Friday, February 26, 2010

Marshmallows: The Basic Recipe


I've been playing around tons with this basic marshmallow recipe, adding coloring, cutting and piping it into different shapes...basically having loads of fun when I should probably be cleaning my house or shoveling snow.

I'm finding it's incredibly versatile, hence these treats for Mateo's 2nd birthday. The 'fluff' was softer than usual after the long beating, so I quickly scooped it into a piping bag and pipped out dozens of 'M's and '2's instead of patting the marshmallow mix into a pan.
A dusting of powdered sugar finishes them off.


Aren't they cute? Shh, he hasn't seen them yet.
I hope there are some left for his birthday.

I wanted to share this recipe with you without delay, so you can start playing around and not miss out on any of the fun! It's one of the simplest I've seen. Enjoy!

(more photos and tips to come, but this recipe is all you need to get started)

Basic Vanilla Marshmallows
(from the French Laundry Cookbook by Thomas Keller)

3 envelopes of Knox gelatin
1/2 cup cold water
2 cups granulated sugar
2/3 cups corn syrup
1/4 cup water
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Line a 9x13 pan with plastic wrap and lightly grease all over with vegetable oil.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, sprinkle gelatin over 1/2 cup cold water. Soak for 10 minutes.

Combine sugar, corn syrup, and 1/4 cup water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and boil hard for 1 minute.

Pour boiling syrup into gelatin and mix at high speed. Add the salt and beat for 12 minutes. Add vanilla and incorporate into mixture.

Scrape into a 9 x 15-inch pan and spread as evenly as you can.

Cover marshmallow mixture with another piece of oiled plastic wrap and press mixture into the pan. 

Let mixture sit for a few hours or overnight.

Remove from pan, dredge the marshmallow slab with confectioners' sugar and cut into 12-20 equal pieces with scissors or a chef's knife.

Dredge each piece of marshmallow in confectioners' sugar. Enjoy!

16 comments:

Annelle Williams said...

These look adorable! Your little one? ones? are going to love them!

Destri said...

oh my...so cute...really, so very cute.

Jan (Family Bites) said...

This is the exact recipe I used. We've really enjoyed this a lot!

Melissa said...

So will you be piping Peeps for Easter? What a wonderful birthday treat for your little guy.

Mrs. P said...

so cute!

Barbara said...

What a darling idea! Your kids will go nuts! Actually, it would be fun to do this for am adult party too!

Sook said...

Oh how cute!!

Jamie said...

I have only made marshmallows once and we ate them all before I could photograph them! These are super adorable!

Unknown said...

They look great!
Can't wait to try one today!

Anonymous said...

The cutest little marshmellows ever! Full of bad stuff, but I'm going to make them anyway for St. Patty's and Easter. Green with pistachios, or green raw sugar for St. Patty's Day and well too many options to name for Easter, but you can be sure chocolate will be drizzled about.

Amber said...

Too cool Aimee ;) I'm looking forward to giving these a shot!

Julie said...

How completely brilliant! love the idea of piping them out and not having to cut them! I'm totally doing something with this. Thanks for sharing!

Ingrid_3Bs said...

Very cool! I just recently made marshmallows too.

Happy Birthday to your little guy!
~ingrid

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the recipe I will have to try it with thew children in my Family childcare. Please add my e-mail address to get your blog. Susan steveac@bellsoputh.net

Family Meals and Cooking Tips said...

What a great idea. I never thought to make my own Marshmellows. The kids will love this - can't wait to try it.

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