Ditch the Corn Syrup with this Homemade Marshmallow Recipe
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I recently went on a Homemade Marshmallow Recipe spree. Blame it on looking for something fun to make for my kids for Valentine’s Day and to take to Palmer Food Swap.
Easy Homemade Marshmallows
I found it in this fantastic Homemade Marshmallow Recipe made without corn syrup. They’re soft and pillowy, perfect for a chocolate-covered bite or dropped in a cup of hot cocoa.
No Corn Syrup PLEASE!
Plus with no added corn syrup they’re a tiny bit more healthy, right? Please say yes! If you’re looking to ditch the corn syrup in another fabulous old fashioned recipe try my Pecan Pie without Corn Syrup Recipe. It is perfection!
Homemade is Better!
I know you’re thinking WHY BOTHER. Why bother indeed! I do not like marshmallows and usually, I only buy them for summer s’mores.
But these taste so fresh I actually enjoyed one, fine two. And they’re not rubbery like a marshmallow that’s been in a bag for 6 months.
Can you toast a homemade marshmallow?
You CAN toast a homemade marshmallow. You need to age them a bit first though. To do this let them rest uncovered in a dry cupboard somewhere for a MINIMUM of 24 hours. They’re better if you can do 2-3 days though!
Also be sure you’re letting them dry somewhere without flies, bugs, cats, and dogs around. You don’t want anything getting in the marshmallows while they age and dry.
Once they’re tougher they’re ready to toast OR drop in hot cocoa! OR make these Salted Caramel S’Mores for the best s’mores you’ve ever eaten!
Marshmallows Without Corn Syrup
Why? Well, I have found I don’t KEEP corn syrup around. I don’t use it often enough and the last bottle I had turned to a rock in the pantry.
Also, I think it’s gross. It’s just sweet for sweet’s sake and I can do without that. I came up with an easy enough recipe that uses no corn syrup and less gelatine so your chosen flavors
Pick your Flavor and Your Color and Your Shape!
The fun part of this recipe, besides watching hot syrup getting whipped to fluffy deliciousness is picking food colors, flavors and shapes for your homemade marshmallows.
Try these fun combos for marshmallow madness fun:
- Pink Color w/Peppermint-fun in cocoa all winter long
- Green with mint perfect for St. Patrick’s Day and make them shamrock-shaped
- Orange with pumpkin Spice for fall and make them little pumpkins
- Try my Nutella Swirl Marshmallows if you want to try something AMAZING!
About Your ‘Mallows
A few kind words to get you going on the right track:
- You NEED a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment; these take about 10 minutes of whipping
- A Candy thermometer to clip on the side of the pan, these need to hit the soft-ball stage before you remove from the heat
- Prepare your pan ahead of time, so it’s ready to go, dust it with powdered sugar
- Once you remove the boiling syrup from the stove, let it cool for a bit. Once it’s cooled a little, really 2-3 minutes and you’ve added the salt and
vanilla , then drizzle it down the side of the bowl letting it hit the bowl first and run down into the gelatine mix - These fit perfectly in an 8×8 pan BUT for thinner marshmallows put them in a 9×13
- Once it hits 235 you can remove it from the heat but if you leave on PAST 240 it’s going to move to a different stage of candy making that will not work for this homemade marshmallow recipe
Homemade Marshmallow Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 packets gelatine powder
- 1 cup water divided
- 2 cups Sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract OR scrape a vanilla bean in for EXTRA flavor
- 1/4 tsp salt
Instructions
- add two packets of gelatine powder to the bowl of your KitchenAid, give it a stir and leave it to set
- pour 1/2 cup of cold water in the bowl of a KitchenAid mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, give it stir or two and then leave it set
- meanwhile stir the remaining water and the sugar together in a heavy bottom sauce pan
- bring it slowly to a boil
- continue boiling until the mixture comes to the soft-ball stage, or between 235˚-240˚ on your candy thermometor
- once it hits 235˚ you can remove it from the heat and let it cool a little
- then add your vanilla extra or other flavors, and the salt, be aware that adding things to hot syrup can sauce it to bubble violently
- cool 1-2 minutes more, you just don’t want to pour boiling syrup straight in the mixer
- when it’s cooled a bit, no more than 3 minutes total, turn the mixer on low, and start dribbling in the hot syrup
- make sure it hits the bowl first and then runs into the gelatine
- once all the syrup is added slowly turn the mixer up to high or 1-2 notches below will be fine too
- let it run until the mixture is soft, white and fluffy, about 10-15 minutes it should hold a bit of peak when you dab a spoon in it, the top will hold and then fall over
- meanwhile add 1-2 TBSP powdered sugar to a clean 8×8 pan and shake it around until it well coated
- at this point you can add some food color if you want and stir it in until it’s mixed
- scrape the marshmallow fluff into your prepared pan
- after 4 hours, sift more powdered over the top of marshmallows
- cut around the edge and use a spatula to encourage it to come out of the pan
- cut in 8 slices, and then cut across those 8 slices to make 64 squares
- dust them all with more powdered sugar
- store in a covered container 3-4 days
I really need to up my marshmallow game. Love that second photo! These look so good!
Gelatin packets…? Is there a weight please?
mmmm knox gelatin packets–there are 4 packets in a box, the weight on the box says one once
In another recipe, I saw that 2 1/2 Tablespoons was about equal to 3 packets. I needed to know that also because it’s not available in packets here. I know this was posted awhile ago so you may not need that information now.
Thanks! I’ll add that information
This recipe worked great. My 4 year old was watching the Lorax and there is a scene with marshmallows. He goes “mommy I really want marshmallows”, we don’t eat corn syrup so store bought ones are out or super expensive. We happened to have all of the ingredients on hand + a digital food thermometer. He happily licked the left over fluff in the bowl in anticipation for them to set. We sprinkled a little of cinnamon on top and I swirled it in with a fork, since it was an after thought.
Have you every used the fluff before it sets to make rice crispy treats?
Can this be piped through a decorating bag?
I haven’t done this recipe through a piping bag but I have done other marshmallow through a piping bag. It was tricky but doable.