Marshmallows (French Laundry)

Submitted by chefRD

"I was surfing the internet and found this recipe for marshmallows. I have since tried a few others and I wished I hadn't wasted my time and ingredients. For one thing, this recipe is extremely easy to follow. (You don't even need a candy thermometer.)Secondly, this recipe is foolproof and super easy to make. The only suggestion I have is to use a quality Vanilla extract as the aroma and flavor is unbelieveable! If you've never had homemade marshmallows before, you are in for a real treat! The texture is so much softer and the flavor is well, ummmm.... Marshmallow melting moment. Yummy. I have a lot of fun making these with my two year old daughter. I love watching her lick the beaters. Have some fun in your kitchen for a change. These are wonderful with your favorite Hot Cocoa. The list goes on."

 

• Ready In: 30mins
• Ingredients: 7
• Yields: 24-30 marshmallows
• Serves: 6-8

ingredients

• 3 (1/4 ounce) envelopes gelatin (Knox Gelatin)
• 1⁄2 cup cold water
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 2⁄3 cup light corn syrup
• 1⁄4 cup water
• 1⁄4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

directions

1. In a large mixing bowl (or in the bowl of an electric mixer), sprinkle gelatin over 1/2 cup cold water. Soak 10 minutes.
2. Meanwhile: Combine sugar, corn syrup, 1/4 cup water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil. Boil hard for 1 minute.
3. Pour the boiling syrup into gelatin and mix at high speed. Add the salt and beat for about 10 - 12 minutes.
4. Add the vanilla and incorporate into mixture.
5. NOTE: Lightly oil your hands and a spatula.
6. Scrape into a 9 X 9 inch pan lined with oiled plastic wrap and spread evenly. ***Don't skip the plastic wrap step or the marshmallow mixture will stick and you'll have a very delicious mess!
7. After pouring marshmallow mixture into pan, take another piece of plastic wrap lightly oiled on the side which you will be placing on top of the marshmallow mixture and lightly press marshmallow mixture till flat and even into the pan.
8. Let marshmallows sit up for about 2 hours (I have had luck with 1 1/2 hours). Remove from pan, dredge whole slab with confectioners’ sugar and cut into squares. Each time you cut or slice you will need to keep using the confectioners’ sugar and dredging each piece so they will not stick to each other and your knife (or scissors).
9. Enjoy!

Reviews

[SissyG]

I've been making this recipe for about 5 years now, and would offer these tips: Oiling plastic wrap is a pain! Just spray a glass baking dish with some Pam, and the marshmallows will come out easily. And I never saw a need for that top piece of plastic wrap either. Just place a cookie sheet over the top while they set-up. Also, spray Pam on a large spoon before you start, so the batter will spoon out quickly and easily at the end. In answer to how long to beat the mixture: It will take 10 to 12 minutes. Usually closer to 10. You'll know it's ready when it starts to get hard to mix. Add any flavoring at the very end. Try about 1/4 to 1/3 cup of crushed marischino cherries (drain well) and a tbls. of almond extract. These will be a bit more moist, but make a beautiful pink color perfect for valentine's day or Christmas. 3 tbls. of unsweetened powdered coco added at the end makes great chocolate marshmallows. Have fun!

 

[Sarah C in MN]

Yummy, and definitely foolproof! Sorry for the long review, but I've made this in lots of different ways in the last couple of weeks, and discovered a few things. I've tried making 1/3 and 2/3 versions of the recipe, and those worked great! You will want to watch the conversions if you use the "change servings" button, though. Salt, for instance, will not come out right. The smaller batches were nice for me, since I don't have a heavy-duty mixer, and the full batch was making my mixer sound like it was going to burn out. I've tried flavoring with peppermint, and would suggest using a little less than 1 tsp. extract in a full batch. I also made a coffee flavor by replacing all of the water with brewed coffee (chilled), and adding 1-2 tbsp. of instant coffee powder (for a full batch). I found that dredging in straight powdered sugar was too much for me, so tried a 2/3 sugar to 1/3 corn starch mixture, and really liked it. I also "messed up" one batch by using a little more water than called for with the gelatin. It gave the marshmallows a more foamy texture, which we kind of liked. Overall an AWESOME recipe that I can't get enough of!!!

 

[peads92470]

I love this recipe, I'll not be using any other. The texture is perfect. Exactly what I wanted. I made them exactly as the recipe stated. Great. I'm not sharing by the way.

 

[DianaEatingRichly]

SO easy!

 

[qotw13]

These are awesome! This was my first time making marshmallows, and this will be the only recipe I will ever try. While just a little time-consuming, I love that I didn't have to find a candy thermometer to make these, and the results were great. I added peppermint extract, and attempted to swirl some red food coloring in once the mixture was in the pan (will have to work on a better way of doing this). This time, I did use the 9x9 pan as stated in the recipe, but since I wanted smallish marshmallows, this made it very hard to cut later. I will try using either a baking sheet or 9x13 cake pan from now on instead. I also did not use any of the plastic wrap - just sprayed the pan well and let it set. Thank you for such an awesome recipe!