Homemade Marshmallows
Homemade marshmallows are probably not something you might not have considered making yourself. Maybe it seemed too complicated. Maybe, like me, you aren’t a huge fan of the powdery, dry store-bought variety to begin with. But when you stop and think about it, marshmallows are essentially just egg white meringue whipped up with sugar, gelatin, and a few other ingredients you probably already have in your pantry. So really, they should be better than what we’re all used to. And homemade marshmallows truly are. They’re a fluffy and cloud-like confection that are an entirely different species than store bought.
Use them in s’mores, as an ice cream or brownie topping or dunk a giant one in your hot cocoa. They also make great little gifts around holiday time. Nice, right?
I first made them for a friendly international bakeoff that I take part in each week on Instagram. That week’s challenge was to create “a dessert from your country.” I knew most people from the U.S. would make apple pie (and they did so beautifully), but I wanted to make something different. So I made home made s’mores from scratch. Homemade graham cracker shortbread, homemade almond-toffee-chocolate bark, and homemade marshmallows. I read a lot of different recipes, but the one that seemed the most straightforward and foolproof was from Cooks Illustrated. (The other elements of the s’mores were way more work. We’ll save that for another blog post.)
The next time you need a little something to wow friends and family – especially kids – give these guys a try.
Homemade Marshmallows Recipe:
Difficulty:
Moderate. Only because I don’t think pouring boiling sugar into a running machine is beginner level stuff.
Special Equipment:
13x9 pan
Candy thermometer or laser thermometer. There’s no getting around this one. For the recipe to work you have to bring your sugar to 240 degrees F. Guesstimating most likely will not work.
Just a few tips:
Plan your time. You need to carefully line your 13x9 pan with aluminum foil so your marshmallows have smooth edges and lift easily out of the pan. You also need to allow time for the marshmallow mixture to firm up and for slicing and coating the marshmallows in powdered sugar. All of this can add up so read the recipe and plan your time accordingly.
The recipe says it makes 117, 1 inch marshmallows. I wanted fun, larger ones so I cut mine in 2 inch marshmallows giving me around 50-60. Still a lot of marshmallows!
Like I mention above, the instructions say to pour your hot sugar mixture into a slowly running machine. The way my machine is designed this wasn’t really possible for me, so I poured it in while whisking with my other hand until it was all in, then quickly removed my hand whisk and turned the machine on. It worked fine. Just be careful with the hot sugar.
That’s it! it really is a straightforward recipe that I absolutely recommend.
