid layer of powdered sugar.
When the marshmallow mixture is whipped, you must pour it into the prepared pan as quickly as possible. It will begin to set up quickly once you finish whipping it. Spray a spatula with the cooking spray and scoop the marshmallow mixture out of the mixing bowl and into the prepared pan. With the sprayed spatula, press and spread the marshmallow mixture to the corners and edges of the pan gently. You don't want to compress it too much. Dust with a solid layer of powdered sugar and cover loosely and let the marshmallows set for 4 hours or overnight to dry completely.
When the marshmallows are ready to cut, turn them out onto parchment paper or the counter dusted with powdered sugar. Using a pizza cutter or large sharp knife, begin to cut the marshmallows into 1 - 1 1/2 inch squares. Dust your cutter or knife with powdered sugar as needed to keep it from sticking.
Once they are cut, toss the squares around in the powdered sugar to coat all sides. Store them in an air-tight container. They can keep for weeks and months when properly stored.

Notes:

For more gourmet marshmallows, crumble cookies, candy, or chop some nuts and scatter in the bottom of the prepared pan before pouring in the marshmallow mixture. You can add toppings after pouring the mixture as well if you move quickly to do it while it is still sticky, instead of dusting with powdered sugar. You can also use a variety of extract flavors to change it up.

You can substitute the 1/2 cup of water in the sugar mixture with 1/2 cup of moonshine or other spirits. Keep in mind that alcohol has a lower evaporation temperature, so it will come to temperature quicker, so you have to keep a closer eye on it.

Nutrition Facts

Calories

45.04

Fat (grams)

0.01

Sat. Fat (grams)

0.00

Carbs (grams)

11.72

Fiber (grams)

0.00

Net carbs

11.72

Sugar (grams)

11.70

Protein (grams)

0.12

Sodium (milligrams)

11.51

Cholesterol (grams)

0.00

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Above from left to right are Fluffernutter Marshmallows, S’moresmallows, and Cookies & Cream Marshmallows.

The Fluffernutter Marshmallows have Nutter Butter pieces on them.

The S’moresmallows have a graham cracker bottom and a mini chocolate chip top.

The Cookies & Cream have Oreo pieces on them.

Homemade Marshmallows