Day 1: Peppermint Marshmallows #25DaysofHolidayIdeas

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I'm so excited to be kicking off this series today, #25DaysofHolidayIdeas! It's the biggest project I've attempted on my blog, so I really hope you get some good ideas from it! I'll be posting every Monday through Friday for the next five weeks; I've got home decor ideas, DIY gifts, drinks (both boozy and not), savories and sweets!

I'm thrilled to be starting off with a giveaway and my first sweet recipe, homemade marshmallows!

I love to bake, and I especially love to bake when I have shiny new bakeware! It's so pretty and perfect, I'm always a little bit sad the first time I get a burn mark on a new pan or cookie sheet.

When Baker's Secret offered to send me a couple of pans to try out, I just knew that I had to take advantage of their lovely newness before I actually baked anything in them, and I thought that marshmallows would be the perfect thing for my new 9×13 pan!

Up first, assemble the required tools and ingredients:
You'll need these ingredients:

• 3 packets plain gelatin
• 1 C. Ice Water
• 1 1/2 C. White Sugar
• 1 C. Corn Syrup (Light)
• Generous Pinch of Salt
• 1 t. Vanilla Extract
• 1 t. Peppermint Extract (optional)
• 1/4 C. Powdered Sugar
• 1/4 C. Corn Starch

and these tools:

• Baker's Secret 9″ x 13″ pan
• Candy Thermometer (the kind with a clip to hold it to the side of the pan- it's a must!)
• Non-Stick Spray
• A stand mixer like a Kitchen Aid (If you don't have a stand mixer, you'll need several friends/kids on hand to take a turn hold the hand mixer. Trust me.)

Put 1/2 C. of the ice water and the gelatin packets in the bowl of your stand mixer. Stir just a little to combine, then set it aside.

In small saucepan, put other 1/2 C water, corn syrup, granulated sugar, and salt. Stir to combine and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer and put candy thermometer on edge of pan.

Keep sugar mix at a simmer until it reaches of 235° F. This can take a while, 20 minutes or so, so just keep an eye on it and stir occasionally to keep it from burning. (Some recipes call for different temps; I lost patience at 235° and went with it, and the texturs of the finished ‘mallows is amazing and velvety!)

Once it reaches 235°, remove from heat. Kick the kids out of the kitchen at this point, because molten sugar is terrifying and like napalm when it comes to burns. *Voice of experience.
Transfer the sugar mixture to something with a pour spout; I use a Pyrex measuring cup and it's perfect.
Turn the mixer on low and slowly pour the molten sugar into the bowl.

Once all of the sugar is pouring into the mixer, turn it up to medium/high and let it go. And go. And go. Continue whipping for 15 minutes, and add the vanilla and peppermint in the last couple of minutes.

While the mixture is whipping away, prepare your pan for the next step. Mix the powdered sugar and corn starch and use it to powder the 9″x13″ pan after you spray it with non-stick spray. Tap out the excess, but keep it for later.

You'll recognize when the ‘mallows are done whipping… it will look like marshmallow fluff from a jar, basically. You want to work pretty quickly, since once that marshmallow firms up it's tough to work with. Spray a rubber spatula with non-stick spray and use that to get the goo from the bowl into the prepared pan. Use the spat to spread and flatten the goo as best you can. Imperfection is fine; this is DIY and it isn't “defective,” it's “charming” 🙂

Max was really bummed that I wouldn't let him help up to this point, so I decided to add sprinkles, and I let him be in charge of them. These colored sugar sprinkles worked really well, and aren't overwhelmingly crunchy to mess up the texture of the finished product.

Let the pan sit, undisturbed, for an hour or so, to firm up just a little. Then sprinkle the top with the corn starch/powdered sugar mixture. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit overnight.

The next day, remove from pan (it should pop out pretty easily, you might need to pull the edges in a little to get them to release) I use a greased pizza cutter and then kitchen shears to cut them into squares. Toss each one in the corn starch and sugar mixture to keep them all from sticking together.

You're done! Enjoy! Use them however you use regular marshmallows, or just eat them on their own. Your call. 🙂

Disclosure: I received 2 free baking pans from Baker's Secret to be used for this post (and tomorrow's post!) All opinions are my own, and no further compensation was received.