I made marshmallows back in the fall for a camping trip I was going on with friends. They were so amazingly yummy. Everyone loved them, and was asking me about them when I went home for Thanksgiving. Sadly I didn’t have any then. I knew I would have to make them for Christmas.

The first batch I made I put in peppermint extract, instead of vanilla, I also swirled them with food coloring and cut them with cookie cutters. I’m glad I only did one batch like that. I felt the 2 Tablespoons of peppermint was incredibly overpowering. So when I packaged those up to give to my coworkers, I only put 1 peppermint marshmallow in the goodie bags, and filled the rest with plain marshmallows. When I was making the plain marshmallows I decided to seek out a different marshmallow recipe to see if there was one I liked better. I’m really glad I did, because I found this recipe. I ended up sort of using a combination of the previous recipe, and this one, and I think I’ve found a keeper! I ended up making 3 batches of the plain ones! These are just oh, so good. They truly melt in your mouth.

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Marshmallows II

adapted from Slashfood & RecipeZaar

Ingredients:

.75-oz unflavored gelatin (3 envelopes of Knox gelatin)
1/2 cup cold water
2 cups granulated sugar
2/3 cups light corn syrup
1/4 cup water
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Directions:

Line 13 x 9-inch pan with plastic wrap and lightly oil it. Set aside.

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

Meanwhile, combine sugar, corn syrup and 1/4 cup water in a small saucepan over low heat until sugar has dissolved. Clip on candy thermometer and bring temperature to high. Cook syrup WITHOUT STIRRING until temperature reaches 244° (firm ball stage).

Immediately remove pan from heat. Using whisk attachment, turn mixer onto low, slowly pour the boiling mixture into the softened gelatin. Add salt, and turn mixer onto high; beat until mixture is very thick and white and has almost tripled in volume, about 12-15 minutes. Add in vanilla and beat until incorporated.

Using a lightly greased spatula (this part is very helpful!), pour the marshmallow into the prepared pan, and spread evenly. Take another piece of lightly oiled plastic wrap and press lightly on top of the marshmallow, creating a seal. Let mixture sit for a few hours, or overnight, until cooled and firmly set.

When you're ready to cut the marshmallow, on a smooth work surface (I used newspapers), flip the marshmallow pan over (so the plastic that was on top, is now on the bottom). Peel off the top layer of plastic. Grease a pizza cutter and cut marshmallows into squares. In a bowl combine equal parts cornstarch & powdered sugar. Toss the marshmallows in the mixture, and dust off excess powder. Eat & enjoy alone, or in s'mores or with hot cocoa!