Whisky infused Marshmallows + Mistakes = hmmm

I have an obsession with making homemade marshmallows. I like finishing up a dinner party with spiced hot chocolate and marshmallows. Simple, sweet and sexy.

Though, I always make the marshmallows the night before, so they can set over night. It takes about 20 minutes or so to prepare, and another 20 minutes to clean up, so it saves a lot of stress the day of a party. I did learn, that cutting marshmallows is best done with a pair of scissors. Just remember to sanitize them first!

I usually base the recipe of the one I found on Smitten Kitchen. When I went to attempt these I had just come from after work drinks with my friend Scott. 3 glasses of wine and I made a big mistake. I even photographed it.

Do you see it? The Celsius… I thought it was Fahrenheit. So yeah, I over cooked the sugar. What’s that mean? Well I learned that the sugar becomes hard candy if you make it too hot. Luckily I salvaged most of it, but some of the marshmallows felt like they had pits. Pits of sugar.

Then I didn’t have a square metal pan, so that was mistake number two, which I also happen to photograph.

Well some how. They came out, but next time I’d use more whiskey.

Not as fluffy as I’d like but they did just fine.

The Recipe:

• *About 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
• *3 1/2 envelopes (2 tablespoons plus 2 1/2 teaspoons) unflavored gelatin
• *1 cup cold water, divided
• *2 cups granulated sugar (cane sugar worked just fine)
• *1/2 cup light corn syrup
• *1/4 teaspoon salt
• *2 large egg whites or reconstituted powdered egg whites
• *2 tablespoon whisky

1. 1. Oil bottom and sides of a 13- by 9- by 2-inch rectangular metal baking pan and dust bottom and sides with some confectioners’ sugar.
2. 2. In bowl of a standing electric mixer or in a large bowl sprinkle gelatin over 1/2 cup cold cold water, and let stand to soften.
3. 3. In a 3-quart heavy saucepan cook granulated sugar, corn syrup, second 1/2 cup of cold water, and salt over low heat, stirring with a wooden spoon, until sugar is dissolved. Increase heat to moderate and boil mixture, without stirring, until a candy or digital thermometer registers 240°F, about 12 minutes. Remove pan from heat and pour sugar mixture over gelatin mixture, stirring until gelatin is dissolved.
4. 4. With standing or a hand-held electric mixer beat mixture on high speed until white, thick, and nearly tripled in volume, about six minutes if using standing mixer or about 10 minutes if using hand-held mixer. 
5. 5. In separate medium bowl with cleaned beaters beat egg whites (or reconstituted powdered whites) until they just hold stiff peaks. Beat whites and whiskey into sugar mixture until just combined. Pour mixture into baking pan and don’t fret if you don’t get it all out (learning from my mess of a first round).
6. 6. Sift 1/4 cup confectioners sugar evenly over top.
7. 7. Chill marshmallow, uncovered, until firm, at least three hours, and up to one day.
8. 8. Run a thin knife around edges of pan and invert pan onto a large cutting board. Lifting up one corner of inverted pan, with fingers loosen marshmallow and ease onto cutting board. With a large knife trim edges of marshmallow and cut marshmallow into roughly one-inch cubes. (cleaned scissors are my preference.) Sift remaining confectioners’ sugar back into your now-empty baking pan, and roll the marshmallows through it, on all six sides, before shaking off the excess and packing them away.

Homemade Marshmallows & Hot Chocolate

In trying to figure out what to bring to a dinner party Saturday night I thought about my favorite dessert, Belgian hot chocolate with a big homemade marshmallow. With that, I decided to make marshmallows. Not really knowing what was in store I decided to search for recipes and started on my favorite cooking blog, Smitten Kitchen. Luckily, her recipe for marshmallows seemed within my baking skills. The reason I love her blog is because of the photos. She takes them of the process. I can compare textures to make sure I’m on the right track to making the right finishing product.

Well, by the time I left the grocery store, and got home to make these Friday it was just past 10 PM. Everything started out smooth except, I didn’t have a candy thermometer. I also didn’t take note that I needed a pot that was three times the depth. When the candy started to boil, it boiled over and started to burn. At this point it’s nearing 11 PM and I started to freak that the smoke detector would sound but somehow I got it to stop and continued to move forward with the recipe and decided to clean later. 20 minutes with a hand mixer and I had something white and fluffy that was ready to set in the refrigerator. The recipe was simple, but the clean up after… not so much.

The next morning, I ran to fridge like a kid on Christmas morning and there they were. Marshmallows in all their glory. The only thing that would make the morning better would be if they came to life, Ghost Busters style. I cut them into squares and stored them in an air tight container as instructed.

At the party dinner was winding down and I decided to make the hot chocolate. I was going to get chocolate bars and chop them up but I found this great tin of Mariebelle Aztec hot chocolate. I didn’t really follow the recipe cause I wanted a bit more chocolaty than normal. I heated up a full pan of milk, added in chocolate and let the chocolate melt. I ladled into cups, topped it with a marshmallow. Some friends added whiskey, others just enjoyed the warm chocolate but it made for a wonderful close to an evening. But be warned, if you make this be prepared to talk about it. The common question, “What’s actually in a marshmallow? Wait, so you actually made them?” Big Smile. “Yes. Yes I did.”