Rose-Raspberry Marshmallows

In honor of the May flowers that April showers brought us, I’m doing two Marshmallow Mondays this month with a flower/fruit flavor combo. Up first: roses and raspberries!

I’ve had rose-flavored Turkish delight candy before, which I liked, but was a little too floral-y for me. So when I was considering trying it in a marshmallow, I wanted to pull in a second flavor to balance things out. I also wanted them to turn out a little pink, so I just went with raspberries and crossed my fingers.

These turned out even better than I’d hoped. It’s funny, you can taste the rose in there, but it’s less about being able to taste both flavors and more like it created a whole new flavor. They actually have a bit of a rhubarb flair. I think these would be a really fun, sweet addition to a shower or brunch spread.

Hope you enjoy these ones!
M

Rose-Raspberry Marshmallows
Prep time: 50 min | Ready in: 7 hours, 35 min

Ingredients:

Cooking spray
3 packages unflavored gelatin (vegetarian substitutions)
2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup powdered sugar
1 4-ounce package raspberries
1-1/2 tablespoons dried rosebuds (find them in with bulk spices at your grocery store)

Cooking tools:

A candy thermometer
Tin foil
9×13-inch cake or jelly roll pan
A fine-mesh strainer

Directions:

Use a mortar and pestle (or just the back of a spoon against a cutting board) to break up the rosebuds a bit, then pour into a mason jar. (Or, just something that has a lid.)
In a blender, process raspberries and 1/4 cup of water for a few seconds.
Pour raspberry mixture through a strainer into a bowl, using the back of a spoon to press juices through.
Pour raspberry juice into a 1-cup measuring cup, then add water until liquid reaches the top.
In a small saucepan, heat raspberry juice over medium heat until steaming. Pour raspberry juice into jar with rosebuds. (Just be sure the juice isn’t boiling when you pour it in.) Put the lid on the juice, and refrigerate until cool, about an hour. Once cooled, strain out the dried rosebuds.
Line the inside of the pan with tin foil, then coat well with cooking spray.
In a large mixing bowl, combine a 1/2 of a cup of the raspberry juice with the packets of gelatin and allow to sit until gelatin forms, about 15 minutes.
In a medium saucepan on medium heat, combine the sugar and the remaining raspberry juice (measure to be sure it’s a 1/2 of a cup—add water if it’s a little short), then stir until sugar has dissolved—about 3 to 5 minutes. Increase heat to bring mixture to a low boil, and continue to boil until the temperature reaches 240 degrees F on a candy thermometer—about 12 to 15 minutes. Remove from heat.
Slowly pour sugar mixture into the bowl with the gelatin, simultaneously using a mixer on low. Gradually increase speed to high and continue whipping until the mix is very thick, about 10 to 15 minutes—imagine the consistency of pourable taffy.
Pour the mixture into the pan, smoothing the surface with a spatula. (Spray spatula with cooking spray as needed to keep it from sticking.) Let the marshmallow sit for about 6 hours, uncovered, until completely set.
Cover a surface larger than the marshmallow slab with powdered sugar and flip the cake pan over so that marshmallow lands on the dusted surface. You have to do it quickly, and it’s going to kick up some “dust,” so just prepare yourself. (It’s all part of the fun, right?)
Cut marshmallows in whatever shapes you’d like. (It helps to continually coat the knife or cookie cutters with powdered sugar to keep them from sticking. A pizza wheel is great if you’re just cutting into squares or rectangles.)
Dust all sides of marshmallow pieces with powdered sugar.