marshmallows!

fluffy marshmallow cubes

can you go camping without smores? i don’t want to ever find out the answer to that question. as are blueberries, peaches, and tomatoes, smores are at their peak in season right now. i shall take full advantage of this. that being said, since i abstain from corn syrup, marshmallows in the non-corn sense are rare. in fact, i’ve never seen a bag of marshmallows that do not contain corn syrup.

time to make my own.

i found this recipe online, and it was very, very helpful.

this was way easier than i thought. in fact, i screwed up the candy stage and still managed to fix it. this is, however, one of those recipes where you will have to pay close attention for the entire 40 minutes… or in my case, have regis and kelly on in the background while the sugar boils, but try to keep an eye on it. at least set a timer!

these are quite delicious. fluffy, sticky, you know. it’s marshmallows! can you add food coloring for festive purposes? yes! can you use the unset fluff as a frosting for cake? i encourage it. can you dip a spoon into the fluff and eat it with your coffee? again, i encourage it.

spreading the fluff

marshmallows!

3/4 cup water

2 cups sugar

2 tbsp gelatin

1/2 cup cold water

1/8 tsp salt

1 tbsp vanilla extract

butter and powdered sugar for prepping pan

method: dissolve gelatin and 1/2 cup cold water in mixer bowl with whisk attachment while you begin other stages.

prep 8×8 baking dish or pan by buttering it and the sides. stick a piece of wax paper at the bottom with edges hanging over the sides for easy removal later. butter wax paper and sides of pan again, and dust with powdered sugar.

bring 3/4 cup to slow boil. stir in sugar, and whisk until sugar is dissolved and mixture is bubbling. continue cooking on medium heat for 15 minutes or so, whisking 3 or 4 times to ensure even heating.

pour mixture over gelatin with mixer running. mix for 20-30 minutes, until cool and fluffy. you’ll see. the magic will happen.

using a rubber spatula, pour fluff into prepped baking dish and flatten. be careful that stray hard sugar bits don’t make their way into your marshmallow. i pressed plastic wrap on top to flatten and let them set up that way. place in freezer.

remove from freezer when set (10 hours or so). remove using wax paper to lift out of pan. slice with large knife, or get crazy with cookie cutters.

i’m smoring these next weekend with a schmear of nutella and homemade crackers. other than that, they are good dropped into a cup of coffee or eaten alone in a kitchen for therapeutic reasons.