Heavenly Vanilla-Bean Marshmallows

There really is a difference between home made and store bought when it comes to the marshmallow. The good news, is that is really is a snap. Most people have the ingredients, I would just say unflavored gelatin is the most exotic out of the bunch, or the candy thermometer. If you have 15 minutes, you can make marshmallows.

Recipe:

Vegetable oil – for brushing
1 ½ cup water
1 oz. box unflavored gelatin
3 cups granulated sugar
1 ¼ cups light corn syrup
¼ tsp salt
1 Tbsp vanilla-bean paste (pure vanilla will work also)

Brush a 9-by-13 inch baking pan with the vegetable oil. Cover with a strip of parchment/wax paper and brush that also with the vegetable oil. Alternately you can do this on a ½ sheet pan for a thinner marshmallow. Set aside.

Pour ¾ cup water into the bowl of an electric mixer and sprinkle the gelatin over the top – set aside.

Place the 3 cups sugar, corn syrup, salt and ¾ cup water into a heavy saucepan. Place over medium high heat and bring to boil. Insert a candy thermometer and cook until it reaches 240 degrees (softball stage).

Using the whisk attachment on your mixer on low speed, slowly pour hot syrup into gelatin/water mixture. Slowly increase the speed to high and beat until mixture is very stiff, about ten minutes. Beat in vanilla.

Pour mixture into prepared pan and smooth with spatula. I spray the spatula with non-stick spray to keep marshmallow from sticking. Allow to sit for eight hours or overnight.
Place powdered sugar into a fine mesh strainer and sift over counter or cutting board large enough to accommodate the whole marshmallow mass. Invert marshmallow onto powdered sugar and remove parchment/wax paper. If you have a lot of extra oil on marshmallow use a paper towel over it lightly to absorb.

Oil a knife and cut marshmallows into desired square sizes or shapes– repeating the oiling of knife to avoid sticking. If using a cookie cutter shape, oil cutter. Place cut marshmallows into a bowl of powdered sugar or cocoa to cover surface. Place into covered container or cello bags for gifts.

You can alternative use a different flavoring or even add a small amount of food coloring to tint the marshmallow at the end when you would have incorporated the vanilla bean paste.