Homemade Marshmallows + The Perfect S’more-gasbord

Welcome back to QCK!

We all know the best part of summer is S’mores around the fire, or literally just over the stove. The classic Jet Puffed, Hershey’s & Honey Maid combo is something beyond perfecting. It’s like pure joy entering your mouth. Could a classic S’more get any better? Well… yeah, it can. With homemade marshmallows and a Reece’s Peanut Butter Cup instead of Hershey’s.

Marshmallows are so simple to make and so much better than store-bought. The flavor is great because at home you can use real, high-quality vanilla, but they also have a much better texture. Silky and fluffy at the same time. Plus! You can get creative. I made mine extra large, they’re actually the size of half a graham cracker, perfect for s’mores. You can cut yours into fun shapes, add different flavors (mint, chocolate, banana, strawberry), dip them in chocolate, nuts, candy, sprinkles, etc. And they melt perfectly into hot chocolate.

Now let’s talk about the S’more-gasbord (how could I not). This is such a fun idea if you’re having friends over for a fire, it’s great for a kid’s birthday party, or if you’re camping. It takes pretty much no effort, unless you want to make your own candy bars and graham crackers. I used an assortment of chocolates for my board which included:

• Ghiradelli Milk Chocolate Caramel Squares
• Reece’s Peanut Butter Cup Thins
• Hershy’s, classic
• Hershey’s Cookies and Cream
• Honeymaid Graham Crackers
• Homemade Vanilla Marshmallows

I love this combo of decadent but fun chocolates because it adds a simple twist to a classic, some other items you could add are:

• Gummy Worms or Bears
• Sprinkles
• Soft Caramels
• Fun Sized Candy Bars
• Chocolate Graham Crackers
• Flavored Marshmallows (chocolate, mint, strawberry, banana)
• Frosting

How to get perfectly smooth marshmallows

When making marshmallows, you’ll need a plastic wrap lined pan. In order to get smooth marshmallows you’ll need to make sure the plastic wrap is wrinkle free when you lay it in the pan, it’s a little trickier than it sounds. While I was working in a French restaurant, I was in charge of making the charcuterie and I learned a trick on how to get perfectly smooth plastic wrap lined pans that I found extremely helpful in making this recipe.

First, spray your pan with non-stick spray:

Next, place your plastic wrap in the pan and get it as smooth as you can just using your hands. Not very smooth, right?

Now fill the pan 1/2 full with cold water. You’ll see some air bubbles and wrinkles disappear.

Now gently tug at the edges of the plastic wrap, lifting as needed, just be sure to not let water get under the plastic. The water acts as a weight to gently push the air bubbles and wrinkles out. See the difference?

Now gently pour the water out and spray the plastic with non-stick. It won’t be 100% perfect, but there’s a significant difference between this and the first picture.

You can skip this step if you’re not worried about having them perfectly smooth. The tops will have some air bubbles, this is a natural part of the cooling process, but to avoid it as much as possible you can place another 9×9 pan on top of the marshmallows as they cool.

Recipe

Cook: 20 Min

Rest: 4 Hours

Difficulty: Easy

Servings: 15

Ingredients

• 3 Envelops (.75 oz) Unflavored Gelatin
• 1/2 C Cold Water
• 2 C Granulated Sugar
• 2/3 C Light Corn Syrup
• 1/4 C Water
• 1/4 tsp Kosher Salt
• 1 Tbsp Pure Vanilla Extract
• Confectioners Sugar

Directions

• In a large bowl, pour 3 envelopes of gelatin on top of 1/2 C cold water, set aside for 10 minutes.
• In a medium saucepan, over medium-low heat, combine sugar, corn syrup and water. Stir until sugar is fully dissolved.
• Once sugar is dissolved, turn heat to high and bring the mixture to a boil.
• Allow the mixture to come up to a hard boil, then set a timer for 1 minute, do not stir during this time.
• After one minute, remove the mixture from the heat and slowly begin to pour it into the bowl of geletain and water.
• Using an electric mixer with a whisk attatchment, beat the geletain while slowly pouring the sugar into the bowl.
• Start the mixer on low and gradually move to high speed.
• Once all the sugar is added to the geletain, continue mixing until the mixture turns into a fluffy, silky, shiny white marshmallow fluff. At this point the mixture should be about room temp.
• Spray a 9×9 pan with non-stick oil, place a layer of plastic wrap on the bottom and edges and then spray again. (See detailed directions above)
• Using a greased rubber spatula, pour and spread the marshmallow fluff into the pan.
• Spray the top with a thin layer of non-stick cooking oil and place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the marshmallow.
• Leave the marshmallows to set up for at least 4 hours or overnight. They should be soft but not liquid and should spring back when touched.
• Pour some confectioners sugar onto a flat surface (like you would with flour for dough) and place the set marshmallows (plastic removed) on to the sugared surface.
• Using a sharp knife or cookie cutter, cut marshmallows to desired shape and size.
• Coat each side of the marshmallow in confectioners sugar.
• Enjoy in a s’more, hot chocolate, or on it’s own.

As always, I hope you enjoyed this recipe! If you tried it out let me know in the comments. For more recipes check out my homepage and follow along on Instagram. Don’t forget to like, follow, comment and share. Thanks for reading! 

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