Brownie Ponts Blog

Joc,

What do you do with marshmallows?

• I eat ‘em.

  I don’t have recipes that call for them (I guess there is Rocky Road Fudge, and brownie toppings with toasted marshmallows) – that’s part fo my homework.

  –McAuliflower

I love marshmallows, they can be eaten like that or cooked under fire, or used in cakes…

Hi,

Do you know what would be amazing on these? Some toasted coconut. (I’m NUTS about toasted coconut lately…I just made some chocolate chip squares, and when they came out hot from the oven poured an entire bag of chocolate chips on top, used a spatula to smooth the melted chocolate and then added – ta dah! – toasted coconut on top.)

Thanks for an amazing recipe. Please drop by my blog – I’d love to see what you think of it. I need all the feedback I can get!

Hugs,
Christina

• Great tip Chirstina! I have a stash of marshmallows I am sampling from a company that makes gourmet marshmallows. One of their offered flavors is toasted marshmallow. That could be amazing with mango or passionfruit parfaits… Hmmmmm…

  –McAuliflower

Do you have any experience dipping these in chocolate? I recently made them and attempted to dip them in chocolate….melted chocolate + butter + little heavy cream on a double boiler and thought I would just dip away. However I had problems with heat from the chocolate melting the marshmallows (which made for delicious post-dip eating all melty and gooey and chocolatey, but the ones I didn’t eat were very ugly and most of the chocolate slid off with parts of melted marshmallow..it was really actually very messy). When I let the chocolate cool, it was difficult to dip, and I eventually ended up spreading chocolate paste on most of the marshmallows. Do you have any ideas for making a smoother, glossy chocolate dipped marshmallow? Thanks!

• I dipped my strawberry marshmallows in chocolate with great results. My trick was to briefly freeze the marshmallows after cutting them. Also- only dip them in barely melted tempered chocolate. Use chocolate that is already tempered (shiny and hard) and only just barely melt it so that you don’t incorporate more crystal arrangements in there. Also, don’t add cream or butter to your chocolate. This will yield a yummy piece of marshmallow dipped in chocolate that snaps in your teeth.

  –McAuliflower

Hi there! Homemade marshmallows rock! They are so much better than store-bought. Every year at christmas I make peppermint marshmallows with swirled red and green color and peppermint oil. People are so surprised when they hear you made ‘em. They say, “You can MAKE marshmallows?!!”
I remember about 7 years ago on April Fool’s day, the local tv weather station aired a bit about harvesting masrhmallows. It was a solid five minutes about “wild” marshmallow, how to pick it, it’s season, etc. I was sitting on the couch, saying, “No way, this can’t be real!” Then I realised what day it was.

SJ

Homemade marshmallows sound amazing. I love some of the comments on this post, and am already fantasizing about vanilla marshmallows dipped in chocolate and sprinkled with coconut. Mmm!

I really like the printable PDF, by the way. It’s going to the printer as I type this!

I also make homemade marshmallows for Easter presents. One of the secrets is:

Pure MEXICAN vanilla! NOTHING beats this flavor. Not the clear vanilla!

I love to try new marshmallow recipes.

Has anyone had any luck using sugar substitutes? How about sugar free chocolate?

I recently read online to heat 1 tsp of vegetable oil for each cup of chocolate wafers. This was not acceptable to me. But I did experiment.

Before adding the wafers, I melted in the top of a double boiler 1 tsp of butter flavored crisco per 1/2 lb of chocolate. The chocolate stayed smooth and glossy and creamy, it coated better, but it took longer to drip off. More “puddling” on the bottom of each marshmallow as it cooled. The melted chocolate seemed to last longer and I was able to coat more marshmallows using less chocolate

It hardened beautifully but more slowly and was easy to clean up. It was a great success! As soon as the chocolate melts and is smooth, I turn off the heat and leave the double boiler together.

The warm water keeps it at a perfect temp for quite a long time.

NOTHING can contaminate the melted chocolate. I coat each side of the marshmallow with extra fine confectionary sugar and make sure ALL the excess is shaken off. One drop of water or one piece of sugar will cause the chocolate to seize. It has to be thrown away.

Also the chocolate from craft stores is YUCK. I buy wafers from a candy and baking suppliers. Better quality better flavor.

Thanks for reading and I will forward to your suggestions.

[...] Brownie Points Blog  Great ideas for marshmallows and new flavors! [...]

I tried your marshmallow recipe recently, except I tried to make them vegan by substituting agar agar for the gelatin. It was a complete failure and didn’t set up at all. I’m beginning to think that all of the vegan marshmallow recipes online call for supposedly vegan gelatin that was pulled from the market when it was revealed that it wasn’t actually vegan. Do you know of any tried-and-true recipes for vegan marshmallows? I desperately want to make them! The s’mores tart is calling my name!
Thanks for any help you can give me.
P.S. I got my biochem degree at the U of O

• Recipes for vegan marshmallows do exist and have been robustly commented on in forums like eGullet, Craftster, and VegNews. I’ll try to look up some resources for you this weekend. Off the top of my head, I think you need to use more agar agar than the recipes calls for gelatin.

  Thread here about using agar agar in marshmallow recipe.

  –McAuliflower

To order these premade on the net are so expensive. I like them homemade, and they are good in coca.

Thanks so much for your response.
I actually used the crafster and vegnews suggested substitutions for your recipe when I tried to make the marshmallows before, but the problem is that everyone either says that theirs failed, or they haven’t tried it but assume the substitution should work.

I hadn’t heard of eGullet before you suggested it, but I combed the loooooooooooong thread there on the subject. No one there seems to have a tried-and-true recipe, either, but someone mentioned something about agar that gave me hope. I had just tried to follow the instructions of dissolving the agar in cold water, as is done for the gelatin, but that may have been my problem. If it’s the same agar that is used for making plates in the lab, OF COURSE it needs to be heated to dissolve. DUH!
So maybe I’ll give it another try, this time adding the agar to the sugar and water mixture and heating them together.
Anyway, I just wanted to say thanks for the lead

Hi!
I’m a food science student that works with wine. My lab is trying to find a recipe that makes marshmallows with less sugar so they aren’t as sweet to use as a rinse between wine samples. Because there is gelatin in marshmallows, they should decrease some of the lingering effects of tasting the wine so panelists can more accurately evaluate what they are tasting in the following wine samples. Have you heard of any recipes with less or no sugar?

Josie

Yay!! I finaly found halal gelatin!! Can\’t wait to try this!!! I\’m SOO happy!!

• I look forward to hearing how it works for you Zameera!

  –McAuliflower

Has anybody tried this with Splenda yet? I\’m willing to use sugar, but I\’ll be going camping with a friend who says sugar increases her hot flashes. Yet we simply MUST have s\’mores!

• 
  I don\’t know if splenda cooks up in candy making to mimic sugar effectively. Would you like to be a designated experimentor Amy? Let us know how it works!
  – McAuliflower

Cut them in squares, place them on toothpicks to melt in hot chocolate or coffee

I tried, unsuccessfully, to make marshmallow for the first time this afternoon. I used a Kitchenaid stand mixer, and when I poured the hot sugar mixture in and started beating it, it ended up sticking beyond repair to the sides of my bowl. It did not even fill up half of my bowl afterr 7 minutes. I stopped because it seemed like it was going to keep sticking to the sides. The portion I did get out had some hard brownish chunks (from the gelatin?) in there. I only got about 1/3 of the mix into my pan!!!What did I do wrong??

Heating the sugar syrup to just the right stage is crucial. The mention of hard brownish chunks makes me wonder if your sugar got too hot? Have you eaten the brown chunks? Are they like caramel? An alternative to using a thermometer with the hot sugar syrup in to take samples of it dropped into a glass of cold water. That will allow you to visualize the sugar at soft ball stage- the desired one. The more I think about it, I bet your sugar got to hard crack stage, which is too hot.

I’m not familiar with the symptom of your mixture “sticking to the sides”. A successfully made marshmallow mixture will be sticky. However, in your mixing bowl it will look fluffy more than anything else.

Sorry this recipe didn’t turn out for you. Homemade marshmallows during the holidays are an especially satisfying gift. I hope you’ll try it again.

–McAuliflower

Thanks for the wonderful recipe! I’ve made the vanilla ones several times and they were great but my pumpkin and spicy cinnamon didn’t fluff up as much. Do you possible know what I did wrong? Or is that just the nature of those recipes? Thanks for the great blog!

Not knowing the details of your marshmallow making… I’ve made them with cinnamon and with purees with the same level of fluff as basic ones. Perhaps your sugar temperatures varied this time as did your measurements?

It’s been noted that the presence of fat (like in cocoa, or coconut milk) will make the marshmallows denser.

–McAuliflower

[...] I whipped up a half batch of peppermint marshmallows to add to a marshmallow tasting kit I am devising. Adding three drops of peppermint essential oil to the basic marshmallow recipe proved to be on the intense side of the flavor spectrum. Almost a bit tingly, but still delightful. To visually distinguish these mallows, I added a drops of red food coloring immediately to the freshly poured surface and swirled them about with a toothpick. The color is intense, even through the powdery coating that finishes the peppermint pillows. The stark swirls fit the flavor profile- not a soft vanilla mint pink version, but almost sharp. Scraping the extra bits of sweet fluff out of the mixing bowl with spoons, succinctly cradles the marshmallow cream into perfectly preserved cushions. I swirled a bit of red in, and let the spoons set up overnight with their peppermint kin. [...]

Today I made my very first batch of marshmallows, they have turned out perfect. My question is how or when would I add cocoa powder to the basic recipe to make chocolate marshmallows? And when would I add flavored fruit syrup to make different fruit flavors?

I love this site…Thanks so much! I decided to try caramel marshmallows. I substituted brown sugar and added vanilla and butter flavoring. They are very good. Thanks for the great ideas!

Cool- You’ve discovered a special flavor variation with that one Sierra: tell me, do your marshmallows taste like butterscotch?

– McAuliflower

[...] These last two sets of flavors gave me some good experience on working in some alternative flavor types into a basic marshmallow recipe. I hope to write up a review of how to flavor marshmallows after the holiday weekend. [...]

I also would like the Cocoa or chocolate flavor recipe.

I suggest for a chocolate version, one simply squirt chocolate syrup into the whipped up marshmallow fluff in the last minute of whipping.
It’s been suggested that the fat from the chocolate will adversely affect the volume of the marshmallow if added early in the process. Another idea would be to whisk up cocoa powder with just a touch of water to help it get liquid, and bring to a boil. Using this as the added in chocolate solution would not add any more sugar to a sweet concoction.

Cheers
–McAuliflower

I am so excited to try this marshmallow recipe. Thanks for such a wonderful site. And I see by all of the comments you truly do have a passion for cooking and caring for people. Keep up the good work.

I am glad to find so many people that share my passion for homemade Marshmallows! I recently made dipped homemade marshmallow candies for my family for the holidays and they were such a success that I started a candy buisness out of my home. The company is called Bee Boo Handmade Confections and I think it is going really well. I have experimented alot with flavors and find that extracts are very good for flavoring. I had not thought about using purees but can’t wait to try it. I will say that grape juice makes a great PB&J marshmallow candy. I would love to communicate back and forth with anyone who wants to contact me. My email is The web site is under construction. I was wondering if anyone had tried using splenda or other sugar substitute yet? I have a recipe with eggs whites but would rather not use eggs.

that’s exciting Deanna!

I too have been tempted to make them for the markets around here, but am hung up on not having easy access to a commercial kitchen. How painful was the process to get yours certified?

–McAuliflower

I am lucky enough to be able to use the kitchen in the coffee shop I sell them at. They close at 3 so I can do it after hours.

That’s a great opportunity!
And serves as a little something for food service employees to keep in mind if they hit a culinary inspiration.

Thanks for sharing Deanna

–McAuliflower

Hello. Ever since I found out you can make homemade marshmallows I have been wanting to try them. I’ve enjoyed reading all comments and suggestions for variations. I am anxious to try them. My question is what to do if you don’t have a whisk attachment to mixer? Also is rice flour easily found at grocers? Thanks.

No whisk attachment? Darn… I consider that part mandatory. This is a whipping action to incorporate air, a paddle attachment just won’t do it.
I’ve noticed that kitchen supply stores often carry or can easily order just the attachments to a mixer.

Rice flour is easily found in my grocery stores, either in the bulk section, baking section (also with Bob’s Red mill products), or with thai food cooking supplies. Your grocery store may vary however. Corn starch or potato flower can be used instead of the rice flour.

good luck Phyllis!

–McAuliflower

I just made my first 2 batches of homemade marshmallows. 1 in vanilla and 1 with peppermint extract and a little red food coloring barely mixed in. They are so light and fluffy.

My husband tasted them and said they were better than store bought. YAY!

Thanks for the great recipe.

Wonderful Nell!
thanks for the success story.

–McAuliflower

I just made my first batch of marshmallows–Peppermint. They turned out adorably!! So delicous, and so perfect with Valentine’s day coming up!!
I don’t know if this helps anyone, but I just used an electric hand mixer (I’m a college student, and I left my beloved Kitchen-Aid mixer at home when I moved to my apartment–lack of space), and they still turned out wonderfully…I had worried a bit about it, but it worked out perfectly.

Thanks for the feedback Renee!

Though a hand held may have worked for this batch, I caution against it for making marshmallows. They typically can not handle 10 minutes of use at top speed.

cheers
–McAuliflower

My 8 YO daughter and I tried the basic recipe two weeks ago. Very yummy, great on top of a mug of coffee, hot cocca or just plain. I want to dip them in dark chocolate next.

Today we tried to make mocha marshmallows. I added 2 TBS of instant coffee to the 3/4 cup of water going into the mixing bowl with the gelatin. I also added 1/3 cup Hershey’s coccoa powder and about 1 TBS of lemon extract (lemon was just random). It whipped up to about 75% of the volume of the plain marshmallows but they taste wonderful too. Tomorrow we try lemon marshmallows, with lemonheads if I can find them.

Steve
The Grill Cook

I’m excited you’re preceding with the lemonhead experiment! I have a jar of citric acid that I’ve sprinkled in to my powder coating to help coax that twang from my taste buds- its very fun.

I have a separate post up for chocolate marshmallows that is a good motivator for swirling in your flavors that may otherwise effect the loft of your marshmallow.

Glad its working well!

–McAuliflower

OK, the lemon was a bad idea with the chocolate, so I made another batch today. I used 3 1/2 TBS of Kahlua and 1/2 cup of cocoa powder. Very nice results, wonderful taste everyone liked them. I’m trying for a stronger mocah taste so I’ll add more Kahlua and another package of gelatin if I need more volume.

I’ll let you know how the lemon heads workout next time!

Steve

ARE THERE REALY COW BONES IN MARCHMALLOWS??? I WAS WATCHING A MOVIE A FEW YEARS BACK IN AG CLASS AND THE MOVIE SAID THERE WERE COW BONES IN IT

WELL- NOT REALLY AS BONES ARE NOT CARTILAGE… BUT YES, TRADITIONAL MARSHMALLOWS ARE NOT VEGAN.
HOWEVER, IF WE GO DOWN THAT LINE OF THINKING, THE MAJORITY OF WHITE SUGAR IS BLEACHED USING A BONE CHAR PROCESS THAT USES- YEP YOU GUESSED IT, MAMMALIAN BONE.

–McAuliflower

G’day, I am having difficulty in converting US recipes measurements to Australian measurements, as our actual measuring devices are slightly larger than the American devices. I have downloaded conversion tables and they do get quite complex even to the point of using dessert spoons measurements along with table spoons etc. Life would be so much easire if everything was written in grams and litres. Getting the measurements right I have discovered is extremely important when making confectionary and pastry. Othen than me flying over to purchase American measuring devices can you make an easier suggestion.
From and Aussie pulling her hair out
Jo Gaunt. Perth, Western Australia

Sorry Jo- I don’t have any experience converting to Australian measurements. There are alot of sources available online for converting volumetric measurements of particular ingredients into grams. Ex: 1 cup of sugar is 198-200 grams, according to the site Joe Pastry.

I recommend that you don’t convert to volumetric measures, but just convert to weight and use a scale.

Good Luck!

–McAuliflower

Does anyone know?

Are recipes public domain? If a receipe is published on the WWW or in a magazine and a person makes that product for profit using the published recipe, is there a copyright violation?

If the recipe is adjusted or altered is it a violation?

I am in the planning process of launching a part time gourmet marshmallow business and this question has come up. Please help! I’m feeling frustrated. Thanks

good questions Elaine. We’ve discussed the copyright aspects of recipes at food blog s’cool: check out the subject listing in the right hand column. You can’t copyright a list of ingredients, but you can copyright the write up of your recipe instructions. Does this mean you can’t make up that product commercially? No.

I’d recommend that you bring this question up on eGullet, after searching their archives with google’s advanced search option.

Let me know if those suggestions get you your resolution. If not, I can bump your questions up into a separate blog post to ask for reader advice.

ps- congrats on taking the marshmallow business step! I hope you’ll continue to let us know how that journey progresses.
–McAuliflower

It seems, in terms of recipe copyrights, so far from what I have read on the Internet, that I might be okay, as long as I have actually changed the ingredients and techniques and made it my own.

I also have been told to write “inspired by” and give proper credit to the original recipes on all literature, labels, packages, etc.

I have been instructed to consult with a intellectual property rights expert and get valid advice from a real lawyer.

Next question: How do you determine how to price your marshmallows? I was thinking $1.00 to 1.50/ounce? Reasonable? I use organic sugar, purest imported vanilla, the best confectionary grade gelatin, all natural coloring and fruit juices with no added sugar and the best couvertature I can purchase. I color code the garnishes to correspond to the flavors.

I received my first order but don’t know how to price it.

Thanks for your input.

Elaine

Pricing is complicated! Make sure you cover your ingredient cost, labor, equipment rental, and operational costs. You’ll also want to compare your price to similar items in your local and national markets. Having a good understanding of wholesale vs retail price is needed too, esp to make sure you aren’t underpricing yourself.

I don’t have experience setting up a food business. The folks in the pasty board at eGullet have great collective experience in setting up food businesses. There are a couple of threads there sharing the experience of setting up a bakery, and one new on tells about creating a chocolate business. I really recommend asking some questions over there, as they’ve done this before.

cheers!

–McAuliflower

There are not bones in marshmallows. The logic there is that gelatin is basically extracted from bones. Think about stock if you’ve made that. You boil the bones in water. When cooled your stock is thick and *gelatinous.* The reason that happens is the natural gelatin thickens it. The powdered and leaf forms are the same thing, only different if that makes any sense. So it is made from animals but not ground up or anything gross like that!

Hi Christine,

I think the fact that animals get ground up to make gelatin is the gross part for many vegetarians and vegans. Plain and simple, gelatin is not suitable for any vegetarian or vegan diet.

thanks for chiming in though Christine, wading into the issues of vegetarian sources in cooking supplies reveals many a murky pool of water

–mcAuliflower

ps- I won’t even go into the bone-char process used to bleach most white sugars…

Hi,

I was thinking about experimenting with maple marshmallows this weekend. Should I substitute the water, corn syrup or the sugar for an equal amount of maple syrup? If I substitute the water, than the recipe has 3 sugars in the syrup. Sounds way too sweet doesn’t it? Could I substitute the corn syrup and be successful? I am also thinking about buying some maple sugar from some local Amish farmers.

Have you ever tried dark corn syrup or brown sugar? What were the results?

P.S. Here’s a hint I learned from painful experience:

Never leave drying marshmallows on the stove top, turn on the self-cleaning oven, then leave to run errands. Upon returning home, you will have Jolly Ranchers instead of marshmallows. LOL.

Thnaks.

Elaine

Hey- homemade jolly ranchers?! This may be a joyous discovery!

For maple syrup flavors – I’d substitute the syrup in for the corn syrup. Off the top of my head, I don’t remember how maple syrup and corn syrup equate for sweetness levels. Making up a mini sized batch, recipes written out here for small batches of marshmallows, can help you play with flavor ideas without ending up with too many odd flavored marshmallows. Also- substituting some maple sugar for some of the regular sugar is a great idea.

Using brown sugar instead of regular white sugar gives you butterscotch flavored marshmallows! Works really well when adding roasted banana and rum to the marshmallow mix using the fruit marshmallow recipe!

Happy Experimenting.

–mcAuliflower

My son and I have a small bakery/candy/sandwich shop called, Chris’ Classic Confections, in Monterey Ca. We make a very popular chocolate chip marshmallow. You simply beat the marshmallow till it is thick and while it is still warm, stir in gourmet semi sweet chocolate chips. Let the mixture stand for a minute or two for the chips to melt slightly, then stir once again to swirl. They are “simply decadent”. Check out our website at http://www.ccconfections.com to see what else we do.

Good idea to get chocolate in there Barbara!

–McAuliflower

I just started making homemade marshmallows. Do you have the recipe for adding roasted bananas to the butterscotch marshmallows? What could you add to get more of a caramel flavoring? I couldn’t find a caramel extract in my stores.

Nancy

Sure
- just use the strawberry marshmallow recipe. Instead of adding strawberries, add banana. It’s just a fruit…
- swirl in caramel at the end. I don’t think there really is such a thing as caramel extract. Besides, if there was it would likely be too artificial.

Have fun!

–McAuliflower

I’m having problems getting my marshmallows to separate from the container. They have a great flavor and volume, but even when I dust the pan they refuse to cooperate. Should I use shortening or oil instead? Is there a specific pan that works better than others?

Whoops- there was a comment just here addressing this that I accidentally deleted. As specified in the directions- your marshmallow container is to be prepped to allow their release. I use oiled parchment paper regularly, though sometimes I’ll oil tin foil, or just the bare pan.

–McAuliflower

You could try marshmallow brownies
i love brownies and once i made some home made marshmallow and threw that in because i had no chocolate chips it tasted great! i also love dipping them in melted chocolate (hershey’s is good to use)

it’s worth making them they taste great
Sophie.

P.S. you could make them small and put them in muffins too especially chocolate ones (i’m a complete chocoholic by the way)

On the comment about using ONLY Mexican vanilla – per “A.B.” on the Food Network, you must be very careful using it and must be SURE it is from a respected source, as many makers of the vanilla from that area use a local plant that tastes LIKE vanilla but contains known carcinogens. Sorry to disappoint because I know how good that vanilla tastes, but when I heard this info directly from his show, I (painfully) threw out all three quart sized bottles I had personally picked up while on vacation in Mexico; it just isn’t worth the potential danger.

I think that even a poorly made – homemade marshmallow is better than the best commercialy made mallow. If you make an artisan marshmallow using only the best ingredients, you have a gourmet treat thats hard to beat.

Thank you for publishing the recipe. I will try it with Splenda (my daughter is Type I diabetic) as well as with regular sugar and post the results of the taste tests.

It is humid in the midwest right now, which may affect the results. So if they do not whip up well, I will try during drier weather. Either way, I will post my opinion of the splenda recipe. I will use the fluffier splenda for baking that measures like sugar – but if it “melts down” then I will figure out something to add to make up for the missing volume.

Thank you for the recipe!

I’ve been waiting forever to try it out and got the time today to do it… in the firts 5 min I destroyed it completely, lol

What happened was I didn’t read ahead, so the fourth paragraph says to add sugar cornsyrup ect…, which I added to the genatin… than I read ‘in a saucepan’… my heart sank! If you could edit that first sentince to the fourth sentence to begin with ‘In a saucepan’ than idiots like myself won’t miss out on beautiful marshmellows. Hopefully I will have time to buy more ingredients and try it out (again) next weekend!

Your suggestion is a good one H.
I’ll try not to shake my finger at you to hard for not reading the recipe before starting!

–McAuliflower

I was looking for a marshmallow recipe and came across this one — I made it today and it worked like a CHAMP! They came out perfect. Thanks a million.

[...] While the idea of adding five-spice powder came from Sweet Miniatures, the final recipe I used was this one from Brownie Points. I am pleased to say that there were no hitches whatsoever, and also, even a [...]

[...] your Florida oranges and save the peels! Peppermint Marshmallows ~Heather Bailey tried it using this recipe. Recipes in a Jar ~They look cool if you layer the ingredients and make a cute little label to go [...]

The marshmallow recipe is so tempting, but I have a query about the amount of gelatine required. How much gelatine does an envelope contain? I am in England and buy it in a 250 gram container. I would hate to ruin my marshmallows by getting the quantities wrong.
Thanks to everyone who has contributed to this site.

Hi Gerri

Here are some gelatin equivalents I found online:

One envelope of plain granulated gelatin = 1/4 ounce = 7.1 grams = 1 tablespoon, enough to gel two cups liquid.
4 sheets leaf gelatin = 1 envelope granulated gelatin = 1 tablespoon granulated gelatin

Hope that helps out.

–McAuliflower

Thank you very much. I am going to make lots of batches for a charity fair. Toasted marshmallow ones, some dusted with belgian cocoa, others flavored with rosewater. They are such a simple yet delicious treat.

That sounds like a good reason to get some fun flavor experimenting in! I hope you get a chance to check out the other posts in my blog’s marshmallow category. i have chocolate experiments and color swirling fun that may be quite applicable to what you’re doing.

Best of luck!

–McAuliflower

Almost all recipes I can find for marshmallows call for using a stand mixer. I don’t own one (yet!!) but desperately want to try my hand at homemade marshmallows. Does a regular ole hand mixer work or is this the excuse I have been seeking to buy myself a stand mixer!!?? Your help / thoughts would be very much appreciated.

I don’t recommend a hand held mixer for making marshmallows. Not due to having to hold it for 10 minutes, but due to the less robust motor. Taking your motor to high for 10 minutes will probably strain it significantly.

sorry

Though, it has been done with a hand held. Not by me.

–McAuliflower

I’ve tried making the marshmallows but the bottom half turns from white to a clear gelatin-like substance. What am I doing wrong?

Weird- are you following the instructions?
Are you whipping them as long as directed? It seems you aren’t getting air into them- or your mixer isn’t thoroughly mixing the whole thing.

–McAuliflower

One of my favorite drinks in the winter time is hot cocoa with a little shot of Peppermint Schnapps. Has anyone ever tried putting a little Schnapps in the marshmallow recipe to give them a little kick for your cocoa? How should it be added so as not to lose the flavor and kick of the schnapps??

thanks…….Happy Holidays!!!

I’ve made honey whiskey marshmallows that were nice and tasty. I like the idea of Schnapps ones. Add 2 tablespoons towards the end of the whipping time and taste it. Getting the kick of the schnapps is going to be difficult as you would have to add a lot to the marshmallows- which will probably affect how they set up. For making peppermint marshmallows, I recommend using peppermint essential oil or extract.

–McAuliflower

I am assuming that the peppermint flavoring is added during the final whipping time, not with the sugar, corn syrup being boiled?

Red and green marshmallows will look great in a little cellophane gift bag to give in gift baskets.

One more question……..why rice flour???

thanks.

Yes, I add alcohol based flavors at the end of the process (in the final whipping time), as I suspect heat would evaporate much of the flavor otherwise.

The rice flour is very important to prevent the marshmallows from sticking to everything. It serves to dust them for easier handling. I like to use either rice flour or corn starch in combination with a touch of powdered sugar in this step. Why not just dust it with powdered sugar? You won’t want the extra sugar. Trust my aching sweet tooth on that one.

cheers!

–McAuliflower

[...] used the smaller version of Baking Bites’ vanilla marshmallows. I sifted the rice flour/sugar combo on a greased pan and then tapped the excess out. I like the [...]

I just made marshmallows with a hand mixer and they turned out great, I was really shocked. Now I’m ready to experiment with different flavors, any suggestions?

Boy, do I ever! Check out this list of marshmallow flavor suggestions on my strawberry marshmallow post.

I’d also suggest kicking around the marshmallow category to see all of my posts about different marshmallow flavors.

Have Fun!

–McAuliflower

[...] (using this recipe, which is now the best one I’ve tried), which were then used for the enormous s’mores I [...]

WOW! I made these Friday night. I will be lucky if they last a week. Absolutely fabulous. I am going to make green ones for a St. Patricks Day treat. Thanks for the recipe!

I use either natural extracts/flavors (the difference between the two is that flavors generally aren’t alcohol-based, while extracts are) or fruit purees and juices all the time in my marshmallows. If I use fruit purees, I slightly decrease the water that the gelatin soaks in, but if I use fruit juices, I substitute it completely for the water that the gelatin soaks in. When an extract/flavor is used, I smell the one I’ve decided to use–if it smells strong, then I use less of it than if I were to use one that doesn’t have a “weaker” scent. So far, I haven’t had any problems with fluffiness except when I’ve used cocoa powder, but I’m going to try using chocolate extract soon and see how that works (there’s an organic store down the road from me that sells all sorts of natural extracts and flavorings, many of which are indeed certified organic).
The brown sugar substitution for white sugar sounds sooooooo good–that may be my next batch!

Hi Christina,

“flavors” is a very generic term in this context. A more meaningful distinction is comparing essential oils to cooking extracts. Essential oils can be made via distillation or a solvent application. Cooking extracts are generally either in an alcohol or glycerin base. Extracts can also veer into the realm of being artificial.

A strategy for making fluffy flavorful chocolate marshmallows that really taste chocolaty is to swirl the cocoa into the finished product. I have some chocolate marshmallow experiments outlined in my chocolate marshmallow post.

cheers

–McAuliflower

Has anyone tried using pectin either alone or in conjunction with agar to try to make vegan marshmallows? I read an article recently (can’t place where) that talked about the marshmallow root that people used originally, and it contains a pretty high percentage of pectin. What do you think?

Beth

i lllloooooooovvvvvvvve marshmallows !!! they are the BEST.i can eat marshmallow all day long…yum!in fact i’am eatting sum right now.like OMG everybody is always like DANG your eatting that agian “HECK YES” ” i LOVE them”. if ya’ll get a new recipe for less fat marshmallow let me know cause i’ve been eatting them too much that i’am getting giganormous!!!
♥ krissy bear

I know it’s late, but anyone have any good ideas, favorite flavors, etc for Easter marshmallows???
I absolutely refuse to buy Peeps!! YUCK!!

I think lemon is a great springy bright flavor. Or cinnamon ones- like the ones made with red hots.

cheers
–McAuliflower

I did make the cinnamon ones with red hot candies. EXCELLENT!!!! I used my Magic Bullet to pulverize the candies into a powder and then used them also with the rice flour to dust them. Lemon sounds good also. Do you use fresh lemon juice or an extract?

Yea- I’m glad that worked out for you. It’s such a magic flavor.
For lemon I used a lemon oil extract at the end- just a couple drops. I can’t remember if lemon juice reacts adversely with gelatin. If it doesn’t, you could try substituting lemon juice for the water portion- both cooked and uncooked.

–McAuliflower

A reader on my blog shared this website…it has a recipe for agave sweetened marshamllows!!!!!! If you dust them in fruit flour or cornstarch instead of flour, you’d have gluten-free/sugar free treats! She made them and they turned out great!

http://www.volcanicnectar.com/makingmarshmallowswithagave.html

All you vegetarians looking for a gelatin source – The company Natural Desserts makes a vegetarian gelatin in several flavors – including unflavored – which works great for this marshmallow recipe. It is sold at Whole Foods in the boxed desserts aisle.

I first used this recipe to find out what all the fuss was about, I didn’t believe it would be as spectacular as they turned out. I’m a believer! I’ve never made any candies and this recipe was easy to follow with incredible results. Thank you for posting it.

P.S. I added a link to it on my blog.

My kids and I had chocolate covered homemade marshmallows at a farmer’s market yesterday. They went nuts over them. So I googled homemade marshmallows and got here.

I just got done making my first batch of marshmallows and can’t wait to taste them later on. I can not believe how easy of a recipe this is. If these turn out good, boy do I have ideas for Xmas gifts and such.

is there some way of making the homemade marshmallows less sweet without affecting it’s soft texture, cuz i’ve made this reciepe 2x and it’s too sweet for me. i love marshmallows but somehow i find my homemade mallows are toot sweet.

How do i make gluten, dairy, egg, peanut free marshmallows? I am in Cook Islands (Rarotonga) for a year, and have not found gelatin, only flavoured jelly crystals with sugar and 7% gelatin. Most food is imported from New Zealand.

This sounds tempting to the tastebuds.Where can I obtain vegetarian or halal gelatin?

I have tried repeatedly to get the basic vanilla recipe to load and my computer will not get it. Is there some other way I can get the basic recipe?

disregard previous entry. I went to the strawberry recipe and saw how to make the vanilla by replacing the strawberry puree/water.
thanks.

Made the recipe today (half batch of vanilla)… I also read the entire thread on e-gullet about marshmallows. I had a few problems.
1. My non-stick spray gave a funny aftertaste to the marshmallows? Any reccomendations on what to use as an alternative?
2. My spatula (silicone) imparted a weird, soapy flavor that it picked up in my dishwasher. That is just something i have to try again with a new spatula.
3. My marshmallows were sort of flat, but I put them on a half sheet pan with just a half recipe. If I put them in a smaller container will they just set up more slowly but be fatter?
4. Any tips for getting all the mix out of the mixer? The silicone rubber spatula seemed too floppy for the sticky marshmallow.

1. use wax paper or parchment paper as an alternative to non stick spray. Or just use oil.

2. I agree, don’t use that spatula again.

3. Yes- of course making a smaller batch requires a smaller container.

4. Sounds like you need to shop around for some different utensils.

–McAuliflower

One more question. My mixture looked a bit stringy when I whipped it up. Was that ok? It just didn’t have a smooth, meringue look, it pulled out to threads. Does that mean I overcooked my sugar?

Excellent blog! Interesting article and very informative! I will necessarily subscribe for this blog.

I make my marshmallows and then pop them in the dehydrator. They’re pre-melted if you eat them straight from the dehydrator but if you turn it off after a day they get hard and crunchy, just like the ones from a Lucky Charms box. They’re awesome that way! This year I also put gelatin with my cranberry sauce and dehydrated thin slices of it for cranberry jerky, too.

[...] the basic recipe. I crushed up twelve candy canes in the food processor and added a cup in place of one of the cups [...]

No doubt I will be making these time and time again.

I love that you included half-batch measurements – thank you!

[...] I didn’t have a mobile child, but they aren’t that hard. You can find the recipe I used here. Luke loves them too. Obviously, it’s pure sugar. I gave him one and turned my back for 2 [...]

I made marshmallows for the first time last week while they came out really well, I desperately want to make amaretto marshmallows. I haven’t been able to find instructions on how to add alcohol to a marshmallow recipe. Most sites say that the marshmallows will not fluff. Any ideas?

Hi Jessica,

Just add the alcohol into the bowl during the step to bloom the gelatin. Here’s a recipe I have for Honey Vanilla Bourbon Marshmallows that adds vanilla bourbon (bourbon that has had vanilla beans steeping in it). The key is in not adding too much alcohol. This listed recipe adds ~1Tbs for a full recipe.

Good Luck!
–McAuliflower

[...] sites for references: Cooking for Engineers (love this site!), Martha Stewart and this nifty blog, Brownie Points (this site has a nice pdf of a [...]

New Zealand makes halal gelatin, made by the gelita group and called “Davis Gelatin”. it is made in Christchurch and holds a halal certificate by FIANZ. they export to the middle east and asia.
i would love to give it a go and if i get good ill think about starting a business! i could try kiwi fruit.. and i also thought of pop corn flavour. for some reason i think that will taste wonderful.. like those jelly beans, you know? mm pop corn marsh mellows. maybe a higher salt content and a touch of caramel might do it. Oh also i thought of sweetend condensed milk might be a good corn syrup substitute and make milk flavour? we kiwis love dairy. maybe i could even try honey? im wild with ideas!

Hi, I’ve been wanting to make marshmallows and my google took me to a place where are blogging, everyone is discussing the recipe and variations thereto and I am left asking you please can you email the recipe or tell me how I can get onto it via the web?
Thank you so much.

Look up David. You’re here.
–McAuliflower

I am going to try piping them individually and also into long logs which I can cut. Will let you know how it goes. To the kiwi who mentioned kiwifruit – kiwifruit and pineapple have enzymes in them that affect gelatine I think. Look it up before you try.

Wondering if there is anyway to make these without the corn syrup – I had a corn allergy in the past and have to be careful not to get too much in my diet… if anyone has any ideas for a substitute that would be awesome!

Just substitute honey, agave, or maple syrup for the corn syrup. The role of the corn syrup is to help prevent the hot sugar solution from crystallizing before the crucial temperature.

I’ve made marshmallows without corn syrup with no problems.

–McAuliflower

As a young girl I remember my neighbor making a simple treat from marshmallows. She placed marshmallows in a 9″ by 9″ pan and poured melted choc chips over the marshmallows. After the chocolate set, she cut the treats into squares and all the neighborhood children had a great tasting snack.
Marie

Hi!

I really want to use this recipe to make marshmallow fondant, becuase store bought vegan marshmallows are just gross. Is there anyone who can tell me exactly how much a batch of these weigh? I dont have access to an ingredient weight machine unfortunately. Thanks!

dip your homemade marsh mellows in the homemade magic shell.YUM YUMM

Heck yeah! frozen marshmallows… mmmm

–McAuliflower

Thanks for posting this recipe! It is so far the most successful I have used/abused. I make them much lower sugar by replacing half of the sugar with erythritol or xylitol. I also omit the corn syrup and just up the water and sugar content.
They came out wonderfully fluffy and it was so much fun to eat it out of the bowl while it was still ooey-gooey!
We’ll see how long they last without re-crystallizing in the cupboard!

So good to hear Brenda! Cheers

–McAuliflower

I have made marshmallows a few times and enjoy the results. The clean-up is another matter!

When I am finished, it seems as though every surface (horizontal AND vertical) is sticky.

Is this “just the way it is” or are there some tricks I don’t know about?

StickyFingers

Ooof- that doesn’t sound like fun.
I don’t have that problem. Are these surfaces around the cooking area, or your mixing area?
(thinking on preventative ideas)

–McAuliflower

I see some respondants are asking after agar agar made marshmallows.

I have an egg free recipe using agar and you can see it at

http://www.meatandeggfree.com/agar-marshmallows.html

Just yesterday, I ate at least a dozen marshmallows. I just discovered this site today and I’m lovin’ it…although the scale might not. lol

[...] Vanilla.  Do you know anyone who doesn’t like vanilla?  Despite its regular appearance in kitchen pantries, it is in fact, one of the world’s most expensive spices.  Europeans prefer to use the bean, while North Americans mostly use  its extract form.  With a reputation as an aphrodisiac, vanilla is a flavor most people are familiar with, and lends its distinctive flavor to hundreds of baked goods.  Here is a recipe for making your own vanilla extract. [...]

I’m really wanting to try these roased over a fire, but part of me is thinking that is just wrong.

[quote]I tried your marshmallow recipe recently, except I tried to make them vegan by substituting agar agar for the gelatin. It was a complete failure and didn’t set up at all. I’m beginning to think that all of the vegan marshmallow recipes online call for supposedly vegan gelatin that was pulled from the market when it was revealed that it wasn’t actually vegan. Do you know of any tried-and-true recipes for vegan marshmallows? I desperately want to make them! The s’mores tart is calling my name!
Thanks for any help you can give me.
P.S. I got my biochem degree at the U of O[/quote]

Agar Agar is made from seaweed… isn’t that allowed for vegans? (excuse any ignorance about veganism)

[...] Points ever since reading the post on Homemade Magic Shell (check it out!) and bookmarked the Basic Marshmallow recipe probably a year ago.  However, I had ingredient issues, the grocery stores around my old [...]

[...] week later, I know, my first batch didn’t come out so well. Even though the recipe’s directions are very clear, my brain is not (!) and the first time around I boiled the gelatin along the corn [...]

marshmallows are great in choc fondue, or floating in a nice thick hot choc

[...] …and keep warm (with cocoa and homemade peppermint marshmallows!): [...]

Hi, I just want to know if marshmallows can be made using jelly crystals. I have heard that if you use only half the water leave it cool and then beat it well, that this may work. I haven’t tried it but with all the flavours of jelly I thought it may be a quick and easy way for the kids to help make them then they can move onto the basic way of making them.
Thanks
Gayle Doxey
Australia

I remember eating popsicles made this way Gayle. It was a long time ago- but I believe this strategy would work. Only let it cool to room temperature, don’t refrigerate it until you’ve beaten it. Also- considering beating it with your bowl nestled in an ice bath.

cheers
McAuliflower

It is rainy and sultry will this make any difference to the way the marshmallow turn out.

Yes- they will likely be more sticky and possible not as fluffy.

McAuliflower

[...] and fluffy marshmallows from scratch several months ago, so I decided to give them a shot using this recipe.  Mine, though very nice to look at and fairly tasty, are pretty dense.  I think where I went [...]

I have had a great time experimenting with this recipe and good results with trying strawberries, blueberries, and mango. However, this weekend I tried using maple syrup intead of corn syrup and while it tasted great, the consistency was like a gritty cake icing instead of like a Marshmallow. So I repurposed it as a cake filling, so it did not go to waste. I can only guess that here must have been some chemical reaction with the maple and the gelatin.

Grit in your marshmallow is the result of crystallization happening in your sugar solution (which the corn syrup inhibits). This can be caused by heating the sugar solution higher than the recommended temperature, or just simple crystal formation happening as sugar loves to do when heated. Have you ever read a caramel recipe that goes into detail about preventing crystals? The same rules apply here: wash down the sides of the pan with a wet brush, don’t stir the heating sugar solution- just don’t touch it at all except with the clean candy thermometer. A dirty thermometer will seed the hot sugar solution for crystals.

This recipe is possible without corn syrup (I’ve used honey with sugar successfully). Success lies in a clean process. Good luck with your next run!

–McAulflower

hi, great work! great site! just 2 questions. i hate corn syrup, any recipies with out it. and how much do you gelatine packets weigh??? i live in spain and i am pritty sure that the packets are diffrent size.

oh, and i tried making some marshmallow with agar agar and they turned out to hard. almost like a rock.

thanks for everything you do here. cheers, itchy

I saw online where someone was selling peanut butter swirl marshmallows. Any idea how that would work? Just swirl in pb after pouring the marshmallows into the pan?

Great looking Marshmallows. I’ve found it necessary to use a dehumidifier in the summer to maintain proper conditions to create the perfect mallow.

hi i was wondering if it was possible to add alcohol to marshmallow or if they wouldnt work if the geletan would disappear completly. thanks!

[...] the sugary sweet goodness that comes this time of year.  I love making marshmallows and love this recipe from Brownie Points [...]

[...] just as well that it didn’t. And while I was in homemade everything, why not throw in some marshmallows and hot cocoa mix? Sounds like a recipe for successful hibernation to me! [A word about that cocoa [...]

I made these marshmallows up for Christmas this year for the first time. My first batch was the basic vanilla, then I did 3 rapid batches in succession- orange, raspberry, and peppermint. I used orange zest and juice concentrate and they came out so strongly flavored, awesome! for the raspberry I used a homemade fruit syrup they were all a hit

I’ve used your recipe a couple times with much success (my boss loved the chocolate ones). I’ve been using fewer refined foods and have been wanting to try a recipe with natural sugar/sweeteners and finally made the half batch with rapadura for the sugar and honey for the corn syrup – so yummy!

Since the rapadura has the original molasses content they’re pale brown in color and have a unique flavor. The kiddos and I had some with homemade hot chocolate before they set up – like marshmallow fluff! Now when we go camping I’ll be able to make natural marshmallows.

[...] hot chocolate and – on a whim – a batch of marshmallows.  I dug out a recipe for Basic Vanilla Marshmallows that I’ve used in the past with success; the last time we made it I tried the chocolate [...]

[...] sites for references: Cooking for Engineers (love this site!), Martha Stewart and this nifty blog, Brownie Points (this site has a nice pdf of a [...]

[...] Marshmallow recipe This entry was posted in Gifts and tagged marshmallow, peppermint, spoons. Bookmark the permalink. ← Grams To Oz – How You Can To Convert Grams To Ounces [...]

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[...] got a little nuts with the fondue and made some cinnamon marshmallows. We also skewered cinnamon bears, pretzels, pineapple, strawberries, raspberries and bananas to [...]

[...] or peppermint? ‘Cause I got both! Here is the recipe for my favorite tried and true vanilla marshmallows. (I make the half-batch.) For the [...]

Great post. I used to be checking continuously this weblog and I am impressed! Very helpful info specially the remaining section I handle such information much. I was looking for this certain info for a very long time. Thank you and good luck.

Hmm it looks like your website ate my first comment (it was extremely long) so I guess I’ll just sum it up what I submitted and say, I’m thoroughly enjoying your blog. I as well am an aspiring blog blogger but I’m still new to everything. Do you have any suggestions for first-time blog writers? I’d definitely appreciate it.

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