A Sweet Treat for your Sweetie! Marshmallows!

It's that time of year when everything goes pink, the flowers are starting to bloom again, the deserts are decadent and sweet, and love is in the air. Chua mating season! No I'm kidding but it is the season of love right now and I find Marshmallows are a sweet treat you can make at home that are far, FAR better than anything you'd find in a store. In fact many who say they don't like marshmallows will find they just can't put these down they are so delicious. You can also flavor and color these however you like! So enjoy this sweet treat and do share with your sweetie... or just eat them all yourself, I don't judge... much.

Homemade Marshmallows What you need:

3 .25 oz packets of gelatin 1/2 cup cold water

1/2 cup water

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 cup light corn syrup 1/4 tsp salt

1 Tbsp vanilla

1/2 cup powdered sugar 1/4 cup corn starch

Place the 1/2 cup cold water and the three packets of gelatin in the bowl of your mixer and allow to sit until the gelatin blooms. Gelatin doesn't like to work in hot liquids unless it dissolves in cold liquid first, this is why. Have your mixer with the WHIP attachment on, not the regular beater.

In a small sauce pan with a lid combine the other 1/2 cup of water along with the sugar, corn syrup, and salt. Cover for several minutes while on high heat then remove the lid, giving a quick stir with a wooden spoon and placing in your candy thermometer. Cook the sugar syrup until it reaches 240 degrees. Keeping the lid on not only helps heat the mixture more quickly it also causes condensation to run down the sides of the pot and dissolve any wayward sugar crystals on the edges of the pot that could cause for a grainy, crystalline texture later on if not dealt with.

Start the mixer on medium low and SLOWLY pour in the 240 degree sugar syrup aiming for the side of the bowl and not the mixer whip. Be very careful, this sugar syrup is basically liquid napalm and is a real nuisance to get out of one's fur too! Once all the syrup is poured in turn the mixer up to high for about 13 to 15 minutes. The longer you whip the stiffer your marshmallows will be. I like a nice, soft marshmallow so I am content with about 13 minutes. During the last minute of whipping add in 1 tbsp of vanilla (Or another flavor) extract. Also this would be a good time to add in a little food coloring if desired too.

Combine the Powdered sugar and corn starch in a small bowl.

While the marshmallows are mixing prepare a 9 X 13 pan with a liberal amount of cooking spray and then shake in some of powdered sugar mixture. Cover with aluminum foil and shake vigorously to coat the whole inside of the pan. This is very important as air whipped sugar syrup is VERY sticky stuff and this will help with getting it out from the pan.

QUICKLY take the whipped marshmallow mixture from the mixer and using a cooking spray coated spatula spread it out into the 13 X 9 pan as quickly as possible. It doesn't need to be exact but do your best and work fast as you can as it starts to set up very quickly. Once you have it spread out allow to come to room temperature and cover with the aluminum foil. Allow to rest for at least four hours before removing but longer is better, even over night.

When the marshmallows have rested turn them out, sprinkle them with more powdered sugar and corn starch mixture. I use a pizza cutter to cut them into squares. I then toss them up with more of the powdered sugar and they are ready to enjoy!

Store in air tight ziploc bags or containers for up to three weeks. So delicious!

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Want even more fun with your marshmallows? Think EXTRUSION... Okay, that's just a fancy word for putting them in a bag and squeezing them out. But really, it sounds fancy and science like, right? If you have molds you can use them liberally coated with cooking spray and then pipe the marshmallow mixture into them. Let them sit for four hours and extra. Coat in colored sugar and enjoy!

Or maybe you are into a little more fun? Want to celebrate to your partner with her favorite part of anatomy at a party? Well just make some pink marshmallows and pipe into little rounded mounds on some cornstarch and sugar coated parchment paper. Top with a little dot of color and you've got...

Marshmallow Boobies

While as a chua I don't worry about them to much they sure are delicious to eat!

Enjoy your season of love!