These Homemade Marshmallows are easier to make than you think and are light years above and beyond those mass manufactured ones!
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Have you ever had a homemade marshmallow? You'd remember it if you did. They are so soft and fluffy and unlike any marshmallow you've had from a store. Looking at them, you'd think it would be difficult to make them from scratch, but I'm the first to tell ya they're one of the easiest things you could make. In addition, they take barely any ingredients and those ingredients you may already have on hand in your pantry. So read on for help in making the best marshmallows of your life!
What You'll Need to Make Marshmallows
You can use this recipe as a base recipe for making any flavor of marshmallows. Let your creativity flow to make other flavors. The base ingredients are just a few:
- Gelatin--I've heard agar agar can be substituted with decent results, but I've never tried it myself. I would suggest Googling vegan marshmallow recipes if you want to make these without gelatin.
- Granulated sugar
- Corn syrup
- Vanilla--this can be in the form of extract, vanilla bean seeds, or vanilla bean paste
- Powdered sugar--for coating
- Cornstarch--mixed with the powdered sugar for coating.
How to Make Homemade Marshmallows
Marshmallows are unbelievably easy to make and when you've tasted a homemade one, you may never go back to the store bought variety! They do involve using a candy thermometer (affiliate link), but I'm here to tell ya, I've been using one since I was about 12 years old (seriously, ask my mom). So if a kid can do it, so can you!!
- Bloom gelatin--this simply means to add gelatin to cold water and let it soak and hydrate. You can do this directly in your stand mixer bowl.
- Boil sugar syrup--it truly isn't as scary as you think. Pour the water, sugar, and corn syrup into a small saucepan. Set it over medium heat and allow the sugar to melt slowly without stirring, until the mixture begins to boil. Turn the heat up to high, clip on a candy thermometer (affiliate link) and don't touch it until the thermometer registers 240 degrees F. Take it off the heat.
- Add syrup to bloomed gelatin with the mixer on low speed until all the syrup has been added. Increase the speed to high and continue whisking until the mixture is much lighter in color and fluffy and looks like marshmallow. This can take anywhere from 5-10 minutes.
- Add vanilla and continue to whisk until combined.
- Pour into prepared pan and dust with more powdered sugar/cornstarch mixture.
Homemade Marshmallow FAQs
They can, but candy thermometers are so cheap, you can obtain them just about anywhere (Walmart always has them, as well as Amazon and even some grocery stores), and they're so much easier to use than trying to drop a small amount of very hot sugary liquid into cold water. Do yourself a favor and buy a candy thermometer.
If you don't want to use corn syrup, glucose syrup is another option (although it's difficult to find any that are gluten free). Golden syrup (Lyle's) is an option, as is honey or maple syrup. Keep in mind, however, that if you use anything that is not corn syrup or glucose syrup, you will need to be very careful about agitating the mixture in the saucepan because the corn syrup is what keeps it from crystallizing.
They have a very long shelf life of about 3 weeks. I keep mine in a ziptop bag, but you can also put them in a jar or container with a tight-fitting lid.
Uses for Homemade Marshmallows
- Eat 'em as is!
- Float a couple in hot chocolate. You won't believe how much better your hot chocolate will be with homemade marshmallows added.
- Dip them in melted dark, milk, or white chocolate (or coating) and allow to harden.
- Make s'mores. Homemade marshmallows are insanely good in s'mores!!
- Use them in anything you'd use store bought marshmallows in.
Try your hand at making these Homemade Marshmallows. They're so easy and leaps and bounds better than store bought ones!
Homemade Marshmallows (Naturally Gluten Free)
Ingredients
- 3 packages (2½ tablespoon or 25 g) unflavored gelatin
- 1 cup (240 ml) cold water, divided
- 1½ cups (300 g) granulated sugar
- 1 cup (240 g) light corn syrup
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract, the seeds from one whole vanilla bean, or 1½ teaspoon vanilla bean paste
Dusting Powder
- ½ cup (112 g) powdered sugar
- ¼ cup (39 g) cornstarch
Instructions
- Combine the dusting powder in a small bowl. Prepare a 7 by 11-inch or 9 by 13-inch pan by greasing it with butter and sprinkling it all over (including the sides) with the dusting powder and set aside.
- Pour ½ cup (120 ml) cold water into bowl of stand mixer. Sprinkle gelatin over water and let set while you make the sugar syrup.
- Pour the rest of the water (½ cup or 120 ml) into the bottom of a small saucepan. Add the corn syrup followed by the granulated sugar in the middle, trying not to get the sugar on the sides of the pan.
- Cook over medium heat, without stirring, until the sugar dissolves and the mixtures begins to bubble. Clip on a candy thermometer and increase heat to high. Boil, without stirring, until the syrup reaches 240° F on the thermometer. Remove from the heat without agitating it too much.
- With the mixer on low speed and fitted with the whisk attachment, carefully and slowly pour the hot sugar syrup into the dissolved gelatin, being sure to hit the lower side of the mixing bowl and not the whisk (or somewhere in between the two).
- Whip until the mixture is very thick and the bottom of the bowl is only warm, about 10 minutes. Add the vanilla and mix thoroughly.
- Pour the marshmallow mixture into the prepared pan and then sprinkle the top heavily with more dusting powder. Let set at least 8 hours or overnight.
- The next day, tip out onto a silpat or large piece of parchment paper. It may require some coaxing to come out of the pan. Dust with more dusting powder and cut into long strips one way. Then turn and cut into 2-inch marshmallows. Place marshmallows in more dusting powder to coat and then shake in a sieve to remove excess powder. Keep in ziptop bag or a jar or container with a tight-fitting lid for up to 3 weeks.
Susie Dowling says
what can I substitute for the corn syrup......I cant have high fructose corn syrup....
Kim says
Corn syrup from the store is not high fructose corn syrup.
Sonja says
Salt is included in the ingredients list but not in the instructions.
elizabeth fraccaro says
Do you know if this can be made at high altitudes?? Do you know what temp I would cook it to? I am at 5,000 ft. Thanks
Kim says
I wish I could help with high altitude, but I'm at sea level and don't know anything about cooking/baking at high altitude. I know there are some websites out there that might be able to help convert recipes to work in high altitudes. I would Google just that and see if you can find something. Sorry I can't be of more help in this instance.