No Corn Syrup Marshmallows and Marshmallow Topping

I found this recipe on food.com. Why make homemade marshmallows? Well I flipped the bag over on store ones and the ingredients list is as follows: Corn Syrup, Sugar, Modified Food Starch (corn), Dextrose, water, Gelatin, natural and artificial flavor, Tetrasodium Pyrophosphate, blue 1. Did some of them make you go huh and gross? Yea, now read what is in my super yummy homemade ones KID RATED delish!

Difficulty: Easy

Servings: 36

Prep Time: 5 minutes   Cook Time: 15 minutes  

Ingredients

2 Tbl gelatin (knox unflavored)

1/3 Cup cold water for the gelatin

2 Cups sugar

1/2 Cup cold water

1/4 tsp salt

2 tsp vanilla

1/4 Cup powdered sugar

Directions

First, pour the gelatin in 1/3 cup of cold water. Stir and put aside to let it set.

Take a 8×8 baking dish, or one close to that size and spray it down with cooking spray or butter. Then pour powdered sugar in the dish and dust it with the sugar.

Then add the sugar and the 1/2 cup of cold water in a pot. Dissolve the sugar over medium heat.

Once it is dissolved, add the solidified gelatin. Let the gelatin dissolve in the sugar. Let the mixture come to a boil.

Once it boils, remove from heat and pour into a mixing bowl. I poured it into my stand mixer bowl. Let it cool down a bit. I let it sit for about 15 minutes.

Then, add the vanilla and salt to the bowl.

Beat with an electric mixer until soft and double in volume.

About 10-15 minutes.

The mixture will turn white in color, and will thicken up. It should have doubled in size as well. This is now what we in the US call “Fluff”.

To make solid marshmallows, pour it in the dish, cover it, and place in a cool place for a couple of hours or overnight to set.

Set to cool until it will not stick to your finger. Cut into 1.5 inch pieces and roll in powdered sugar.

Variation: other flavorings can be substituted for vanilla extract. Of course if you just want to keep the marshmallow as “Fluff”, just store it in a sealed container at room temperature. One cup of the marshmallow takes 25 seconds to come out of the solid stage.

Cutting and Storing Marshmallows

When the marshmallows are ready to be cut, dust a cutting board with confectioners’ sugar then use a rubber spatula to pull the marshmallows away from the pan and invert them on to the cutting board. If they stick to the pan, carefully slip a spatula underneath the marshmallows to loosen them. Once they’re turned over on the cutting board, dust the unmolded marshmallows with more confectioners’ sugar.

When cutting marshmallows, a long thin knife, such as a 6-inch utility knife, makes the process effortless, but a chef’s knife also works. To prevent sticking, dust it with confectioners’ sugar—continue dusting the knife with confectioners’ sugar in between cuts as needed. Once the squares are cut, coat them in additional confectioners’ sugar, shaking off any excess.

Store homemade marshmallows, layered between sheets of wax or parchment paper, in an airtight container. If kept in a dry place at cool room temperature, they should keep for about a month.

Categories: Appetizers & Snacks, Beverages, Candy, Desserts, Ingredients & Mixes, Kid-Friendly, Other Condiments

Submitted by: citalk2much on December 14, 2013