Homemade Marshmallows

Marshmallows in a bag from the store are now a thing of the past for me. After eating these, there is no way I could ever go back. Amazing doesn't even begin to describe them!

I was in need of a homemade gift for a gift exchange this week. Since food is what I do best, I decided to go with that. I am making a jar of hot cocoa mix and including some of these marshmallows along with it. (The marshmallows I am including are Christmas tree shaped... didn't get pictures of those!)

The best part of this recipe (besides how easy it is!) is that it really is two marshmallow treats in one. Once everything is mixed you have THE BEST marshmallow fluff. Seriously, the jarred stuff has nothing on this. If you want actual marshmallows, you just spread in a pan, let set for a few hours, and then cut into whatever shape you want. You could also change the flavor by adding a different extract, dipping in chocolate, etc.

These would be perfect additions to cookie trays for the holiday season or even as a seperate gift along with some hot cocoa mix (which I will blog soon).

Enjoy!

Homemade Marshmallows
Recipe from Alton Brown


Ingredients
•3 packages unflavored gelatin
•1 cup ice cold water, divided
•12 ounces granulated sugar, approximately 1 1/2 cups
•1 cup light corn syrup
•1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
•1 teaspoon vanilla extract
•1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
•1/4 cup cornstarch
•Nonstick spray
Directions
Place the gelatin into the bowl of a stand mixer along with 1/2 cup of the water. Have the whisk attachment standing by.

In a small saucepan combine the remaining 1/2 cup water, granulated sugar, corn syrup and salt. Place over medium high heat, cover and allow to cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Uncover, clip a candy thermometer onto the side of the pan and continue to cook until the mixture reaches 240 degrees F, approximately 7 to 8 minutes. Once the mixture reaches this temperature, immediately remove from the heat.

Turn the mixer on low speed and, while running, slowly pour the sugar syrup down the side of the bowl into the gelatin mixture. Once you have added all of the syrup, increase the speed to high. Continue to whip until the mixture becomes very thick and is lukewarm, approximately 12 to 15 minutes. Add the vanilla during the last minute of whipping. While the mixture is whipping prepare the pans as follows.


For regular marshmallows:
Combine the confectioners' sugar and cornstarch in a small bowl. Lightly spray a 13 by 9-inch metal baking pan with nonstick cooking spray. Add the sugar and cornstarch mixture and move around to completely coat the bottom and sides of the pan. Return the remaining mixture to the bowl for later use.

When ready, pour the mixture into the prepared pan, using a lightly oiled spatula for spreading evenly into the pan. Dust the top with enough of the remaining sugar and cornstarch mixture to lightly cover. Reserve the rest for later. Allow the marshmallows to sit uncovered for at least 4 hours and up to overnight.

Turn the marshmallows out onto a cutting board and cut into 1-inch squares using a pizza wheel dusted with the confectioners' sugar mixture. Once cut, lightly dust all sides of each marshmallow with the remaining mixture, using additional if necessary. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 weeks.


For miniature marshmallows:
Combine the confectioners' sugar and cornstarch in a small bowl. Line 4 half sheet pans with parchment paper, spray the paper with nonstick cooking spray and dust with the confectioners' sugar mixture.

Scoop the mixture into a piping bag fitted with a 1/2-inch round piping tip. Pipe the mixture onto the prepared sheet pans lengthwise, leaving about 1-inch between each strip. Sprinkle the tops with enough of the remaining cornstarch and sugar mixture to lightly cover. Let the strips set for 4 hours or up to overnight.

Cut into 1/2 inch pieces using a pizza wheel or scissors dusted with the confectioners' sugar mixture. Once cut, lightly dust all sides of each marshmallow with the remaining sugar mixture and store in an airtight container for up to a week.

Daring Bakers: Apple Crostata

This month we were challenged to make a crostata, which is basically a free-form, rustic pie. We were allowed to choose our own filling and I decided on an apple filling with a crumble topping.

I thought this was a perfect challenge for Thanksgiving. Once the dough has been made and chilled, it is rolled out, filled, and the edges are folded up around the sides. Pie doesn't get any easier than that!

The 2010 November Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Simona of briciole. She chose to challenge Daring Bakers’ to make pasta frolla for a crostata. She used her own experience as a source, as well as information from Pellegrino Artusi’s Science in the Kitchen and the Art of Eating Well.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving filled with family, friends, fun, and lots of good FOOD! I have so much to be thankful for and one of those things is YOU! Thank you for stopping by my blog and for the kind comments. They mean so much to me! Have a great Turkey Day!

Cookie Carnival: Sassy Cinnamon Cookies

I love cinnamon chips. I know that they aren't available everywhere and that people stock up on them when they find them. That is what happened with me. I haven't seen the cinnamon chips in stock here in El Paso but had a nice stash in the freezer from Arizona. :) I like to ration them out so they last longer!

These cookies were a great use for them. These are HUGE cookies (1/4 cup of dough per cookie) and are delicious. They taste like huge snickerdoodles with cinnamon chips. Definately a great cinnamon cookie!

The only change I made was to omit the pecans and increase the cinnamon chips by 1/2 cup to compensate a bit.

Enjoy!


Sassy Cinnamon Chip Cookies


1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup cinnamon chips
1 cup chopped pecans
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Heat oven to 350.

In large bowl, beat 1 1/2 cups sugar, the butter, vanilla and eggs with electric mixer on medium speed, or mix with spoon, until creamy. Stir in flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt. Stir in cinnamon chips and pecans.

In small bowl, mix 2 tablespoons sugar and the cinnamon. Shape dough by 1/4 cupfuls into balls. Roll in sugar-cinnamon mixture. Place balls 3 inches apart on large cookie sheet (do not flatten).

Bake 13 to 17 minutes or until set and light brown. Immediately remove from cookie sheet to wire rack.

The Cookie Carnival is hosted by Tami of Tami's Kitchen Table Talk... stop by her blog to join in on the fun!

TWD Rewind: Cran-Apple Crisp

This week for TWD we were allowed to pick a past recipe that we would like to make. I immediately started looking at all the fall-ish/holiday recipes that I didn't get a chance to make. There are so many that I want to make but decided to pick a recipe that I didn't have to go to the store to get ingredients for!

I had cranberries in the freezer leftover from the the Cranberry Shortbread Cake and I always have apples on hand, so this crisp was the way to go. The filling is a mixture of apples, fresh cranberries, and craisins. The topping is your basic crisp topping of oats, sugar, and butter. The recipe does call for coconut, but I was out so I didn't use it.

I took this crisp to a friends house and we all loved it. I served it with vanilla ice cream but it would be equally good alone or with fresh whipped cream. Or, if you really want to holiday it up, you could do like I did on a different apple cranberry crisp and use an egg nog sauce on top. YUM!

You can find Dorie's recipe HERE or you could use the one I made 2 years ago HERE. Both are great recipes, so you can't really go wrong! :)