Name: Vanilla Bean Marshmallows
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 40 min
Ingredients: nonstick cooking spray; 1 cup cold water (divided); 2 cups white sugar; 1/2 tsp salt; 2/3 cup corn syrup; 2 scoops Vital Proteins grassfed gelatin (can also use 3 1/4-oz envelopes of store-bought gelatin); 1/2 cup cornstarch; 1/2 cup powdered sugar

I’m deep into Marshmallow Time.

For the past few years, I’ve spent the end of the calendar year like a mad scientist for charity, covered in marshmallow cream. I make inordinate amounts of marshmallows, and sell them “bake sale style”, with the proceeds going to our local mama’s group and their Giving Tree.

And this year is no exception.

With my kitchen covered in a mixture of powdered sugar, gel food coloring and marshmallow goop, and my friends and family riding proper sugar highs after FIVE test batches of these, I have finally perfected the CANDY CORN MARSHMALLOW.

After much hemming and hawing and an episode where I had to clean yellow marshmallow off the kitchen ceiling, I have boiled it down to the minimal amount of kitchen equipment necessary.

Trust me – I don’t like to do dishes. The fewer number of bowls, the better.

So the basic recipe can be found down at the bottom of this post, but the tricky part you want to know is how to assemble these beauties.

What you need in addition to the basic marshmallow recipe:

orange and yellow GEL food coloring (NOT THE LIQUID. To get the color saturation you want without altering the composition of the marshmallow, you need the gel coloring. Joann’s and Michael’s both carry it, but I like this type from Americolor.)
One bowl (in addition to the mixing bowl you’re using to mix the marshmallows)
Two spatulas (the scraping kind like these, not the flipping kind)

So the actual execution goes something like this:

Bring your prepared 9×11 dish over to the bowl area, and get your mise en place ready to rock. You need to move fairly quickly, as the marshmallow starts to set up when you stop mixing.
Spoon several spoonfuls of the marshmallow (with no coloring) into the prepared dish. Cover the bottom, and make sure it’s spread out, and all the way up to the edges. This is the white base of your candy corn (the point of the triangle).
Here’s where it gets tricky. Divide the remaining mixture up, with about 1/3 going into your extra bowl.
Use your gel coloring and color the smaller amount yellow. The larger amount still in the mixer bowl should get colored orange.
Make sure you are scraping all the way down to the bottom of the bowl to get the color as homogenous as you can!
Orange is your middle layer. Pour the orange into the bowl slowly, starting in the middle and working your way out to the edges. Using your damp spatula, smooth it out the best you can, and smooth it all the way to the edges.
Yellow on top! I found that drizzling the yellow on the top is the easiest way to get maximum coverage with minimal mixing of the colors. Again, use a damp spatula to smooth the top.
Let sit for at least 4 hours (overnight is best).
Turn out onto the prepared surface (as outlined in the recipe below) and cut into thick strips.
Cut those strips into triangles and ENJOY!

I always love to see y’all making my recipes on social media, so tag me in your photos!

And ENJOY! <3

Vanilla Bean Marshmallows

Prep Time

30 mins

Cook Time

10 mins

Total Time

40 mins

Basic Marshmallows - can be dressed up for any holiday!

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings: 24 marshmallows

Ingredients

nonstick cooking spray
1 cup cold water divided
2 cups white sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2/3 cup corn syrup
2 scoops Vital Proteins grassfed gelatin can also use 3 1/4-oz envelopes of store-bought gelatin
1/2 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup powdered sugar

Instructions

Pour half of the water into a bowl fitted on your stand mixer. Sprinkle your gelatin over the water and set aside.
Get your 9×11 baking dish (I used an 8×10 for taller marshmallows). Line it with aluminum foil, then spray that foil lightly with baking spray. Set aside.
Combine the remainder of the water plus the sugar, salt and corn syrup in a medium saucepan over low heat. Stir until sugar dissolves.
Increase heat to medium, clip a candy thermometer to the side of the pot and keep an eye on your pot.
Cook without stirring until syrup reaches 235-240°.
Start the mixer on low, and pour the sugar syrup in a slow steady stream down the side of the bowl.
When all syrup is incorporated, increase speed slowly to high.
While this is beating, get a spatula and a glass of water and set it up next to your prepared dish.
Beat until mixture has tripled in volume, is glossy, thick, and pulls away from the sides of the bowl as you mix. When you pull the beater out of the mix, it should fall in large slow ribbons and be slow to melt back into the bowl.
Pour mixture into your prepared baking dish. Use your damp spatula to scrape out the bowl and smooth the top. Work fast – this stiffens up QUICK.
Set aside to set for 4 hours (or overnight).
Sift together the cornstarch and powdered sugar and spread some of that mixture onto a clean work surface (leave the rest in a bowl). Turn your marshmallows out onto this surface and remove the foil.
Use a damp knife (that glass of water comes in handy!) and cut into squares in the size of your choosing.
Toss your squares in the remaining cornstarch/powdered sugar mix and shake off excess.
Store in an airtight container for up to 10 days, though they probably won’t last that long.

This post does contain affiliate links, meaning if you click them to buy something, you do not get charged anything extra but I do get some extra coin to put towards more glitter, more cookie cutters and more books!