What goes better with a steaming cup of hot cocoa or a cozy fire than marshmallows, right?
Unfortunately for the person with food sensitivities, the average store-bought marshmallow can be problematic. I mean, aside from the nasty GMO corn or wheat syrup, why exactly does a white marshmallow need FD&C Blue No. 1, anyway?
These whole food, homemade marshmallows have none of the unnecessary artificial colors, flavors or chemical stabilizers, nor any of the refined, GMO sugars that are in the store-bought variety. In face, all you need to make these yummy, honey-sweetened marshmallows are simple ingredients: Purified water, grass-fed gelatin, honey, maple syrup, real vanilla extract, and a pinch of sea salt.
Homemade marshmallows are really easy to make but you will need a candy thermometer to make sure the syrup gets to just the right temperature. You can find them easily at most kitchen goods stores or online. Also, you’ll want an upright stand mixer or old-fashioned hand mixer to make quick work of your marshmallows!
For the best s’mores ever, smush these babies between two hot, gluten-free chocolate chip cookies. They are also outstanding in hot cocoa or masala chai tea.
Note: Homemade marshmallows are pillowy soft, and so they melt and toast much faster than the store-bought ones made with chemical stabilizers! These marshmallows will melt very quickly if roasted over fire.
Homemade Honey Vanilla Marshmallows
Ingredients
- 3 Tbsp. grass-fed beef gelatin
- 1 cup filtered water, divided
- ½ cup raw honey
- ½ cup maple syrup
- 2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp. sea salt
- 1/4 cup arrowroot flour, for dusting
Instructions
- Line an 8″x8″ pan with unbleached parchment paper in both directions, to easily remove the marshmallows once they are set.
- Dust the bottom of the pan with half of the arrowroot flour. Set pan aside.
- Add 1/2 cup of the purified water to a mixing bowl (if you’re using an upright stand mixer use the bowl that comes with it), then sprinkle the gelatin over the water. Let this “bloom” while you make the syrup mixture.
- In a medium-size sauce pan, add 1/2 cup purified water, honey, maple syrup, vanilla extract and sea salt. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat. Stir constantly to keep it from scorching or overflowing.
- Turn the heat down and simmer until mixture reaches 240 degrees on the candy thermometer, which will take about 10-15 minutes, depending on your stove. Remove from heat.
- With the mixer on low, SLOWLY pour the hot syrup mixture in a narrow stream down the side of the mixing bowl into the gelatin. You should pour so slowly that this should take 1–2 minutes to complete. (If you are using a hand mixer, have someone else slowly drizzle the syrup while you use the mixer.)
- Turn the mixer to high and continue beating until the mixture becomes thick, glossy and fluffy—about 10-15 minutes.Â
- Quickly transfer marshmallow fluff to the lined and floured pan. Use a spatula to evenly spread the mixture and smooth out the top.
- Dust the top of the marshmallow fluff with the remaining arrowroot flour.
- Let the marshmallows sit at room temperature to set for at least 8 hours, or overnight.
- When marshmallows are set, remove them from the pan by lifting out the parchment paper. Carefully peel the parchment paper from the sides of the marshmallows and use a large knife to cut them into 1- or 2-inch squares.
- Dust with additional arrowroot flour as needed to keep them from sticking together.
- Store marshmallows in a sealed container for 3-4 days.
