Before we begin here, I’m going to wet your appetite…
Are we good? 
Ok.
SO. I’ve had pictures of a delicious summer soup sitting in my Russian Bites drafts folder for weeks now. It’s one of my favorite summer meals from childhood and I have a lot to say about it. But you see, the pictures came out awful (at least for my standards) and even though these marshmallows were made only a few days ago (and I just blogged about the challah bread here), I’m letting those okroshka pictures sit in the drafts folder for just a few more days so I can tell you about these gorgeous (and delicious! don’t forget delicious!!) marshmallows. What can I say, pictures inspire me. And these are very pretty 
Now marshmallows. How do you feel about them? Love ‘em, hate ‘em, indifferent? I’m generally kind of in the indifferent category but here are 2 reasons why they ended up on my 30 by 30 list (knocking off item #2 baby!!). First of all, they were a mystery to me. What the hell are marshmallows? Some kind of product of a chemical reaction? You have to agree they don’t exactly look or taste like real food. Not the boxed kind anyway. So this brings me to reason numero dos: homemade stuff tastes waaaaaaaaaay better than the store bought variety (in most cases). And I wanted gourmet marshmallows. I don’t know why. Sometimes I surprise even myself.
Anyways, wanna see how they’re made? They’re real food in fact (consisting pretty much of various forms of sugar and gelatin but “real” nonetheless). I used the Martha Stewart recipe, originally found through We Are Not Martha.
Scenes from the kitchen…
Sugar bubbling away… (make sure you have a candy thermometer, really key here!)
Then whisk whisk whisk (a Kitchen Aid stand mixer would have been handy here but this worked too… just took a bit longer. Maybe 20 minutes?)
From syrup to marshmallow fluff!!
It’s ok to lick the whisk. I won’t tell
Pour into a 9×13 pan and cool.
Time to clean up… or play with gadgets. Whatever
3 hours later…
Cut!
… and toss in powdered sugar. This is really key! You may notice the texture difference from the picture above to the one below. They go from sticky (and shiny) to perfectly fluffy (and matt) and hand-friendly 
Pretty 
Can you tell how fluffy they are? I love the little air bubble holes.
Oh and btw, I used only 1 cup of light corn syrup (all I had) and they turned out great so I’d totally do the same thing next time.
[Extra] Fun time!!
Ok, so I obviously couldn’t just stop right here (although as my sister’s boyfriend said “they were already dreamy”). It was s’mores time… with a twist!
It was my friend Katy’s brilliant idea to dunk them in chocolate and then graham cracker crumbs. We tried the marshmallow lollipop route but these sticks weren’t working… and you know what, it was actually even more fun to really get in there and dunk away!
Marshmallows –> melted chocolate (thinned out a bit with heavy cream) –> graham cracker crumbs or chopped toasted almonds
This would be a really fantastic interactive dessert for a party! Just have a chocolate fondue, marshmallows and lots of different toppings. You better believe I’m stealing my own idea for my next gathering
Let these babies set.
Then take lots of pretty pictures…
… or just dig in!!
Another winner!
Now what should I do with the remaining ‘shmallows? Marshmallow brownies… or should I eat them plain? I need ideas!!
[...] make marshmallows – Update on 6/28: done! [...]
Wow, didn’t know you can make those! What a great idea to do smore toppings on them, too!
As for the leftovers, maybe chop them up as a topping for hot chocolate or chocolate pudding??
Yes you can, and should
i almost had one for breakfast this morning… i hope they’re still there when i get home
( derek’s not to be trusted)
Hehe, dreamy right?
Those look heavenly! Marshmallows are also on my “learn to make” list and you’ve really inspired me!
DO IT
these look amazing, and your photography is gorgeous. I especially love the idea of the marshmallows layers with chocolate and other toppings. Left on the toothpick they make for adorable little marshmallow pops! Do you know anything about subbing in a vegetarian gelling agent for standard gelatin? Thanks for sharing, and good job tackling your 30 by 30 list!
Thanks! I’ve seen agar agar powder used in many vegan recipes instead of gelatin (although I’ve looked for it everywhere with no luck) but see some other suggestions on this blog: http://veganmarshmallows.blogspot.com/2009/04/vegan-marshmallow-recipe.html
Let me know if you are successful making a vegetarian version… I’m totally curious
Thanks for looking into this for me! One of the more amusing stories of my life involves a camping trip in the boonies where we had to stop into Walmart to get extra supplies, and my boyfriend asked the poor clerk where he could find the vegan marshmallows… needless to say, there were none to be had in Walmart!
Now brands has agar agar powder and Whole foods sells the flakes fyi
I’ve seen the flakes at WF but some recipes say powder, not flakes… not sure what the difference is. Something to research
Ooh, just saw the powder is often available in Asian markets by the spices. Now I have a mission
I always make a mess of the kitchen with marshmallows! Yours look perfect.
I’ve been warned about the mess too… but thankfully things went pretty smoothly for me.
I want one!!
You are a kitchen dynamo and your photos are drool-worthy- food-gawker worthy!
THis is something I’d make if I was feeling really creative and had lots of time- I LOVE marshmallows to the moon!
Can you dice them up into teeny pieces and put them into other baked goods/muffins? Do they freeze well? I freeze everything that doesn’t have a pulse.
Haha, that’s a brilliant idea to freeze them. I need to look into this because it’s been way to easy to just pop a few in my mouth and go on with my day like nothing happened
Muffins with mini marshmallows also sound phenom!
wow, another job well done! I am so impressed.
best line of the post “What the hell are marshmallows?” hilarious.
S’mores!
I’ve been seeing homemade marshmallows all over the place, and yours look perfect! I love the s’mores you made – beautiful, and I’m sure absolutely delicious
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Your photos are terrific and I’m finally convinced that marshmallows are not hard to make! I’m kind of indifferent to them unless they are roasted, but fresh gourmet I’m intrigued by!
What an awesome idea for a party!! I’m totally taking this idea for my next shindig.
AMAZING! You have seriously outdone yourself!
I’m in the camp of “I LOVE MARSHMALLOWS!” I can (and have – not very intuitively I might add) eat a whole bag of them. One right after the other. In fact, smores are favorite dessert! Yummy!
These look divine! Wish I was there to share! You would share right??
I would
Come to Boston!
Those look so good. Your pictures are inspiring!
aww man, you did them without me! they came out fantastic
i need to get on it!
Gourmet marshmallows indeed! They look absolutely amazing – the nut crumble over the top sounds absolutely to die for!
These look amazing!! Fantastic job. I need to make my own marshmallows!
These are gorgeous! I’m not a huge fan of store-bought marshmallows… but I love homemade ones. I’ve never dunked them in chocolate though… and that would make them even better!!!
Wow, I’m definitely going to do this for when I go camping this summer.
Homemade marshmallows are definitely a food that taste a thousand times better than store bought. When I make them, Hubby snacks on them and before I know it, they’re all gone!
I might be borrowing that idea for our next weekly potluck meal. YUM!
I am SERIOUSLY impressed!
How fun! I’m really impressed and I love how you dipped them in chocolate and nuts – so pretty! And I like the brownie idea!
These look perfect….and your pictures are very inviting!
I don’t want to know how easy these are to make……because I may have a problem. haha
These marshmallows look awesome!
We are in our final week of Get Grillin’ – Dessert is the theme and we would love if you submitted up to any 3 recipes (they don’t have to be grilled) to our link up. This one would be perfect! This week we have a Rouxbe Cooking School giveaway. http://su.pr/2YaIiV