S'mores Part II: The Marshmallows

You can't have a s'more without marshmallows. And since I've got a craving for s'mores, it's time for homemade marshmallows!

I started my recipe search by looking at my three favorite food websites: The Pioneer Woman Cooks (including her Tasty Kitchen site), Allrecipes.com, and foodnetwork.com. I found recipes on all three, but decided on Alton Brown's recipe from the Food Network Site, partially because I am in awe of Alton Brown, but mostly because the recipe had amazing reviews.

Ingredients:

• 3 packages unflavored gelatin (NOT JELLO!). The only brand that I've ever seen is Knox.

• 1 cup ice cold water
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 cup light corn syrup (the next time I make this, I'm going to look for a substitution for this)
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (I always use the real thing - homemade, of course!)
  
• 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• Nonstick spray

Process:

Place the gelatin into the bowl of a stand mixer along with 1/2 cup of the water. Have the whisk attachment standing by.

In a small saucepan combine the remaining 1/2 cup water, granulated sugar, corn syrup and salt. Place over medium high heat, cover and allow to cook for 3 to 4 minutes.

At this point, you are going to want to cook it until the mixture reaches 240 degrees F. You can use a regular candy thermometer, but I used this electronic thermometer that allows you to set a temperature target, and it will beep when it gets to that temperature.

Here you can see that my sugar was 97 degrees, and the target temperature was 240.

...getting closer. This will take approximately 7 to 8 minutes. Once the mixture reaches this temperature, immediately remove from the heat.

Turn the mixer on low speed and, while running, slowly pour the sugar syrup down the side of the bowl into the gelatin mixture. Once you have added all of the syrup, increase the speed to high.

Continue to whip until the mixture becomes very thick and is lukewarm, approximately 12 to 15 minutes. Add the vanilla during the last minute of whipping. While the mixture is whipping prepare the pans.

Combine the confectioners' sugar and cornstarch in a small bowl. Lightly spray a 13 by 9-inch metal baking pan with nonstick cooking spray. Add the sugar and cornstarch mixture and move around to completely coat the bottom and sides of the pan. Return the remaining mixture to the bowl for later use.

When the marshmallow mixture is ready, pour into the prepared pan, using a lightly oiled spatula for spreading evenly into the pan.

Dust the top with enough of the remaining sugar and cornstarch mixture to lightly cover. Reserve the rest for later. Allow the marshmallows to sit uncovered for at least 4 hours and up to overnight. I went for overnight, and they set up perfectly.

Turn the marshmallows out onto a cutting board and cut into 1-inch squares using a pizza wheel dusted with the confectioners' sugar mixture.

Once cut, lightly dust all sides of each marshmallow with the remaining mixture, using additional if necessary. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 weeks (as if they'll last that long!)

Next up: finishing the s'mores!