Peppermint + Vanilla Marshmallows

You should probably listen to this song right now. 🙂

Marshmallows and cold weather go hand in hand like watermelon and popsicles in the summertime. Whether in my morning coffee or in the kid’s hot cocoa at night, everyone in this house loves their mallows. We used them for potty-training Stella and you bet I am going to be doing the same with Theodore here in a few weeks! Wish me luck, moms. Anyway, I have been wanting to make marshmallows from scratch for a few years now, but like a lot of things from the world of sweets and baking I was a wee bit intimated. Let me tell you what. This simple recipe, a happy blend of a few, took about ten minutes to make before letting them set. It’s practically fool-proof as long as you can measure and is fun to include little ones in on too. Stella helped me with these and together we had fun cutting shapes and dusting our kitchen with powdered sugar. And I can’t leave out that making marshmallows gave me an excuse to say “mallow” a weird amount of times for my own amusement yesterday. Malloooow! I dare you not to say it more than once while you’re making them – it’s one of my favorite words.

Ingredients: 

  • coconut oil cooking spray
  • confectioners’ sugar for coating pan and marshmallows, you’ll need about a cup-ish
  • 2 (1/4-oz) envelopes powdered unflavored gelatin
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 2/3 cup light corn syrup
  • 1/8 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1 drop of peppermint essential oil – I used this one
  • 1 teaspoons pure vanilla

 

 

To prepare, follow these steps: 

  • Gather your ingredients and start by spraying a standard 9Ă—13-inch baking pan, or any other shallow baking dish, with nonstick cooking spray. I like the flavor coconut oil gives this recipe. Then use a sieve to dust the pan with confectioners’ sugar to prevent the marshmallow goo from sticking.
  • Pour 1/3 cup water in a large bowl and add the 2 envelopes of gelatin. Stir it around a little bit so all the gelatin is soaked up with the water and let this mixture soften while you make the sugar syrup on the stove.
  • In a saucepan, combine the corn syrup, granulated sugar, sea salt, and 1/3 cup water. Bring this mixture to a boil, stirring the whole time. This should take a minute or so and the sugar will dissolve. Once dissolved, continue boiling without stirring for 1 minute and then remove the saucepan from the heat. Let this let stand while you gather the mixing bowl and mixer.

  • You can use a standing mixer or a handheld one, but you’ll need something with whipping power for this. An ol’ man-powered egg beater will not do. With the mixer speed on low, pour the hot sugar syrup into the gelatin water mixture very slowly. Gradually increase the mixer speed to as high as it will go and beat for approximately 5 minutes. You will be looking for thick, white ribbons to fold into one another when the whisk is lifted into the air. Next, add 1-2 drops of peppermint essential oil and your pure vanilla extract and mix well. If you add one drop you’ll get a hint, but with two you will absolutely taste the mint. I prefer one drop myself.

  • Scrape all the marshmallow fluff into the prepared pan and shake it a bit so it evens out. Let hang out uncovered at room temperature until the surface of the marshmallow square is no longer sticky. At this point you’ll be able to gently pull the marshmallow away from the sides of the pan. I found that it’s best to leave it alone for about 6-8 hours if you plan on cutting them in fun shapes, otherwise 4 hours should be just fine.

  • Once set, dust confectioners’ sugar all over your kitchen island or countertops. Loosen the marshmallow from the baking pan using a wooden spoon or rubber spatula and flip it over onto the sugar-dusted surface. Next generously dust the top with confectioners’ sugar as well and have fun cutting them into shapes using cookie cutters. Plop into hot cocoa or eat after supper for a sweet treat!

  • Make sure to \preserve your mallows in waxed paper inside a airtight container. They will keep like this for a month or so in either the fridge or in a cool place. Make sure to keep them covered or they will dry out.

For the curious, here are some sources:

After making these and finding out just how simple they are, I think one could really go nuts and try new flavors and fun color combos if you wanted to. Crushed candy cane or a little cocoa powder would be a nice addition, or maybe some Christmasy red and green food coloring if you’re throwing a holiday party. I hope you give these a try and have fun with all that sugar!

 

  • Jennifer - I needed this recipe. I don’t like buying the jet puff marshmallows. The only other time I found good marshmallows was at Trader Joes years ago. Thank you for this recipe!ReplyCancel

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