I always thought making homemade marshmallows was too complicated. It looked daunting, but it is actually quite simple to make, although a little time consuming. These marshmallows taste so much better than store bought and are perfect in a mug of hot cocoa.
The history of marshmallows is quite fascinating!! In Ancient Egypt, marshmallow root was boiled in honey and used for sore throats and coughs. In the late 1800’s marshmallow root sap was boiled with sugar, water and egg whites and then poured into a bar and sold as lozenges. Later in the 1800’s the root sap was replaced with gelatin, which was much more stable, creating a marshmallow that was soft and squishy. In the mid-1950’s marshmallows were pressed through a tube to create the shape we are familiar with today. Who knew sugary marshmallows originated from the marshmallow root!?!
Let’s get started!
Line a 9×13 pan with parchment and lightly grease. Set aside.
Whisk 1/2 cup icing sugar and cornstarch. Set aside. This will be sprinkled on the marshmallows later.
Pour 1/2 cup water into electric mixer bowl. Sprinkle gelatin and let bloom for 10 minutes.
Combine remaining water and corn syrup in a pot. Add sugar and salt. Bring to a boil.
Cook until sugar has dissolved and mixture reaches 240F, about 8 to 10 minutes. It took about 6 minutes.
I never measure temperature, I just go to softball stage — when a bit of syrup is dropped into ice water, it’ll go into a ball. Once you pick that sugar ball up, it should be soft and pliable and roll into a ball easily. If it breaks, it’s been cooked too much.
Turn mixer on low and slowly pour hot syrup in. Gradually increase speed and mix until thick, white and glossy, about 10 minutes. Scrape down sides if needed. The marshmallow should fall in ribbons – that’s how you’ll know it’s ready!
Scrape marshmallow into pan quickly because it will set fast.
Smooth the top of the marshmallow.
Sift half the icing sugar-cornstarch over top. Cover and let sit overnight on the counter. We just sprinkled some of the icing sugar-cornstarch mixture on top and let it sit on the counter, uncovered for 6 hours.
Flip marshmallow out and remove parchment. Sift remaining icing sugar-cornstarch over top. I did not realize how fun it is to make marshmallows!
Time to slice!! We cut the edges off (and ate those!!) so the marshmallows have nice, square edges.
Grease knife and cut. Or grease cookie cutter and cut into shapes.
We are just going to cut the marshmallows into squares, triangles and rectangles. It’s so fluffy!
I am so pleased with how well the marshmallows turned out! They’re so soft and taste so good!
Toss marshmallows in the leftover icing sugar-cornstarch mixture.
Store in airtight container so the marshmallows don’t dry out. This casserole dish didn’t work that well, but we ate most of them so it was ok. And when the marshmallows were a bit dry, we tossed them into hot chocolate!!
Homemade marshmallows taste so much better in homemade hot chocolate — they’re so yummy! And it’d be easy enough to flavor them differently too!
Homemade Marshmallows
1 cup icing sugar
1/3 cup cornstarch
1 cup cold water
2-1/2 tbsp unflavoured gelatin
2/3 cup white corn syrup
2 cups sugar
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla
Line a 9×13 pan with parchment and lightly grease.
Whisk 1/2 cup icing sugar and cornstarch. Set aside.
Pour 1/2 cup water into electric mixer bowl. Sprinkle gelatin and let bloom for 10 minutes.
Combine remaining water and corn syrup in a pot. Add sugar and salt. Bring to a boil. Cook until sugar has dissolved and mixture reaches 240F, about 8 to 10 minutes.
Turn mixer on low and slowly pour hot syrup in. Gradually increase speed and mix until thick, white and glossy, about 10 minutes. Scrape down sides if needed.
Scrape marshmallow into pan quickly because it will set fast. Sift half the icing sugar-cornstarch over top. Cover and let sit overnight on the counter.
Flip marshmallow out and remove parchment. Sift remaining icing sugar-cornstarch over top.
Grease knife and cut. Or grease cookie cutter and cut into shapes. Toss marshmallows in icing sugar-cornstarch. Store in airtight container.
enjoy from Our City Homestead to yours