Easy Marshmallow Recipe

EASY MARSHMALLOWS
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Marshmallows are perhaps one of the simplest confections you can make. They only require a handful of
ingredients, a batch can be thrown together in 10-15 minutes (plus *cough* 3 hours for them to set),
and you can flavor them however you like. (You haven't LIVED until you've had coconut marshmallows!)

Hardware needed:

  * Stand mixer
  * Candy thermometer
  * 8x8 or 9x9 baking pan, 2" deep
  * Large knife
  * Colander
  * Three bowls

Ingredients:

  * 2 envelopes of unflavored gelatin
  * 1/4 cup cold water
  * 1 cup granulated sugar
  * 1/4 cup corn syrup
  * 1/8 tsp salt
  * 1/4 cup hot water
  * Powdered (confectioners) sugar

Optional:

  * food coloring
  * flavoring (see "Flavorings" at end of recipe)

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Stage ONE:
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Spray baking dish with cooking spray, and dust liberally with powdered sugar. Set aside.

Put 1/4 cup of cold water in the mixing bowl of a stand mixer. Add both gelatin packets and
stir slightly. If desired, add "thick" flavoring (see "Flavorings" at end of this recipe).
Set aside.

Put sugar, corn syrup, salt, and hot water in sauce pan and place over low heat, stirring
frequently with wooden spoon, until sugar dissolves. Increase heat to medium high and bring
to boil, without stirring. When temperature reaches 240F (use candy thermometer), remove from
heat, and immediately pour over gelatin mixture. Stir candy mixture and gelatin mixture until
gelatin mixture dissolves.

Beat slowly in mixer, then increase (gradually) to high speed. Beat until mixture expands
about 3x, and is thick and fluffy (usually about 3 minutes). Stop mixer. If desired, add
"thin" flavoring (see "Flavorings" at end of this recipe). Also, add food coloring at this
point, if desired. Mix until just combined.

Pour immediately into baking dish. Dust top (liberally) with more powdered sugar.

Refrigerate for at least 3 hours.

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Stage TWO:
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Remove chilled confection from refrigerator. Using a table knife, loosen edges of marshmallow
from pan, then upend over a cutting board. Using knife or fingers, pry marshmallow brick
carefully out of pan. (It's really not as hard as it sounds. If you used enough powdered sugar
to dust the pan it shouldn't be much of a fight to get the marshmallow out.)

Put about 1/4 cup of powdered sugar in a small bowl. Put colander in a second bowl. Get a third
bowl for storing the final product in.

Spray a large knife (the bigger the better, honestly) with cooking spray, and dust with powdered
sugar.

Using the knife, cut marshmallow brick into small cubes (2cm is about right for me). Roll each
cube in the powdered sugar, then place in the colander. Periodically shake the marshmallows in
the colander vigorously to remove excess powdered sugar, and transfer them to the third bowl.

When finished, store the marshmallows at room temperature in an air-tight container.

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FLAVORINGS
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Although the marshmallows are great "plain", you can do wonderful things with a bit of flavoring.
There are basically two types of flavorings here: "thick", and "thin" and each must be added at
a different point in the recipe (as indicated in the text of the recipe, above).

"Thick" flavorings:

  * OMG CHOCOLATE! Mix 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder with 1/8 cup of HOT water.

"Thin" flavorings:

  * Vanilla: add 1/4 tsp vanilla extract. (If you like a strong vanilla flavor, double that.)
  * Coconut: add 1/2 tsp coconut extract.
  * Mint: add 1/4 tsp mint extract (or less). A little bit goes a long way. Too much and you wind up
    with toothpaste flavored marshmallows.

I'll add more as I find combinations and amounts that work well. If you have a favorite flavor, let
me know and I'll add it here, too.

Enjoy!