Cinnamon chocolate marshmallows
For most of my life, marshmallows and I have not been friends. I’d make my s’mores with only chocolate chips and graham crackers, I preferred whipped cream in my hot cocoa and candied-yam casserole was not welcome on my holiday plate.
I’m not sure if it’s the spongy texture or the plain flavor, but marshmallows just never appealed to me. I was even convinced that they were a chemically engineered food, with nary an ingredient found in the natural world.
But one day I had a homemade marshmallow. And everything changed.
I had always found commercially produced marshmallows insipid, but a homemade marshmallow has depth and character, with its sweetness more robust, its texture more springy and its flavor more nuanced. Heck, the two types of marshmallows are hardly the same confection.
Now if you go to a store that sells these artisan marshmallows, you can expect to pay a lot of money. We even have one place in New York City that sells each one for four dollars. That’s ridiculous! But with a strong stand mixer and a little time, you can make your own marshmallows for a fraction of the cost.
A marshmallow’s base flavor is vanilla, which is pleasant, but I wanted to jazz mine up a bit. I threw in cinnamon and chipotle for warmth and spice and then added a bit of chocolate for its bittersweet, creamy notes. After I made my fluff, it was tempting to add it to a peanut-butter sandwich, but I decided to wait and let the marshmallows set so I could eat them as they were meant to be.
My patience definitely rewarded me as the marshmallows were fluffy with a red-hot flavor, enjoyable both on their own and dropped into a steaming mug of hot chocolate.
And perhaps its better for both my teeth and my waistline that I’ve only recently been introduced to the delight of good marshmallows, because trust me, once you start eating these you won’t want to stop.
Cinnamon chocolate marshmallows
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon canola oil or spray oil
- 3 .25-ounce envelopes of unflavored gelatin
- 4 ounces semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 cups sugar
- 3/4 cup corn syrup
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon chipotle powder
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
Special equipment:
- Candy thermometer
Instructions
- Line a 9x9 baking pan with foil, then grease the foil with the oil.
- In the bottom of a stand mixer, mix the gelatin with 1/2 cup of water. Let it sit for 10 minutes.
- Melt the chocolate and then stir in the cocoa powder. Add to the gelatin and beat until combined.
- In a large pot, mix together the sugar, corn syrup, and 1/4 cup of water. Insert the candy thermometer and turn the heat onto medium low. Without stirring, let the syrup cook until it reaches 248° F.
- Remove from heat and slowly add sugar syrup to the gelatin/chocolate mixture. Add the salt, cinnamon, and chipotle and mix at high speed for 10 minutes or until it’s fluffy. Add the vanilla and pour marshmallow fluff into prepared pan.
- Let it set for at least 4 hours. Remove marshmallow slab from the pan.
- Dredge it in powdered sugar. With a sharp knife, cut marshmallow into squares or you can use a cookie cutter for more whimsical shapes.
I whipped these up this afternoon. I made quite a mess! Any tips for getting the "batter" out of the stand mixer bowl? I unfortunately wasted some as it was so sticky I couldn't get it all out.
i make totasted coconut marshmallows…i put a bit of the toasted coconut in whatever pan i will pour the marshmallow "batter" into…then pour it in and top with more coconut. when it has set up i pull the whole thing out of pan, slice into servings and dust exposed edges with powdered sugar to prevent sticking. YUMMMY!
Sadly, I made these and it was a total fail! The marshmallow never "fluffed" and I ended up with a goopy mess which did not set even after several days. After some research online, I found several sources which claim that fat (like that in the chocolate) prevents the marshmallow from whipping up. How did you get yours to whip with the 3 ounces of chocolate in it? I will try again (as some have suggested) but leave out the chocolate … will let you know how it goes.
Catherine–I use a silicone spatula, but it is a very messy process.
Christie–Those sound amaizng!
GT–I'm sorry they didn't work for you. I've never had any problems with the chocolate, but as it's a candy there are many variables that could cause them to fail such as the sugar not being the correct temperature or it being too humid outside. I hope your next attempt at making marshmallows goes better!
Great recipe! I made these last weekend without a candy thermometer and used this website to keep me from getting nervous about messing up the sugar cooking:
I had made Martha Stewart's plain marshmallows in Austin and Boulder before attempting these in Mexico City this time. Had to cook the sugar for what seemed like forever (and forgot to time it…sorry), nearly burned out the motor on my hand mixer, but the results were perfect! Can't wait to make them again.