It's a Marshmallow World in the Winter

I am a lover of marshmallows. I have been known to eat an entire package of Peeps in one sitting and while that may seem absurd and disgusting, I really have no shame. They are my sugary weakness and I'm proud to shout it from the rooftops. I have even kindly suggested to Mark if he wanted to purchase me a wonderful foodie gift, he could make me a member of the Marshmallow of the Month Club.

Homemade marshmallows have been on my radar for awhile. Every time I see them dancing across the pages of blogs, I find myself wanting to lick the screen. With a lot of patience and a lot more love, the end result is a pile of jet puffed beauties to enjoy in hot cocoa, dipped in hot chocolate, or in the most lovely way- by themselves. Whether you're looking for a snow day sweet treat or something to add to your Valentine's Day care packages, these fluffy pillows of homemade marshmallowy goodness are melt in your mouth amazing.

Homemade Marshmallows

recipe from Alton Brown

3 packages unflavored gelatin

1 cup ice cold water, divided

1 cup light corn syrup

12 ounces granulated sugar, approximately 1.5 cups

1/4 tsp. kosher salt

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

1/4 cup powdered sugar

1/4 cup cornstarch

nonstick spray

Place the gelatin in the bowl of a stand mixer along with 1/2 cup of the water.

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. Uncover, clip a candy thermometer onto the sode of the pan and continue to cook until the mixture reaches 240 degrees F, approximately 7 to 8 minutes. Once the mixture reaches this temperature, immediately remove from heat.

Using the whisk attachment, 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 mixer speed to high. Continue to whip the mixture until it becomes lukewarm and very thick, approximately 12 to 15 minutes. Add the vanilla during the last minute of whipping. While the mixture is whipping, prepare the pans as follows.

Combine the powdered sugar 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 a bowl for later use.

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

Turn the marshmallows out onto a cutting board. For square marshmallows, use a pizza wheel dusted in powdered sugar and cut into 1-inch squares. For fun shapes, pull out your cookie cutters and dust those in powdered sugar before cutting. Store marshmallows in an air tight container for up to three weeks.

Rainbow Cupcakes with Marshmallow Buttercream

I don't think I have ever mentioned this on the blog, but aside from my lovies I have another "little sister". Late last fall, Mark and I decided to both become volunteers with Big Brothers Big Sisters. It's been a wonderful experience so far and I would highly recommend it to anyone. If you want to give back, but are struggling to figure out how, I would love to talk to you more about this fantastic organization. I got paired with the sweetest 10 year old girl and we have play dates about twice a month. It's been so much fun to make memories and provide a constant presence in this little girl's life that she will hopefully look back on in the future and smile. If just one action or one thing I say makes a positive impact on her, I will have made a difference.

I have to admit, it's fun having a 10 year old around. I am always looking for excuses to act like a kid so having an accomplice is a win in my book! We sing Justin Bieber at the top of our lungs in the car and don't care if we are putting on a show for our neighboring drivers at stoplights. Sometimes we do homework, but mostly we play. Our time together is supposed to be fun and spent doing something we can enjoy together. Like making friendship bracelets or Watching Glee in 3-D.

And making rainbow cupcakes.

Vanilla Rainbow Cupcakes with Marshmallow Almond Buttercream Frosting

cupcakes adapted from Baking Bites, frosting adapted from Baked Bree

Cupcakes:

1 cup all purpose flour (I used pastry flour)

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 cup sugar

2 large eggs

1/2 cup canola (or vegetable) oil

1/2 cup buttermilk

1 tsp. vanilla extract

food coloring (red, yellow, green & blue)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 10 cups of a muffin tin with paper liners. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. In the bowl of an electric mixer, mix together sugar, eggs, oil, buttermilk and vanilla. Pour in dry ingredients and mix until completely combined.

Divide cupcake batter into 5 bowls. Each bowl should have about 1/3 cup of batter. Using about 1/2 tsp. of food coloring, color each bowl, making red, orange, yellow, green and blue batter. Add more coloring for brighter, richer color.

Start with the blue batter, and add a small spoonful (a little over a teaspoon) to each cup. Continue with the rest of the colors in this order; green, yellow, orange red. Spoon each color on top of the other. Do not try to spread the layers, just let them be where they drop.

Bake for 15 minutes or until a cake tester or toothpick comes out dry. Allow cupcakes to cool before frosting.

NOTE: this recipe makes 10 cupcakes. We doubled it, making 22 cupcakes.

Frosting:

1 cup room temperature butter

7 ounces marshmallow fluff

1 tsp. almond extract

Cream the butter until it's light and fluffy. Add the marshmallow fluff and almond extract. Whip for two minutes.