I rarely say things as syrupy sweet as this, but I “big pink puffy heart” homemade marshmallows. They are just SO simple to make (as long as you don’t get all crazy and decide to cut them into heart shapes, but who would do that? Oh wait, that’s me). These homemade goodies are squishy & fluffy and oh-so yummy. I’ve made them twice before on my blog. The first time for s’mores for a camping trip, the second time for Christmas goodie bags. I used two different recipes in the past.
While both recipes produced yummy marshmallows, I thought I had declared #2 the winner. Then I got some insight from one of my best friends who got to try both varieties, she told me her opinion on the differences. My annoyance with the first recipe was that it called for the Knox gelatin in Tablespoons. I liked that the second recipe called for a number of packets. BUT… after more intense consideration Katie pointed out that the second recipe sort of melts in your mouth more so than the first recipe. Almost similar to divinity, except squishy. The first recipe seemed closer to mass produced marshmallows according to her. SO… when I got this CRAZY idea to make heart shaped marshmallows dipped in chocolate, I decided to try ANOTHER recipe. I turned to a trusted recipe source: MarthaStewart.com. *sigh* I never thought I’d jump on the Martha bandwagon, but her Cookie Book won me over. And, yet again, she did not fail me. I THINK…this recipe will be my final. Now, I haven’t gotten my marshmallow expert, Katie’s opinion yet (I’ve got to mail her marshmallows, let’s hope they survive), but I think this recipe combines the perfect texture of marshmallows. It’s squishy & soft, but not melt in your melt like divinity. This recipe also makes at least a 1/3 more than the previous recipe. My 13×9 pan was filled MUCH higher. SO, next time I make these I might pour it into two pans, or just do one again and keep them really thick! Another thing I liked about this recipe, is that the vanilla flavoring isn’t too overpowering. These don’t have a strong taste.
When cutting these into heart shapes, I actually cut through it, then cut that heart in half. It was insanely thick. This took FOREVER. Literally. I think from now on I’ll stick to using a pizza cutter, because it’s super fast. No more cookie cutters! Whew! After every cut I would wipe down the cutter & knife with a paper towel that had been dabbed in canola oil. Also, because I made 50+ marshmallows, the dipping took FOREVER as well. Yikes. Good thing The Boy was out of town this weekend, I had no desire or energy to cook on Sunday after doing all this.
I’ve taken Martha’s recipe, and arranged it in the way that works best for me, as well as added some tips I learned from my previous two recipes. Again, I STRONGLY suggest you only attempt this with a stand mixer. It requires beating for at least 12 minutes, and also beating while pouring in the boiling hot syrup.
Marshmallows:
4 envelopes unflavored gelatin (3 tablespoons plus 1 1/2 teaspoons)
3 cups granulated sugar
1 1/4 cups light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
confectioners sugar
cornstarch (optional, you can use just the confectioners sugar if you want)
For the Candy Coating and Decorating:
sticks
almond bark or candy coating
nonpareils of choice
squeeze bottle purchased at candy/cake decorating store
Directions:
Marshmallows:
Put 3/4 cup cold water into the bowl of an electric mixer; sprinkle with gelatin. Let soften at least 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, put granulated sugar, corn syrup, salt, and 3/4 cup water into a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring to dissolve sugar. Cook, without stirring, until mixture registers 238 degrees (soft ball stage) on a candy thermometer, about 9 minutes.
Attach bowl with gelatin to mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. With mixer on low speed, beat hot syrup into gelatin mixture. Gradually raise speed to high; beat until mixture is very stiff, about 12 minutes.
While mixer is beating take plastic wrap and line a 13x9 baking dish. Spray with non-stick spray.
Once the marshmallow has been mixing for 12 minutes, beat in vanilla. Pour into prepared dish, and smooth with an offset spatula. Take another sheet of plastic wrap, spray with non-stick spray, and flatten onto marshmallow (this is the only way I've ever been able to get the marshmallow completely flat). Set aside, until firm, about 3-4 hours, or overnight.
With wax paper or pastry mat underneath flip the pan over and remove it. Peel off what is now the top layer of plastic wrap. Use a long sharp knife, or pizza cutter (my preferred method), and gently wipe it with a paper towel dabbed in oil, or spray it with non-stick spray. Cut marshmallows into squares and toss in a bowl combined with equal amounts cornstarch & confectioners sugar. (I only add enough sugar & cornstarch as needed, as to not waste any. Then add more when necessary.) Kept in an airtight container, these will keep for at least a week.
Candy Coating:
After cutting marshmallows, place on stick. Melt almond bark or candy coating in double boiler or in a glass bowl over a pot of steaming water. (I've never tried the microwave method, as I just know I would fail.) Dip marshmallows in candy to coat as much as you want. I chose to stick my sticks into cardboard with holes (I would of preferred styrofoam, but I didn't have any), but some of the marshmallows would fall down their sticks. If this happens, just eat those, and continue on (kidding...). I found that the ones I had to rest on wax paper did not end up looking all that bad. If you choose to sprinkle on the nonpareils do so when coating is still wet. Also I found that if you sprinkle over a bowl or in my case an 8x8 pan, you can save all the nonpareils that don't land on the candy, and just pour it back in the bowl. If you're thrifty like me! 😀
Packaged up and ready to go into both my & The Boy’s workplaces!
I bought a huge container of salad greens at Sam’s Club and was determined NOT to let it go to waste. One Friday while I work I asked The Boy (who now has a faux-hawk, just FYI) to get some salmon out to thaw. When I got home from work I began to look through my list of recipes I’d bookmarked. I came across this recipe from Joelen’s blog for a simple salmon she served over salad (try saying THAT 3x fast!). I didn’t have any fresh herbs so I used all dried. I also jazzed it up with some blueberries & craisins I had on hand, and topped it with feta cheese. It was VERY yummy. The Boy picked off all the blueberries, but that’s fine with me, I’ll eat them! I topped it with a raspberry vinaigrette dressing.
I am very fortunate. I have the world’s best group of friends. We are all from a teeny tiny town (no stoplights). Age wise, there’s 4 years between the youngest and oldest, so we weren’t all in the same grade in school. We did a lot of running around together in our younger days, but now we each live in different towns. Lexington, KY; Nashville, TN; Louisville, KY; Frankfort, KY; and one that lives in our hometown. We have a school teacher, a video editor, a bank loan officer, a college student majoring in International Relations, and a nurse. In order to accomodate all our crazy schedules we couldn’t get together for Christmas until late January. I was told to make cupcakes and I knew I wanted to make them boozy. My friend Katie and I were throwing back ideas, and she suggested something with rum, and it hit me, BANANAS FOSTER CUPCAKE!
The Uptown Girls
I followed this recipe pretty closely, but I did halve it. There’s only 5 Uptown Girls, and we don’t need 18 cupcakes. When making the bananas foster, I didn’t feel it needed the full 3/4 stick of butter, so I cut it back to 1/2 a stick, and it did just fine. The recipe calls for 3 eggs, and I used 2, because my eggs were medium, not large or extra-large. Also, I felt this recipe could handle a touch of wheat flour, so when scooping the flour, I used a 1/3 cup scoop, and I made the first scoop whole wheat pastry flour, and the rest white. Next time I make these I might even try using 1/2 a cup of whole wheat flour. My only warning is, even with halving the recipe, it still made 13 cupcakes! So I might guess the full recipe (as I provided below) would make at least 25.
These cupcakes definitely met & exceeded my expectations. I loved the flavor, they really retained the flavor of bananas foster. And they were very very moist! Sometimes with cakes from scratch you don’t get that moistness that people are used to from boxed mixes. If you are looking for a unique adult treat, give these a try. You really won’t be disappointed!
For the Bananas Foster
(adapted from Williams-Sonoma)
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 ripe, but still firm bananas quartered (halved crosswise, then lengthwise)
2 tablespoons dark rum
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the Cupcakes:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (I did use some whole wheat flour)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, softened
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon dark rum
Banana mixture already prepared
3/4 cup sour cream
For the frosting:
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon dark rum
Directions:
Bananas Foster:
In a saute pan over medium heat, combine the butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Cook until butter melts and sugar is dissolved (4 to 5 minutes). Add the banana slices and cook until tender, turning once for 1 to 2 minutes per side.
Stir together rum and vanilla. Turn off the burner and add the rum mixture to the pan.
Using a long match, light the alcohol by placing the flame just in the outer edge of the pan. Stand as far back as possible. The flame should extingish in a few seconds.
Gently shake the pan from side to side to coat the bananas with the sauce. Spoon the bananas into a bowl and set aside.
Cupcakes:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar with electric mixer until light and fluffy. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt. Add eggs, vanilla, rum and banana. Mix well.
Add flour mixture alternately with sour cream; blend thoroughly but do not overmix. Pour into prepared cupcake pans. Bake 20 - 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.
Cool for 1- minutes in pan on rack. Remove and cool completely before frosting.
Frosting:
Beat together cream cheese, butter, cinnamon and vanilla on medium speed until light and fluffy.
Add about half the powdered sugar and beat until mixed well. Then gradually add the remaining powdered sugar until you reach a spreading consistency.
And now, for you viewing pleasure, my first attempt at flambeing.
Also, I must say, I really made it out like a bandit at the Christmas gift exchange. Katie drew my name, and I got a hula hoop, a much-desired copy of Martha Stewart’s Cookie cookbook, and an apron Katie sewed all by herself!
Little did she know I would use all her gifts at the same time!
*Above photograph courtesy Kristen Wiltse
I picked up the Jan/Feb issue of the Food Network magazine, and I have to say I really like it. I might subscribe to it. In it I found a recipe for these tequila bars. I knew the hostess at the Super Bowl party I was going to was going to have a cocktail that included tequila. I thought these would be a good compliment. Plus, as you may have noticed, if I can put alcohol in something, Imostcertainlywill.
I was afraid I sort of overcooked the crust. I kinda of did, but I was able to scrape out the part that was too brown. And no one noticed. In fact, I heard people saying they were yummy! The next time I make these, I think I would probably zest the lime and add it in. Not only would it add in a little bit of green color, it would add an extra zip.
1 12-ounce box vanilla wafers
1/2 cup pine nuts
3/4 cup unsalted butter (11/2 sticks), melted
1/3 cup tequila
1/2 cup fresh lime juice
5 large egg yolks, plus 2 egg whites
1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1 tablespoon sugar
Agave nectar or honey, for drizzling (optional)
zest of 1 lime (I didn't do this, but next time I will)
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350. Pulse the wafers and pine nuts in a food processor until well ground up. Add the butter and blend until evenly mixed. Set aside 1/4 cup of crumbs; press the rest evenly into a 9-by-13 baking pan. Bake until golden brown, 15 to 18 minutes. Cool.
In a medium bowl, thoroughly whisk together the tequila, lime juice, egg yolks, lime zest and condensed milk.
In another medium bowl, beat the egg whites and sugar with an electric mixer until they hold soft peaks. Gently fold the egg whites into the tequila mixture. Spread the filling evenly over the crust and bake for 25 minutes; cool. Sprinkle the reserved crumbs on top. Chill in the fridge for 2 hours or overnight before cutting. Drizzle with agave nectar, if desired.
Hi, I’m Erin. Welcome to my food files. I love sharing recipes for food, drinks, & dessert; but also like to leave room for any food related posting I desire. Thanks for stopping by! ...more
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