Better than store bought…marshmallows
My favorite sweet from See’s Candies is a dark chocolate scotch mallow; a layer of caramel and a layer of marshmallow all enrobed in dark chocolate. It is divine. We’ve (Dexter and I) often wondered what it takes to make marshmallows. I knew it was possible but I just hadn’t gotten around to looking into it…until this past weekend.
It was a simple process in and of itself, as long as it was in the mixer. The tricky part came when it was time to move the sticky mass from the mixer bowl to the cookie sheet. It’s like working with really sticky caulk. The recipe said to line the sheet pan with oil brushed plastic wrap. That was a mistake because oil brushed plastic wrap doesn’t stick to the marshmallow but it doesn’t stay in the sheet pan either. Next time I’ll line the pan with oil brushed foil.
I know there are cooks who pride themselves on the professional appearance of their food, and if they don’t get it it right the first time, they toss it and try again. You should know by now…I am not that cook! In this case I did my best to wrangle that sweet blob into a rectangular shape but it was no use…it had a mind of it’s own.
Once it was reasonably contained and wrapped up tightly in it’s pan I parked it in the garage for the night…it’s cold and dry out there and quite safe for a defenseless pan of sweet delight. The next morning I cut squares of the marshmallow. Here the recipe indicated that scissors should be the tool of choice but I thought that sounded crazy, so I just used my biggest knife. Some squares got dusted with powdered sugar, some I clumsily coated in milk chocolate, and others were drowned in dark chocolate. My chocolate technique was as unprofessional as everything else and I was freaked out about the heat of the chocolate melting the marshmallows so I felt like I had to work fast. I ultimately used 2 skewers to pick up the marshmallow, drag it through the melted chocolate and then airlift it onto the sheet pan.
But here’s the thing…they are delicious and really didn’t take that much time or fuss…mostly they just freaked me out because I’ve never worked with anything like that before. But to eat them…oh! They are so fresh and fluffy…not dense and yet not feather light either. The flavor and texture are outstanding and I can’t wait to make them again for the holidays. I also want to try construct a homemade scotch mallow. I’ll post it when I do.
One note about the recipe. I don’t think I would attempt this without a stand mixer…12 minutes is a lot of mixing time and it really does get very big and even my KitchenAid was working hard.
Marshmallows Recipe
3 envelopes of Knox gelatin
1/2 cup cold water
2 cups granulated sugar
2/3 cups corn syrup
1/4 cup water
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Powdered sugar for dredging
In the bowl of an electric mixer, sprinkle gelatin over 1/2 cup cold water. Soak for 10 minutes. Combine sugar, corn syrup, and 1/4 cup water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and boil hard for 1 minute. Pour boiling syrup into gelatin and mix at high speed. Add the salt and beat for 12 minutes. Add vanilla and incorporate into mixture. Brush your spatula with oil and scrape the mixture onto a sheet pan lined with foil brushed with oil and spread evenly. Cover with another piece of foil brushed with oil.
Let mixture sit for a few hours. Remove from pan, dredge the marshmallow slab with confectioners’ sugar and cut into equal pieces with a chef’s knife. Dredge each piece of marshmallow in powdered sugar or dip in chocolate.
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15 Responses to “Better than store bought…marshmallows”
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Wow. I’ve always wanted to make Marshmallows. Store-bought ones don’t often have that wonderful fluffiness.
Covering them in chocolate here was a fantastic idea. Amazing.
I’ve been seeing homemade marshmallows pop up recently and I’m intrigued to try them out.
Your post is bookmarked.
Were you using the wisk or paddle attachment for the mixer?
Graeme, you should give them a try. Thanks for the comment.
Peter, let me know how it goes for you. I’m going to make the scotch mallows this weekend.
John, I used the whisk attachment.
Those look fantastic–good work! I’m sending myself the link so I can make them for the holidays. Thanks! (found you through Tastespotting)
looks great!
Homemade are delicious; I did these in culinary school, dipped them in chocolate and rolled them in graham cracker crumbs for an insanely good S’Mores style treat.
The only thing I didn’t like about whipping the boiling syrup into the gelatin….it stunk so bad my eyes watered but thankfully, that ebbs pretty quick!
I’ve made homemade marshmallows a few times and they always surprise me how easy they are to make. One batch I made with Earl Grey tea and they had a lovely perfume. I’m thinking of making peppermint marshmallows for holiday gifts and packaging them up with homemade chocolare-covered graham crackers as a kind of deconstructed s’more.
If you dip your marshmallows in chocolate, I recommend freezing the marshmallows first, that way the chocolate doesn’t melt them. Take out only a few frozen marshmallows at a time, that way they stay cold while the others are being dipped.
Incidentally, the Scotchmallow is one of my favorites, too. I’m trying to figure out a way to make them myself….
I love homemade marshmallows! I’ve made them quite a few times, and I tell everyone I know that they should definitely give it a try, since they’re so simple to make.
Also, I love see’s scotchmallows. I’m making scotchmallow cookie bars as part of a Christmas cookie basket gift I’m making for my family. hehe..
Homemade marshmallows sound like fun. The chocolate scotch mallows look good.
I’ve only ever made marshmallows with egg whites, I think I need to give it a try this way. Both ways result in a sticky mess!
I just had to tell you I saw this recipe here a few days ago and it’s been bugging me ever since. So this morning I just had to make them and they are so easy and fun and delicious! Thanks so much for the recipe!
I surfed in via a Google search… I tried making marshmallows 3 separate times, and each time it resulted quickly in a disgustingly sticky taffy-like mess that was NOT a light, fluffy marshmallow. (More dense and chewy, still pretty good though).
Realized I was overheating the sugar mix! I tried it tonight with only boiling the sugar for one minute (as your recipe suggests), and it turned out PERFECTLY! Yay! I’m going to dip mine in chocolate as well.
Did you ever try scotch mallows? I did and couldn’t figure out how to keep the caramels and marshmallows together to dip in the chocolate. Any suggestions?
Cocodoug, no…I ODed on sugar after eating too many marshmallows…do you think it would work to freeze the marshmallows and then pour on the caramel and send it all back to the freezer? Maybe they could be cut when they were only partially thawed? Let me know if you give it go.