How to Make Homemade Marshmallows
If you’ve never made homemade marshmallows, you’re in for a real treat! These soft, sugary, puffy marshmallows are so much better than store bought, and believe it or not, pretty easy to make!
If never occurred to me to make homemade marshmallows until I ate one! Oh my goodness! These fluffy, vanilla-flavorful puffs of confection are absolutely divine! The thing I like about them is they aren’t too sweet, but sweet enough and they are delicious with a warm mug of old fashioned hot cocoa!
Important stuff you need to know up-front
Marshmallows take about 30-minutes to make; but need to sit at room temperature for at least 4 hours (I recommend 8 hours)
So, if you’re going to make marshmallows with your kids or grandkids, I recommend this as a two-day event🙂
Ingredients
If you’re going to roast homemade marshmallows or make S’mores, you should know that the homemade version burns more quickly than Kraft marshmallows.
- Powdered sugar – also known as confectioner’s sugar
- Cornstarch
- Spray oil
- Karo syrup – light corn syrup, not dark and not the ‘lite’ version
- Vanilla extract
- Unflavored gelatin- I use Knox brand
- Granulated sugar
- Cold water
- Pizza cutter or pastry cutter
Kitchen equipment you’ll need
Making homemade marshmallows is pretty easy, but there are a few kitchen tools you must have. You’ll definitely need:
- Meat or candy thermometer
- Stand mixer
- A timer
- Parchment paper
- Pizza cutting wheel or a round pastry cutter
- Spray oil
Homemade Marshmallows
Equipment
- Stand Mixer
- Meat or Candy Thermometer
- Spatula
- Spray Oil
- 9 x 13 dish or a rimmed baking sheet
- Pizza cutting wheel or pastry cutter
Ingredients
- 3 packages unflavored gelatin
- 1 cup ice cold water (divided)
- ½ cup confectioner's sugar , See recipe notes
- ½ cup cornstarch
- 1½ cups granulated sugar (table sugar)
- 1 cup corn syrup , light colored; not dark
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract (get clear if available); if not, get the 'normal' vanilla extract
Instructions
- Lightly spray oil in 9 x 13 pan or a rimmed baking dish; line with parchment paper; spray parchment paper with oil; set aside. Measure one cup water and add ice; allow to sit. In a medium bowl, combine cornstarch and confectioner's sugar; mix well and set aside.1 cup ice cold water, ½ cup confectioner's sugar, ½ cup cornstarch
- Pour half a cup of the ice cold water and gelatin into stand mixer bowl; DO NOT STIR. Let it sit for 10-minutes or so until it begins to crystallize.3 packages unflavored gelatin
- Meanwhile, in a large saucepan on medium-high heat, add: corn syrup, granulated sugar and the other 1/2 cup of cold water; DO NOT STIR. Cover and allow to cook until the sugar mixture reaches 240ºF (See Recipe Notes) This takes about 12-15 minutes on my stove. Once the sugar mixture reaches 240ºF, immediately remove the saucepan from the heat1 cup corn syrup, 1½ cups granulated sugar
- Pour the hot sugar mixture into the mixing stand and start mixer on low. Be careful, the mixture will be HOT! After mixing for 1-minute, gradually turn tup the mixing speed in increments until the mixture has cooled enough to mix on high speed; Set a timer and mix on high for 14 minutes. The mixture will be white and glossy. At 14 minutes drizzle in the vanilla extract and mix on high speed for one more minute; turn off mixer1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- Spray spatula with oil and scoop marshmallow mixture into prepared pan. Smooth top of marshmallows with lightly oiled spatula. Sprinkle about 1/3 of the the cornstarch/confectioner sugar over the top of the marshmallows (See Recipe Notes). Allow marshmallows to rest, uncovered, for at least 4 hours
- After they have rested for at least 4 hours, sprinkle a little of the cornstarch/confectioner sugar mixture on the counter. Flip the baking dish upside down on the mixture. Remove parchment paper and sprinkle generously with more of the cornstarch/powdered sugar mixture.
- Use an oiled sharp knife, pizza cutter or pastry rounds to cut marshmallows. Once marshmallows are cut, place them in a big bowl or zip bag and coat marshmallows with dry mixture; you may have to do this in batches. Place coated marshmallows in an airtight container until ready to use.
Notes
- wipe the tool clean and spray it with oil after each cut or,
- spray the tool with oil, then sprinkle a little of the cornstarch mixture on the tool after each cut
Nutrition Estimate
Recipe tips
The cooking and preparation time for easy homemade marshmallows is only about 30-minutes! This makes for an ideal “cooking” event for kids! The resting time is a minimum of 4 hours, (I recommend 8 hours.)
- The corn syrup, sugar and water cook on the stove top for about 15-20-minutes. Make sure you get the corn syrup mixture to 240ºF
- After you cut the marshmallows, you might need to make a second batch of the cornstarch/powdered sugar mixture so you’ll have enough to evenly coat all the marshmallows
FAQ
This recipe uses a 9 x 13″ baking dish or a rimmed baking dish and yields about 50 marshmallows.
This recipe calls for Karo light corn syrup– clear corn syrup vs. dark corn syrup.
The folks at Karo now have a “Lite” Karo Light Corn Syrup with ZERO high fructose corn syrup. Do not use this one. Use the original Karo Light Corn Syrup.
The binding ingredient, gelatin, is derived from animal collagen so…these are definitely not vegetarian or vegan.
How to cut marshmallows
The trickiest part of making homemade marshmallows is cutting them. You can use a sharp kitchen knife, scissors, a pizza cutter or a round pastry cutter. Note that whatever slicing tool you use, you will want to clean it between cuts.
How to keep your cutting tool clean between cuts
There are two ways to keep your slicing tool clean when cutting out homemade marshmallows. You can either:
- wipe the tool clean and spray it with oil after each cut or,
- spray the tool with oil, then sprinkle a little of the cornstarch mixture on the tool after each cut
Storing Marshmallows
Marshmallows will keep well in an air-tight container for about a week. You can freeze them up to 3 months.
Be sure to leave some of these homemade marshmallows out for Santa!
Can I use hand mixer? I will buy a stand mixer but I have limited kitchen space. Thank you
Yes! You can use an electric hand mixer if you don’t have a stand mixer for the homemade marshmallows!
These are yummy…and make great gifts for the holidays too! 🙂
Yes! Guess what you’re getting for Christmas?!!!