Homemade Marshmallows - Feingold Stage 1

Note:  You will need the following:  Candy thermometer & Kitchen Aid Mixer (optional, but really helpful), or a hand held electric mixer.  Most store bought marshmallows have blue dye.  My kids love making these.  They do have lots of sugar though obviously. I've heard you can use the marshmallow mixture (when it's like fluff) to make rice krispy treats with (before you pour into the pan and let them set) but I have not tried it. I tried using them after I made them into marshmallows and it didn't work for some reason.

2 TB Knox unflavored gelatin (2 envelopes) 

½ cup cold water

2 cups sugar (I use organic from Costco or use any cane sugar)

1 cup hot water

pinch of salt

2 tsp vanilla (watch for corn syrup and gluten if you are GF)       

Powdered sugar for rolling 

1. In a Kitchen Aid mixer, combine gelatin (2 envelopes) and cold water (1/2 cup) and let sit. 

2. In a small saucepan, combine 2 cups of sugar and 1 cup of hot water.  Stir till blended and then do not stir anymore.  Boil to a soft ball stage (236-238 degrees).  This takes about 15 minutes or so, depending on how high you have your stove.  Use a candy thermometer to check the temperature.  Once it gets close to the 236 degrees, watch it carefully, because it will rise in temp very quickly and could burn.  It will turn a little brownish yellow.  That's OK.  When you beat it, it turns white again. 

3. Add the sugar and hot water mixture to your Kitchen Aid mixer with the gelatin.  Then add a pinch of salt.  Beat this together until thicker and white.  Will look like marshmallow fluff.  Takes about 10-15 minutes or so.   If you don't have a Kitchen Aide, you'll have to hold your electric mixer for a while. 

4.  Add 2 teaspoons of vanilla.  Beat into the mixture. 

5.  Pour into an 8”x8” pan with parchment paper that has been greased generously (I use coconut oil).  You can also dust the pan with powdered sugar. I dust the top with powdered sugar about 10 minutes after pouring into a pan. Allow to sit until stiff enough to hold its own shape.  Some recipes call for letting them dry out for several hours or even overnight before cutting, but we usually can’t wait that long.  At least a couple hours is good.

6.  Cut into squares or if you want to cut out shapes, use cookie cutters instead of cutting the marshmallows in rows. You can oil a sharp knife before cutting to make cutting easier.  Some people use a pizza cutter. You can lift the parchment paper out of the pan and place on a cutting board. Put some powdered sugar in a bowl and have kids roll around the marshmallows to coat. Store in a zip lock bag or tupperware. Try to leave as little air in your storage container as you can (use a container just big enough to hold what you are storing.)

7.  If you are using for roasting, add an extra envelope of gelatin to the recipe.  These work OK for roasting, but they get really goopy quick and may fall off into the fire.  My kids don't mind though.  They're just quick about it. We also use Dandie's brand marshmallows from Whole Foods for roasting. Those work well too but they contain soy. Elyon are also approved but contain corn syrup. 

The tops of these will get a little crunchy after the first day, but they still taste good.

I make these for Christmas. We use in hot chocolate (though they melt quickly), and I put them in a little baggy in their stockings and tell them it's snowman poop.  :)  They think it's funny.  

You could also make them for Easter as "Peeps" by coating with some India Tree sugar crystals from Whole Foods but we haven't tried that yet.  

Our next experiment will be adding 1/2 tsp of peppermint extract to make them peppermint flavored. You would still add 2 teaspoons of vanilla, just also add another 1/2 tsp of peppermint extract. These would be good in hot chocolate. You could also drizzle some chocolate on top of them or cover them in chocolate and then top with some crushed up candy canes. I get them at Whole Foods around Christmas time (TruJoy brand).  

We've also added 1/3 cup of strawberry puree to the gelatin and water mixture. (To make strawberry puree, I put about 1 cup of fresh strawberries into my food processor and chopped them up, along with about a tablespoon of sugar and a teaspoon of lemon juice. Puree until smooth.)  

We've also added about 1/4 cup of cherry juice from a jar of marachino cherries (Tillen Farms from Whole Foods) to the gelatin/water mixture, then also added a few cherries chopped up into the marshmallow mix right before pouring into the pan. These are really good if you cover in chocolate too! 

The possibilities are endless! :) 

For chocolate covered marshmallows, melt one cup of chocolate chips (Enjoy Life for dairy free or Ghiradelli) with 1 TB of shortening (Spectrum or I use Tropical Traditions Palm Oil Shortening - order online from them). Allow chocolate to cool slightly, then dip and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment or wax paper. Place in the fridge to set. Store in fridge. They melt at room temperature. You don't need to dip your marshmallows in powdered sugar if you will be dipping them in chocolate.

I got some googly eyes from the craft section at Wal-Mart and then we used Surf Sweet jelly beans to decorate for Easter. My kids will each get a chocolate covered marshmallow bunny for Easter this year. 

If you are stage one, you could make some vanilla frosting, then use a thin frosting tip to draw on a nose, mouth, ears, etc. You could also use some pink India Tree sugar crystals on top of the frosting to make it pink. 

Feingold Stage 1 (the jelly beans would make it stage two)

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