M is for Marshmallows

My brother is an excellent cook, and one of the things he makes at Christmas is homemade marshmallows. Now, I'm not ordinarily much of a marshmallow fan. I like them toasted over a fire. I like them in hot chocolate. I LOVE Peeps at Easter time. 

That sounds like I AM a marshmallow fan, but really, I'm not. I don't like them dipped in chocolate (or dipped in anything else, for that matter). I REALLY don't like them plain. But my brother's homemade marshmallows? They are a horse of a different color, and I decided to take a stab at making them myself.

I used the recipe from Epicurious (there are plenty of them out there, all basically the same). 

Full disclosure: it is VERY, VERY MESSY to make marshmallows. VERY, VERY, VERY, VERY. 

The ingredients are simple:

3 envelopes unflavored gelatin
Water
Light corn syrup
Granulated sugar
Salt 
Vanilla
Powdered sugar. LOTS of powdered sugar

Ingredients assembled.

While the gelatin softens in cold water in the bowl of a stand mixer (mine is a Kitchen Aid that I received as a wedding present nearly 29 years ago and is still going strong), I made the sugar syrup by bringing water, corn syrup, salt, and granulated sugar to a boil and cooking to soft ball WITHOUT STIRRING which is very difficult for ADHD me to resist. The syrup is then poured in a stream into the gelatin mixture while the mixer is on low, then the the mixer is gradually turned up to high for five minutes while the mixture magically turns from weird, spongy-looking gunk to marshmallow cream; last, the vanilla is added and mixed in.

Gelatin softening in water.

Oops.

Syrup going into gelatin gunk.

Getting fluffier.

Marshmallow fluff

Meanwhile, my husband wandered into the kitchen.

Husband (peering into the mixing bowl at spinning marshmallow cream): Are they going to be pink?

Me: I wasn't planning on it. 

Husband: Your brother makes pink ones.

Me: My brother makes peppermint ones. These are just vanilla.

Husband: They would look good pink.

Me (getting gel food coloring from pantry and adding a drop to mixture): Happy?

Husband: That looks better. Can you make them peppermint?

Me: Do you have somewhere else to go?

The mixture, the INCREDIBLY STICKY mixture, is then poured into a prepared 9x13 pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray and coated with powdered sugar. Make sure you thoroughly coat the countertops, the floor, your clothes, and the cat as you do this, because it's a lot more fun this way. The sticky, gooey marshmallow mixture does not come out of the bowl without a fight, and unless you have four arms or didn't send your husband out of the kitchen for being annoying, you're not going to get all the goo out of the bowl and into the pan. Just let it go and move on.

PINK marshmallow fluff

With damp fingers, press the mixture evenly into the pan. Please note the words "damp fingers." Trust me on this.

Going in the pan

Pat, pat, pat

Kitchen supervisor

The marshmallows need to stay in their 9x13 home at room temperature for at least 4 hours, and longer if it is humid (in my case, it wasn't, but I let mine sit for close to 8 hours before cutting them, partly because I wanted to make sure they were dry enough to cut and partly because I forgot them until my husband asked me how long until they would be ready to eat).

Gently loosen the marshmallow from the edges of the pan and turn onto a cutting board that has been generously sprinkled with powdered sugar. LISTEN TO ME ON THIS and verrrrrrry gently lift the marshmallow from the pan and flip it onto its tummy onto the prepared cutting board. VERY carefully. If you don't want to believe me, then do it your way, but when you are trying to clean powdered sugar from all the surfaces within six feet of the cutting board, you will wish you had listened to me. 

Poof!

Use a sharp knife (or a pizza cutter, which is even better) to cut the giant marshmallow pillow into squares. You might need to dip the blade in powdered sugar to prevent it from sticking, but that was one problem I DIDN'T have in this process. Dip the cut edges in powdered sugar.

Yes, I cut them crooked. They are ARTISAN.

MARSHYMALLOWSSSS!!!

The marshmallows can be layered between sheets of wax paper in an airtight container and stored for up to one month. But you won't have to worry too much about storage. These marshmallows are so smooth and creamy, you will have eaten them all long before a month is up!

Pain in the ass recipe? Yes. Worth it? Completely!