Homemade Marshmallows (and Marshmallow Affogato)

I just realized the other day that will all the fancy marshmallow recipes I’ve created over the past couple years, I’ve never actually posted a straight-up recipe for basic marshmallows.

Not that marshmallows could ever be basic—even this “basic” recipe whips up some delicious little bites that are fantastic on their own, or great dunked in hot cocoa, smashed into s’mores, and even with coffee poured over them, affogato-style.

So, whip up a batch to eat them as-is, or fancy them up in your own way.

Happy Marshmallow Monday!
M

Homemade Marshmallows
Prep time: 35 min | Ready in: 6 hours, 35 min

Ingredients:

Cooking spray
4 packages unflavored gelatin (vegetarian substitutions)
3 cups granulated sugar
1 cup powdered sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla

Cooking tools:

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

Directions:

Line the inside of the pan with tin foil, then coat well with cooking spray.
In a large mixing bowl, combine a 3/4 of a cup of cold water 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 3/4 of a cup of water, 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.
Once the batter is the right thickness, add vanilla and beat for another 30 seconds, until fully mixed.
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 either lift out the marshmallow by the tin foil, or flip the cake pan over so that marshmallow lands on the dusted surface.
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.

You can store them in a Ziplock at room temperature, or I like to put them in the freezer. Marshmallows are like alcohol in that they don’t ever really freeze, they just get really, really cold.

And how do I take my coffee, you ask? Oh, with marshmallows, of course! To make a marshmallow affogato, simply put one or two marshmallows in a mug and pour one or two shots of espresso over the top, or double-strength coffee if you don’t have an espresso machine.