Homemade Marshmallows 101: Recipe for How to Make Marshmallows and How to Use Them in Desserts

Marshmallows are available in abundance in the market, allowing you to make s'mores, use them as a topping for your hot cocoa, or even mix them into savory dishes. However, there's a different type of joy that comes from making these soft, sugary, fluffy pillows at home from scratch. The ingredients are usually available at home, barring gelatin, but even that is an inexpensive item that you can find in any grocery store. Try this recipe for eggless homemade marshmallows and explore some variations, along with some marshmallow-based desserts. You can gift them to your friends and family for Christmas or other festive occasions, and they will surely appreciate this gesture.

Homemade Vanilla Marshmallows

Ingredients:

4 tsp of gelatin powder

2 cups of sugar

1 cup of light corn syrup

1 cup of water

2 tsp of vanilla essence

1 cup of icing sugar

1 cup of cornstarch

Instructions:

• Mix the gelatin powder with a cup of water, ensuring it's well combined, and let it sit.
• Lightly grease a baking tray with either butter or non-stick cooking spray, and sprinkle half a cup of icing sugar over it.
• In a saucepan, combine white sugar, corn syrup, and water. Cook over low heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Cover and bring the mixture to a boil.
• Remove the lid and continue cooking until the syrup hardens in cold water. You;ll have to test the mixture by dropping a small amount into cold water and if it firms up, you’re ready for the next step.
• Remove the saucepan from heat and add the gelatin mix. To ensure even incorporation, use an electric hand mixer but you can use a whisk too.
• Continue whisking until you achieve a fluffy and light mixture, similar to that of whipped egg whites.
• Add vanilla, mix again, and transfer the mixture into your greased baking tray. We recommend refrigerating this overnight for best results.
• Sprinkle the remaining half cup of icing sugar over the marshmallows, then cut into cubes of your desired size. The icing sugar will help keep the marshmallow pieces separated.
• Store the pieces in an airtight jar.

Tips to make your homemade marshmallows even better:

• For variations, consider adding instant coffee or freshly brewed espresso instead of vanilla essence to the mixture.
• To introduce an exciting texture, you can also incorporate desiccated coconut or even coconut flakes by laying them evenly on your baking tray before covering them with the marshmallow mixture.
• For an extra-chocolatey hot chocolate drink, add a couple of tablespoons of Cadbury cocoa powder along with chocolate chips to the marshmallow mix.
• If you want to make colorful marshmallows, you can use funky food colors. Create solid colored marshmallows, or something artistic like marbled patterns.

Last, but not the least, here is a recipe that you can create with the homemade vanilla marshmallows you just created.

Airfryer S’mores

Ingredients:

4 crackers

4 homemade vanilla marshmallows

4 pieces of Cadbury dark chocolate or Dairy Milk chocolate

Instructions:

• All you need to do is place the marshmallows on top of the crackers.
• Put the crackers in the air fryer, with the marshmallow side up, for five minutes.
• The marshmallows will melt and turn brown.
• After this, place the chocolate pieces on top and then add the other cracker.

S’mores Cookies

Ingredients:

1 ½ cups of refined flour

1 tsp of baking powder

1 tsp of cornstarch

¾ cups of chopped Cadbury dark chocolate

10 tbsp of room temperature butter

1 ½ cups of sugar

1 egg

1 tsp of vanilla essence

1 cup of marshmallows chopped into pieces

4 crackers

Instructions:

• Roughly chop the crackers and Cadbury dark chocolate, then set them aside.
• In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and cornstarch.
• In another bowl, beat the butter and sugar until creamy, then add the egg and vanilla, mixing well.
• Gradually incorporate the flour into the butter-sugar mixture until thoroughly combined.
• Add the chopped chocolate, crackers, and marshmallows to the dough. You can reserve some for later if desired.
• Refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes to an hour (do not skip this step).
• Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a baking tray with parchment paper.
• Take portions of the cookie dough, placing them on the tray. Top each dough ball with extra marshmallows and press into a cookie shape. If you have additional chocolate, you can garnish the cookies with it.
• Bake the cookies for 8 to 10 minutes at 180 C.