Homemade Marshmallows

• You don’t need a candy thermometer. Just observe keenly, and you will know when to pull the sugar syrup off the stove.
• All you need is sugar, corn syrup, water, vanilla extract and gelatin (and in this recipe, honey). I don’t know why I assumed it had egg whites! That deterred me.
• Making marshmallows is quite messy. Your clothes are bound to get the marshmallow goo on it, and the only way (best way) to combat that is to lick it off!

• Have a pair of kitchen shears as well as a knife handy for cutting the marshmallows. The knife is good to make smooth, even vertical sections, and the shears for cutting them further into cubes. Make sure they’re always greased.
• Use parchment paper. The marshmallow is still going to stick, but quick jerks will help remove the paper off it
• Keep dusting the marshmallow with icing sugar.
• Make sure the gelatin is thoroughly dissolved in the water. You don’t want to bite into a blob of it.
• Let the marshmallow set for a good 24 hours. I let mine rest in the refrigerator for 8 hours before I cut it. It firmed up real well.

1. Line a 9×13-inch baking dish with parchment paper, allowing the paper to overhang the ends by about 1 inch. Evenly coat the paper with nonstick spray.
2. In a small bowl, sprinkle the gelatin over the ½ cup cold water. Let stand, stirring once or twice, until the gelatin softens, about 6 minutes.
3. In a heavy 3- to 4-quart saucepan over medium-high heat, stir together the granulated sugar, corn syrup, honey, salt and the remaining 3 tablespoons warm water until well blended. When the sugar dissolves (OBSERVE!), raise the heat and bring the mixture to a full boil, stirring. Boil for 20 seconds. Stir in the gelatin mixture, vanilla extract, and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds longer. Remove from the heat and continue stirring until the gelatin completely dissolves.
4. Pour the mixture into a large bowl. Using a mixer with a whisk-shaped attachment, and gradually raising the mixer speed from low to high, beat until the mixture is stiffened, lightened and very fluffy, 5 to 7 minutes. (such fun to watch!)
5. Coat a rubber spatula with nonstick spray, and use it to scrape out the marshmallow mixture into the baking dish, spreading it evenly to the edges. Most of it will even out, but you might need to use an offset spatula to smoothen the top. Let the mixture cool and refrigerate to firm up for about 24 hours. (The mixture becomes firmer and easier to handle when left for the full 24 hours.)
6. To cut the marshmallows: Sift about one third of the powdered sugar onto a cutting board. Lift the marshmallow slab out of the dish and invert the slab onto the powdered sugar and peel off the sheet of parchment paper. Sift about a third of the remaining powdered sugar over the top of the slab. Using a lightly greased large sharp knife, cut the slab crosswise into 12ths and lengthwise and then with kitchen shears into 8ths to form 1-inch marshmallow cubes. Dust all the cut surfaces with powdered sugar to reduce their stickiness.
7. The marshmallows will keep, stored loosely packed in an airtight container (with wax paper between the layers) in the refrigerator for upto 2 weeks. Let come to room temperature before serving.

Tagged as: confectionery, savory