Marshmallows

Having one of those "oh crap"  moments. I just realized that this weekend is really the last weekend I can do major Christmas food activity. I suspect that next weekend will entirely revolve around ballet, as the Bitty One has a Nutcracker performance Saturday. The following weekend the kids will be with their dad, and won’t be back until New Year’s Day.

So, the confectionery fun begins. I've been gradually experimenting with candy making over the last few years, so we’re going big this year. We started with marshmallows. Not just because they're easy, but because it would allow me to figure out gelatin as well as candy temperatures. Oh, and they're amazing.  I say marshmallows and most people say “eh” That’s because you've never made them yourself. Just try it.

Temperature reduction and cooling time were the only changes I made to the original recipe. I suggest the boiling water test to see what your reduction should be. To do this, heat a small pan of water to boiling. As it begins to boil, check the temperature with your candy thermometer. Mine reads 202F. So I subtracted 10 degrees from the usual 234-240F it takes to make it to soft-ball stage. 

Marshmallows

Ingredients:

1 c cold water, divided

3 env (3Tbsp) plain gelatin

2 c sugar

¾ c light corn syrup

¼ tsp salt

1 ½ tsp vanilla

1 box powdered sugar

Directions:

Line a 9x13 pan with foil and grease very well with shortening.

Put ½ c water into the mixer bowl. Add gelatin.

Combine sugar, corn syrup, salt, and ½ c cold water in a saucepan over medium heat. Boil covered for 3 min. Uncover and cook to 240F (230F). Remove from heat. Turn on the mixer to 6.

Add sugar mixture to gelatin. Turn mixer to high and beat until white, lukewarm and whipped (10-15 min). Add vanilla. Pour into 9x13 pan. Let stand uncovered for 12 hours (3 hours).

Sift powdered sugar over your work surface. Invert marshmallow over the powdered sugar so the slab of marshmallow is upside down on top of the sugar. Peel away foil. Cover the bottom (now the top) of the marshmallow slab in powdered sugar. Cut into 1” cubes. I recommend using a pizza cutter to cut the slab of marshmallow. It's much easier than a knife. Coat sides with powdered sugar to keep them from sticking together. Store in an air-tight container and they'll be good for a couple of weeks at room temperature.

Notes:

Awesome. Papa was pretty lukewarm about the idea of homemade marshmallows. After he tried them, I had to make a double batch so they’d last more than 2 days.