Add to: Recipe Box | Grocery List | Meal PlannerRecipe submitted by Lisa
MarshmallowsIngredients (use vegan versions): 3 tablespoons vegan gelatin
1/2 cup water
2 cups sugar (I used unbleached)
3/4 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup water
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
Directions:The marshmallows are amazingly soft and fresh-tasting. They aren't quite as puffy as commerical ones, but they puff and brown when toasted and melt easily in liquid (can't wait to try them in hot chocolate or cocoa). I think they'll make yummy smores with vegan chocolate chips and graham crackers! I'm also thinking of cutting some of them into Xmas tree shapes (triangles) and dipping them in chocolate for Xmas cookie/candy boxes.
This is not a difficult recipe, but you need an electric mixer to do it. It will be a lot easier if you have a candy thermometer (fairly cheap in a kitchen shop...I got mine at a grocery store for about $4). Also, don't try this if you hate making messes! The creme is very sticky and hard to scrape out of the bowl. I got it all over me!!
Anyway - for those of you who have a couple of hours to kill and a hankering for marshmallows, hered that recipe again. Enjoy!!
Put in the mixing bowl and let stand 1 hour:
3 tablespoons vegan gelatin and 1/2 cup water
In about 1/2 hour, begin to prepare a syrup. Place in a heavy pan over low heat and stir until dissolved:
2 cups sugar (I used unbleached)
3/4 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup water
1/4 teaspoon salt
When the mixture start to boil, cover it about 3 minutes to allow any crystals which have formed to be washe'd down from the sides of the pan. Be )careful, though, not to let the mixture boil over. Continue to cook uncovered and unstirred over high heat to the firm-ball stage (244 degrees F). Overcooking makes the marshmallows tough. Remove the mixture from heat and pour slowly over the gelatin, beating constantly with an electric mixer. Continue to beat about 15 minutes after all the syrup has been added. While beating, when the mixture is thick but still smooth, add:
2 tablespoons vanilla extract.
Put the mixture into an 8 x 12 in pan that has been lightly dusted with cornstarch. Dust the top with cornstarch and set aside. When it has dried for )12 hours, remove it from the pan, cut it into square with scissors dusted with )cornstach, and store the fully dusted pieces in a closed tin.
Possible variations: Add coconut extract instead of vanilla. pour into pan coated with tasted coconut and roll cut pieces in toasted coconut instead of cornstarch.
Use creme de menthe instead of vanilla for mint marshmallows.
Use other flavors/liquers (almond extract, orange, coffee liqueur , etc.) instead of vanilla.
Cut marshmallows into shapes and dip in melted vegan chocolate.
Tint marshmallows with vegetable colors while beating the creme. Cut into holiday shapes (especially nice for spring - Easter, etc.).
Makes about 1 3/4 lbs.
I don`t know why but this recipe absolutely didn`t work for me
I followed it exactly and my Mother in law even sent me some light corn syrup from USA so everything was exactly like the recipe. I beat it for 15 minutes, it didn`t expand in size, it didn`t go white and it is sitting in the 8x12 tray now just looking like a thick beige syrup. I even used white sugar and it STILL went beige! I am really gutted :*(
Archived comment by: narayani
Narayani - it sounds like a problem with two things: the temperature of the syrup and the amount of time beating the mixture. If the syrup isn't dense enough, it can't support the millions and millions of tiny air bubbles needed to make the mixture expand, which could explain why it turned into a syrupy mess. Unless you're practiced in the art of candy making, I can't stress enough that you (and everyone else!) use a candy thermometer; its really the only way to make sure you have the syrup you need for the use you have in mind. I hope that helps - happy cooking!
Archived comment by: missAntithesis
Oh, and I forgot one tip for even cooking - put your cooking vessle inside of a cast-iron skillet, and *then* onto the burner. The heat-conducting properties of cast-iron are ideal for candy-making because it evenly distributes heat, thus ensuring that your candy will reach temperature more slowly and maintain it more evenly.
Archived comment by: missAntithesis
I'm the original recipe poster. Unfortunately, the only brand of vegan gelatin that worked for this recipe was Emes, which has recently been proven not to be vegetarian at all. :-O The company has since gone out of business. Sorry that there is no good replacement yet that I am aware of. Vegan Sweets marshmallows, howe'ver, are available from Pangea, and they're pretty darned good. They contain no Emes Kosher-Jel.
Archived comment by: veganChefLisa
