Making your own marshmallows is easier than you think.  Since many of us probably know at least one person who has made the best of the cold weather and built a rink in their backyard, these are a cute addition to anyone’s hot cup of cocoa.  We originally posted this recipe a few years ago but thought it was worth bringing back.

Hot chocolate with homemade marshmallows

Experiment a little by adding food colouring for different colours, flavours like peppermint or cut them into different shapes.  Lots of fun to make and better than store bought.

¾ cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup corn syrup
¼ cup cold water
1/8 tsp salt
½ tsp vanilla
¼ cup warm water
2-7g envelopes of unflavoured gelatin powder
¼ cup of icing sugar
1 tsp cornstarch

Stir granulated sugar with corn syrup, cold water and salt in a small saucepan. Set over high. Bring to boil and let boil without stirring for 1 minute. Then stir in vanilla. While waiting for syrup to boil, pour warm water into the bowl of a stand mixer with whisk attachment (I just used a regular electric mixer with whisk). Sprinkle in gelatin. Let stand 2 minutes to soften. Line an 8 inch square baking dish with overhanging plastic wrap. Lightly spray with cooking spray.

Set mixer on high, then pour hot syrup in a stream down the side of the mixer bowl, beating the gelatin mixture until it is thick and sticky and white peaks form. About 4 minutes. You can add food colouring at this point, during the last minute of beating.

Scrape into prepared pan, smoothing top as best you can with an oiled spatula. Let set at room temperature for at least 2 hours.

Whisk icing sugar with cornstarch in a small bowl. Sift one-third of mixture over top of marshmallow to dust the surface. Turn out onto a cutting board. Discard the plastic wrap. Sift half of remaining sugar mixture overtop to dust the surface. Slice into cubes about 1 inch square.

Homemade marshmallows

Roll each cut marshmallow in remaining sugar mixture until all sides are coated. Add to a cup of hot chocolate and serve!