Peanut Butter Marshmallows

I have put off making homemade marshmallows for a long time because I was convinced it would be messy and time consuming. Since I am not one to eat marshmallows on their own very often, I also thought all that imagined effort wouldn’t be worth it. But when I found this recipe for peanut butter marshmallows, I caved. And turns out they are actually super easy and not messy to make! The only annoying part was waiting 6 hours for them to set.

Once you’ve tested your patience, they can be cut into shapes with your favorite mini cookie cutter or just use a knife to cut them into squares. Then you can enjoy the glory that is super fresh and soft homemade marshmallows. And in this case peanut butter flavored marshmallows! These would be a great addition to peanut butter hot cocoa.

Two years ago: Buckeye Candies

PEANUT BUTTER MARSHMALLOWS

Ingredients:

BLOOM STAGE

4-1/2 tsp unflavored powdered gelatin

1/2 cup cold water

SYRUP STAGE

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup light corn syrup, divided

1/4 cup water

1/8 tsp salt

MALLOWING STAGE

2 tsp vanilla extract

3 Tbsp creamy peanut butter

Classic coating (Sift together 1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar and 1 cup cornstarch)

Directions:

1. Lightly coat a 7 X 11-inch baking pan with cooking spray. Use a paper towel to wipe and coat the surface of the pan evenly.
2. Add gelatin to a bowl of cold water. Whisk together and let soften for about 10 minutes.
3. In a 1-1/2 quart saucepan, stir together the sugar, 1/4 of the corn syrup, water and salt over high heat.
4. Boil, stirring occasionally until the temperature reaches 240 degrees F on a candy thermometer. (Make sure the tip does not touch the bottom of the pot)
5. While boiling, pour remaining 1/4 cup of corn syrup into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Microwave gelatin on high for about 30 seconds. Stir again and pour into the mixer bowl. Set the speed to low and keep it running.
6. When the syrup reaches 240 degrees F, slowly pour it into the mixer bowl.
7. Increase speed to medium and beat 5 minutes.
8. Increase speed to medium high and beat 5 more minutes.
9. Increase speed to highest setting and beat 1-2 minutes.
10. Beat in vanilla.
11. Place peanut butter into a small bowl and add a quarter of the batter. Quickly stir until well blended. Scrape the peanut butter mallow back in the mixer bowl with the vanilla batter. Use a large spatula to gently fold the two batters together until mostly blended.
12. Pour into prepared pan, using an offset spatula to quickly smooth it out.
13. Sift classic coating evenly and generously over the top. Let set for at least 6 hours in a cool, dry place.
14. Use a knife to loosen the marshmallow from the edges of the pan. Invert on a coating-dusted baking sheet. Dust with more classic coating.
15. Cut into squares or use a cookie cutter. Dip sticky/cut edges of marshmallows into the coating and dust off any excess. Or drop several coated mallows in a sieve and shake off any excess.
16. Store in an cool dry place in a pan with the lid slightly ajar to allow air flow. If the mallows resist drying, you can simply dust with more coating for any edges that are damp.

Source: Adapted slightly from Bakerella, originally from Marshmallow Madness.