Mmmmn Squishy!

Marshmallow bunny intestines… Robitussin flavored… aka: home-made peeps gone terribly terribly wrong!

Apparently I inadvertantly stumbled upon the flavor combination for Robitussin cough syrup! I wanted to make marshmallow peeps for Easter and had decided to make them cherry-almond flavored. Who knew that when you add a little triple sec to amaretto and grenadine it tastes exactly like cough syrup?!? I figured that if I whipped enough air into them it might cut down the taste, but I think between that and adding a little extra gelatin to compensate for the excess liquid I created a mixture that was more gummy than marshmallow. Trying to get it off the baking sheet was frustrating and everything ended up all pulled out of shape…

The result?

Sparkly pink marshmallow bunny intestines (as pictured above)… and yes, they do sparkle! I mixed in some pearlescent cake decorating dust to help color it, which worked really really well actually. I figure that is because it includes corn starch so you already know it has the right consistency to stick.  Sooo yeah I don’t really have the time to try again right now, but wanted to share my squishy bunny guts with you all You’re welcome!

-Kate

More Marshmallows

I made two batches of different flavored marshmallows for a Presidential Inauguration Potluck we were having on campus:

Candy Cane Marshmallows

• 4 gelatin envelopes
• 3/4 cup water
• 1/2 Tbs vanilla extract
• 1/2 Tbs peppermint extract
• 3 cups sugar
• 3/4 cups water
• 1 1/4 cups corn syrup
• 1/2 tsp salt
• Handful of crushed peppermints or candy canes

So as with the strawberry marshmallow recipe posted months ago, making marshmallows involves three basic stages. The first is adding 3/4 cups water (or fruit puree or a liquid mixture depending on how creative you want to get) to the gelatin along with vanilla (or other) extract and allow it to bloom.

Blooming Gelatin

In the second step you add the corn syrup and another 3/4 cups water (or liquid solution) to a pot along with the sugar and salt and bring it to a rolling boil until it reaches a soft ball stage. At this point I added some crushed peppermints to the pot until they dissolved because I ran out of peppermint extract and needed more flavor.

The third step involves pour the hot mixture into the gelatin mixture and begin whipping air into it until it reaches marshmallow fluff consistency. At this point I added in more crushed peppermints because I was curious if they would work inside of marshmallows. Adding the candy didn’t change how long it took to whip them ‘nor did it change how long it took for them to set up or how they set up. So yeah after they’re firm and no longer sticky you cut them and dust them with 50/50 corn starch and powdered sugar.

Tropical Cocktail Marshmallows:

• 4 gelatin envelopes
• 3/4 cups liquid solution #1
• 1 Tbs vanilla extract
• 3 cups sugar
• 3/4 cups liquid solution #2
• 1 1/4 cups corn syrup
• 1/2 tsp salt

Okay so in this recipe I got creative with replacing the water with various “liquid solutions” hehehehe! Basically these little treats ended up being like marshmallow shots!

Alcoholic Libation

The liquid solution that went in with the syrup included some OJ, midori, peach schnapps, and honey. The liquid solution that helped bloom the gelatin included pineapple juice, strawberry vanilla, passion fruit extract, a little more OJ, and more midori and peach schnapps! I may have put a dash of other liquers I had laying around the house or grenadine in there as well, but I can’t remember. Basically I made two 3/4 cup tropical cocktails. I wish I had had some lime juice to add. I also included a dash more of salt since it felt fitting.

Two things occurred as a result of these changes. First, because of the added alcohol, the boiling point of the syrup solution raised significantly and almost boiled over! Secondly, I’m not sure exactly why it took so much longer to whip air into this batch. It may have been because the hot mixture was higher than “soft ball” stage… or because I accidentally included too much liquid… or perhaps it was a result of the alcohol somehow. It doesn’t really matter though because in the end they were hella delicious! I cut and dusted them just like the others, but I wish I had some of that margarita sugar or salt that they put around the rim of drinks to mix in there … oh well, next time!

Before boiling over...

Pretty Mixing Pictures Beneath Cut!!

Strawberry Marshmellows

Because I just can’t leave a good recipe well enough alone, I adapted the famed recipe for strawberry marshmallows found on eGullet created by Nightscotman as relayed here by Brownie Points since the link to the original recipe no longer worked.

Strawberry Marshmallow Recipe:

• 1/2 cup strawberry puree [Step 1]
• 1/2 cup water and a dash of orange extract
• 4 envelopes gelatin
• 3/4 cup liquid mixture [Step 2]
• 1 1/3 cup corn syrup [Step 3]
• 3 cups sugar
• 1/3 tsp salt

Prep: Line a 1 inched rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray liberally with your PAM of choice!

Step 1: I didn’t have fresh strawberries so I made it from frozen by microwaving until thawed and then used the hand mixer to ‘puree’ them. Because they were frozen I allowed for the excess water since that’s where a lot of the flavor runs off to. Also, frozen strawberries tend to be more tart than fresh so it would be a good idea to add a little sugar, but in this case since there was so much sugar already involved in the recipe I restrained myself!

Add 1/2 cup of water and a dash of orange extract to the puree and “sprinkle the gelatin over this mixture to soften (aka bloom)”

… Alright, so I’m going to admit that I had no idea what that last line was supposed to mean or what to expect “blooming” or “softening” to look like. Also, it quickly became apparent that simply “sprinkling” the gelatin wasn’t going to be enough. It needed to be stirred in a bit until it was all wet at which point it sort of soaked up all of the liquid in the bowl.