Homemade Marshmallows

I have been obsessed with the idea of making my own marshmallows ever since we had lunch at Jean Georges in NYC when they rolled out a cart at the end of our meal and cut off marshmallows from strips in giant jars of ginger, rose, and vanilla flavored ones. They were fluffy and delicious, and nothing like the mass-produced ones. Then, one day recently I spotted this chocolate swirl cinnamon marshmallow recipe on Food52. Turned out fabulous. I couldn't believe how easy they were, and they were very fun to make.

So first you sprinkle gelatin over water and leave it there.

 Then you've got water, sugar, corn syrup and kosher salt cooking over low heat.

 Get on up to 240 degrees. (This candy thermometer was a bridal shower gift in Calgary, and I recommend it to everyone - especially people who want to make ice cream.)

  Pour this mixture over the gelatin mixture.

 Beat it with a mixer until it is thick and opaque. I was surprised how quickly this happened, and how quickly I could barely even move my mixer. Who would have thought? I actually would have guessed marshmallows had egg whites in them like meringues, but apparently not.

 I stirred in the chocolate pieces and poured the whole thing in a greased pan. You want to grease the spatula too.

 Leave it there for a couple hours, then come back and coat your scissors in powdered sugar. Then cut them up in pieces and roll them in a mixture of powdered sugar, cocoa powder, and cinnamon. I bet you could use a cookie cutter dipped in powdered sugar and make all different shapes if you wanted (then they could probably be packaged in a cool way and given to your coworkers for Christmas gifts).

 Beautiful! My boss said the same thing about this as she said when I spent a lunch hour reading recipes for candy corn - "Why would you want to make something you can buy for a dollar?" "Because the homemade version is way better" I say... also you can make crazy flavors. I think next time I may infuse the water used in the gelatin with lavender beforehand. (I have a lot of lavender leftover from the bulk section at the Pioneer Market - still cannot believe that place closed down!)

 Then, it turns out you don't need a campfire to have s'mores. I put a graham cracker, some chocolate chips and these puppies under the broiler for a minute. Watch them closely as they can burn quickly.

 Fabulous!

This last one I put a layer of fake peanut butter underneath the chocolate chips before putting it under the broiler. Pretty much best thing ever. This a dessert that is probably not that bad for you that you can literally make in one minute. You could also probably put strawberries, nutella, or a piece of caramel under the marshmallow. Gooey, steamy, chocolately heaven with all the nostalgic flavors of a Great Lakes campfire  at any time of the year.