Peppermint Marshmallows Recipe

Peppermint Marshmallows Recipe

You might have already guessed that homemade marshmallows are far superior than the commercially produced examples you find at the grocery store. What you may not know is that marshmallows from scratch are super easy and anyone can make them.

You’ll Need:

• candy thermometer
• Nonstick cooking spray
• Foil
• 9″ x 9″ baking pan
• Small pot with lid
• Toothpicks

Marshmallow Ingredients:

• 3 packets of unflavored gelatin (or gelatine)
• 1 1/2 cups of granulated sugar
• 1 cup light corn syrup (like Karo)
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. peppermint extract (or to your taste)
• 1 cup cold water
• Red food coloring

Marshmallow Dusting Powder & Topping Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• Broken candy cane pieces or other peppermint candy

Directions:

1. Add gelatin packets and 1/2 cup of the water into a large mixing bowl. Set it aside for now.
2. In a small pot add the granulated sugar, corn syrup, salt, and 1/2 cup of cold water and stir ingredients together. Place a lid onto the saucepan and set it on a burner.
3. Turn the burner to a medium high setting and allow it to simmer for about four minutes.
4. Remove the lid and hook the candy thermometer onto the side of the pot. Let the sugar mixture bubble another six minutes or so until the thermometer reaches 240 degrees F.
5. If you’re using a stand mixer, add the whisk attachment now. Once the sugar mixture on the stove reaches 240 degrees, bring the pot to the mixer and pour some of the hot sugar mixture slowly into the mixing bowl with the gelatin and water. You don’t want this liquid splashing up and hitting you — it’s extremely hot.
6. Whisk the hot sugar mixture into the gelatin and water mixture on low speed, pouring the sugar mixture a bit at a time into the bowel.
7. Once everything is blended nicely together, turn up the mixer speed to the highest setting for about ten to fifteen minutes.
8. While the blender is running, prepare the baking pan and dusting powder. On a small bowl, combine the powdered sugar and cornstarch, mix together and set aside for now. Line the 9″ x 9″ pan with foil, pressing it flat against the pan’s bottom and sides. Spray a light coating of cooking spray onto the sides and the bottom of the foil. Take a handful of the dusting powder and sprinkle the bottom and side of the pan. Set aside for now.
9. Once the whisked ingredients look white, shiny, and sticky — whisk in the peppermint extract.
10. Pour the marshmallow fluff from the mixer into the prepared pan. If you have a baking spatula, it will really clean up the sides of the bowl as you pour.
11. Take the red food coloring and dot the marshmallow mixture all over. Using a toothpick, gently swirl the color throughout the white fluff until you’re happy with the amount of red.
12. Generously sprinkle more dusting powder all over the top of the marshmallow.
13. Let the marshmallow mixture sit uncovered for at least six ours or overnight to set up.
14. Once it’s set, turn the pan over (or lift the foil out of the pan) onto a cutting board that has been sprinkled heavily with the the dusting powder. Cut out individual marshmallow squares with a large knife.
15. Roll all of the freshly cut sides into dusting powder.
16. Take several broken candy pieces and press them into the top of the marshmallows as sweet embellishments.
17. Now eat them, drop them into your hot chocolate cup, package them up as gifts, or store them in an airtight container for later.

Traditional Marshmallow Recipe

If you’d like to skip the peppermint flavor altogether, a couple of simple swap-outs will do the trick.

• Replace the peppermint extract with 1 TBSP vanilla extract
• Skip the red food coloring & broken candy pieces

And you have plain, old-fashioned marshmallows!

Source homesteading.about.com