How to Make Homemade Marshmallows

It’s that special time of year when we totally throw all caution (AKA diets) to the wind and

embrace the sugar-laden season before us.  Thinking beyond the cookie jar, if you really want to impress your holiday guests, what could be more perfect than creating homemade marshmallows?  This recipe is perfect for creating light, fluffy cubes of sugary goodness that melts into the perfect sweet foam on top of hot chocolate.

Homemade Marshmallow Recipe

To get started, you’ll need:

• About 3 tbsp coconut oil (we recommend coconut oil for its health benefits, however any of your favorite light oils will work)
• 1 ½ cups powdered (confectioner’s) sugar
• 3 – .25 oz packets of unflavored gelatin
• 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
• 1 egg white
• 1 cup light corn syrup
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract

Using a pastry brush, coat the sides and bottom of a 9 x 13 inch cake pan with the coconut oil.

Once fully coated, sprinkle about ½ cup powdered sugar into the pan and shake until all sides and bottom are fully covered.  Shake out any extra and discard.  This will prevent your marshmallows from sticking to the pan.  Set aside.

Next, gently yet thoroughly mix your three packets of unflavored gelatin with ½ cup room temperature water in the bowl of a stand mixer.  You’ll want to use the whisk attachment for your mixer for this recipe, so now’s a good time to get that set up.  You feasibly could use a hand mixer for this recipe but it’s not recommended; you’d be holding it in place for quite a bit.

Pour your granulated sugar, ½ cup water, salt, and corn syrup into a pan and heat over medium high, mixing well.

Using a candy thermometer (a standard meat thermometer may be damaged by the high temperature), boil the mixture until it reaches a temperature of 240 degrees F.  Be cautious and patient; if your sugar mix doesn’t reach the optimal temperature the marshmallows may not set.  Once the mixture has reached the desired temperature remove from heat and allow it to sit for 1 minute.

Start your stand mix on low and slowly pour the hot sugar mixture into the bowl with the gelatin mixture.

Slowly increase the mixing speed to high and add in your egg white and vanilla.  Depending on mixer speed, you should see a light marshmallow foam form in about 5 to 10 minutes.

Pour the marshmallow mixture into the prepared baking pan, pouring around the pan to get thickness consistent.

Create a “tent” using toothpicks and cover with plastic wrap.  Your marshmallows will need at minimum 3 hours to set in the refrigerator, however, longer is recommended.

The best tool to use to cut your marshmallows into cubes is a pizza slicer.  Once set, dust the top with powdered sugar and run the pizza cutter through; you may need a small knife to free the ends and sides.  Prepare a medium sized bowl with about 1 cup of powdered sugar.  Gently pull out your cut marshmallows and individually toss in the bowl of powdered sugar until no longer sticky to handle.  Store the finished marshmallows in a sealable container.

Recipe Variations

Once you get the standard recipe down, adding in your own flavor variations is an absolute must!  Try one of these delicious add ins:

• Use a food processor to coarsely powder candy canes. Add the powder to the top of your marshmallows before refrigeration.
• Chop up chocolate chips in a food processor and add to the top of your marshmallows before refrigeration.
• Substitute the vanilla extract with almond or peppermint flavoring.
• In the final minutes of blending, add in a few tablespoons baking chocolate.

We hope this helps make your holiday table a bit jollier and your hot chocolate a little sweeter.  Be sure to post your marshmallow successes and variations on our Facebook page!

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