Peppermint Marshmallows + Hot Chocolate = Love
Soooo it would be Bad to keep all the cocoa mix and marshmallows I made for myself, right? Right. *tries to refrain*
First of all? Marshmallows are the coolest thing ever to make. It's like a big chemistry project that ends up with gooey goodness. I ended up covered in sticky pink marshmallow fluff, but I didn't get any in my hair so I count it a win.
I got the recipes from this blog which is very awesome and now in my google reader. I found 'em by googling so random finds FTW!
Peppermint Marshmallow Recipe
1/2 c. powdered sugar
1/3 c. cornstarch
2 envelopes unflavored gelatin
2/3 c. water
1 1/3 c. sugar
2/3 c. light corn syrup
1/2 c. crushed peppermint candy canes (about 6)
1/8 tsp. salt
*Tip: to crush your candy canes, break them up in large pieces, then seal them in a Zip Loc bag. Put your bag on a sturdy cutting board and use a hammer to smash them into a powder. The finer the powder, the better.
1. Into a small bowl, sift together powdered sugar and cornstarch. Line a 9x13" pan with foil and spray with non-stick cooking spray.
2. Sift 2 Tbsp. of the powdered sugar mixture into pan and tilt to coat all sides. Leave excess in pan.
3. Place 2/3 c. water in a large bowl and sprinkle with gelatin. Let soften 5 minutes.
4. In medium, heavy-bottom saucepan, heat sugar, corn syrup, candy cane, and salt over medium heat until completely dissolved (about 7 minutes).
5. Pour into bowl with gelatin mixture and beat on high speed with electric mixer until light and fluffy (10-15 minutes).
6. Spread evenly into prepared pan. Smooth top and dush with powdered sugar mixture. Let sit at room temperature for 2 hours.
7. Lift from pan with foil. With a small, wet cookie cutter, cut shapes and dip sides in sugar mixture. Cut up remaining marshmallows into small, irregular pieces (these are the ones I let my kids and husband eat!). Or, using a wet knife, cut into 6 large squares and dip sides into powdered sugar mixture. Then cut each of those squares into 9 pieces and dip in sugar mixture.
8. Store at room temp, loosely covered.
Hot Chocolate Mix Recipe
10 cups dry milk powder
4 3/4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
1 3/4 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
1 3/4 cups powdered non-dairy creamer
Mix all ingredients in a bowl. Store in a jar or airtight container. Yields 15 cups. To make the cocoa, stir 3 heaping Tablespoons into 3/4 c. hot water or milk.
So my marshmallows ended up really, really thick. I'm not sure why because her pictures didn't look nearly as thick, and I used a 9x13 pan, but I'm not going to complain. They're freaking AWESOME. Two things: when breaking up the candy canes, the sharp candy edges tore through my ziploc bags so I had a cutting board covered with aluminum foil to put the ziploc bag on. Then I just tipped the foil into the pan to get the wee pieces.
For the hot chocolate, 10 cups of dry milk powder is a LOT. I bought a box that I thought would be WAY too much - it makes 10 quarts of milk - and I used the whole box. My dry milk was annoying too because it had a lot of little 'balls' of milk stuck together. Which I wouldn't care about if I was making it for me, but I ended up sifting it about 50 times and then resorting to a mortar and pestle to get it fine enough for presents. I think it would be awesome to make it again in a smaller batch and use really good cocoa powder and maybe some replacement for the 'non-dairy creamer' to make extra superspecial cocoa.
But that's for a time when I'm not giving out 18 jars. Right now it basically tastes like Swiss Miss mix except that it's special cause it's made with LOVE. Or something.
And I have pictures. Cause I know that's what you all wanted. ;) Or cause I just have fun taking pictures.
The first step of the marshmallows when I was SURE this wasn't going to turn out at all.
EEEEEE, it's WORKING EEEEEEEEE
Sticky, sticky goo
My pretentious Barnes & Noble coffee cup filled with hot chocolate and marshmallow! In an overexposed picture because I wanted to DRINK the hot chocolate! The marshmallows turned out very pink under the powdered sugar and are amazingly good.
Now I just have to cut the rest of the marshmallows out, bag them, decorate the wee jars of mix, and buy more jars wtf. Because I have to give presents to a minimum of 13 people, and the jars are in a box of 12. *SIGH*
First of all? Marshmallows are the coolest thing ever to make. It's like a big chemistry project that ends up with gooey goodness. I ended up covered in sticky pink marshmallow fluff, but I didn't get any in my hair so I count it a win.
I got the recipes from this blog which is very awesome and now in my google reader. I found 'em by googling so random finds FTW!
Peppermint Marshmallow Recipe
1/2 c. powdered sugar
1/3 c. cornstarch
2 envelopes unflavored gelatin
2/3 c. water
1 1/3 c. sugar
2/3 c. light corn syrup
1/2 c. crushed peppermint candy canes (about 6)
1/8 tsp. salt
*Tip: to crush your candy canes, break them up in large pieces, then seal them in a Zip Loc bag. Put your bag on a sturdy cutting board and use a hammer to smash them into a powder. The finer the powder, the better.
1. Into a small bowl, sift together powdered sugar and cornstarch. Line a 9x13" pan with foil and spray with non-stick cooking spray.
2. Sift 2 Tbsp. of the powdered sugar mixture into pan and tilt to coat all sides. Leave excess in pan.
3. Place 2/3 c. water in a large bowl and sprinkle with gelatin. Let soften 5 minutes.
4. In medium, heavy-bottom saucepan, heat sugar, corn syrup, candy cane, and salt over medium heat until completely dissolved (about 7 minutes).
5. Pour into bowl with gelatin mixture and beat on high speed with electric mixer until light and fluffy (10-15 minutes).
6. Spread evenly into prepared pan. Smooth top and dush with powdered sugar mixture. Let sit at room temperature for 2 hours.
7. Lift from pan with foil. With a small, wet cookie cutter, cut shapes and dip sides in sugar mixture. Cut up remaining marshmallows into small, irregular pieces (these are the ones I let my kids and husband eat!). Or, using a wet knife, cut into 6 large squares and dip sides into powdered sugar mixture. Then cut each of those squares into 9 pieces and dip in sugar mixture.
8. Store at room temp, loosely covered.
Hot Chocolate Mix Recipe
10 cups dry milk powder
4 3/4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
1 3/4 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
1 3/4 cups powdered non-dairy creamer
Mix all ingredients in a bowl. Store in a jar or airtight container. Yields 15 cups. To make the cocoa, stir 3 heaping Tablespoons into 3/4 c. hot water or milk.
So my marshmallows ended up really, really thick. I'm not sure why because her pictures didn't look nearly as thick, and I used a 9x13 pan, but I'm not going to complain. They're freaking AWESOME. Two things: when breaking up the candy canes, the sharp candy edges tore through my ziploc bags so I had a cutting board covered with aluminum foil to put the ziploc bag on. Then I just tipped the foil into the pan to get the wee pieces.
For the hot chocolate, 10 cups of dry milk powder is a LOT. I bought a box that I thought would be WAY too much - it makes 10 quarts of milk - and I used the whole box. My dry milk was annoying too because it had a lot of little 'balls' of milk stuck together. Which I wouldn't care about if I was making it for me, but I ended up sifting it about 50 times and then resorting to a mortar and pestle to get it fine enough for presents. I think it would be awesome to make it again in a smaller batch and use really good cocoa powder and maybe some replacement for the 'non-dairy creamer' to make extra superspecial cocoa.
But that's for a time when I'm not giving out 18 jars. Right now it basically tastes like Swiss Miss mix except that it's special cause it's made with LOVE. Or something.
And I have pictures. Cause I know that's what you all wanted. ;) Or cause I just have fun taking pictures.
The first step of the marshmallows when I was SURE this wasn't going to turn out at all.
EEEEEE, it's WORKING EEEEEEEEE
Sticky, sticky goo
My pretentious Barnes & Noble coffee cup filled with hot chocolate and marshmallow! In an overexposed picture because I wanted to DRINK the hot chocolate! The marshmallows turned out very pink under the powdered sugar and are amazingly good.
Now I just have to cut the rest of the marshmallows out, bag them, decorate the wee jars of mix, and buy more jars wtf. Because I have to give presents to a minimum of 13 people, and the jars are in a box of 12. *SIGH*