melting hearts

Ever since all my wonderful friends pitched in to buy me a kitchen aid mixer, i've been wanting to make marshmallows. I'm not down with standing over a bowl using a handmixer for 7 minutes. anyway I've always heard about how homemade marshmallows are so much better than the store bought and being a marshmallow lover, the idea of being able to flavor them to your liking sounded divine. I used this recipe except added a teaspoon of peppermint flavoring and a few drops of red food coloring. After cooking, i used a heart cookie cutter to cut out the shapes, and half dipped them in milk chocolate. It's the month of february, so of course i used these to go along with our hot chocolate on valentines day. I really liked the melty, sweet puffy texture of the marshmallow but personally i think a teaspoon of peppermint was a bit too much- next time i would put half.

Homemade Marshmallows

3 envelopes of Knox gelatin
1/2 cup cold water
2 cups granulated sugar
2/3 cups corn syrup
1/4 cup water
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

In the bowl of an electric mixer, sprinkle gelatin over 1/2 cup cold water. Soak for 10 minutes. Combine sugar, corn syrup, and 1/4 cup water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and boil hard for 1 minute. Pour boiling syrup into gelatin and mix at high speed. Add the salt and beat for 12 minutes. Add vanilla and incorporate into mixture. Scrape into a 9 x 9-inch pan lined with oiled plastic wrap and spread evenly. (Note: Lightly oil hands and spatula or bowl scraper). After pouring marshmallow mixture into the pan, take another piece of plastic wrap and press mixture into the pan.

Let mixture sit for a few hours. Remove from pan, dredge the marshmallow slab with confectioners' sugar and cut into 12-20 equal pieces with scissors or a chef's knife. Dredge each piece of marshmallow in confectioners' sugar.