Marshmallows

I love marshmallows and have always wanted to make some yummy gourmet ones of my own, so I lucked out when I happened upon the amazing Thomas Keller's marshmallow  recipe.  Thomas Keller is seriously my food god, so I knew this recipe was going to good, and it is!  Anyways, here goes the recipe for some tasty marshmallows:

Supplies

• large mixing bowl
• 9x13 baking tray
• Hand blender
• Pizza cutter or knife
• Cooking spray
• Candy thermometer (optional, but can be handy)

Ingredients

• 3 pouches of gelatin 
• 1/2 cup (120 mL) water
• 2 cups (400 g) sugar 
• 2/3 cup (160 mL) corn syrup 
• 1/4 cup (60 mL) water 
• 1/4 tsp. (1.5 g) salt  
• 1 Tbs. (15 mL) vanilla extract (don't forget this!  Otherwise, your marshmallows will literally taste like blood from the gelatin)
• Starch or powdered sugar to coat the marshmallows (it's your choice what you use.  Powdered sugar = sweeter marshmallows, starch = less sweet)

Directions

1. soak gelatin in a large mixing bowl for 10 min in 1/2 cup water and let it bloom
2. very lightly grease up the 9x13 pan.  I like rubbing cooking spray onto it.  Then I sprinkle starch or powdered sugar on it.
3. bring water, sugar and corn syrup to a boil for 1 min or let it get to 250 degrees
4. (this is where it gets tricky and a little dangerous.  Molten sugar = third degree burn central, so be careful!) Put your hand blender on the lowest setting and slowly pour the sugar mixture into the bloomed up gelatin.  As the mixture turns more white and opaque, you can speed up the blender.
5. Pour in vanilla and blend for about 10 minutes or until the mixture gets the consistency of Fluff.
6. Pour into pan and let it cool.  Some people like letting it sit out overnight.  I tend to just let it cool for an hour or two before cutting.
7. Cover the top of the marshmallow with powdered sugar or starch, then invert pan onto a clean surface.
8. Cut into squares with pizza cutter.
9. Coat marshmallows with powdered sugar or starch.

These marshmallows are great for making rice crispy treats and putting in hot chocolate.  They're great to eat as is, as well!  Sometimes, I like mixing in bits of freeze dried fruit or coating them in various chocolates.  As a tip: If you're going to coat the marshmallow in chocolate, freeze the marshmallow first, otherwise, the chocolate's going to melt it.  During the holidays, I put these marshmallows in cellophane bags and give them away as gifts.  I took pictures of past experiments, so visuals soon!

Update: I haven't yet run across a good vegetarian marshmallow recipe, but for you veggies out there who want to join in on the marshmallow fun, @dtroung tuned me into already-made vegan marshallows made by Sweet and Sara in his vegan marshmallow review, and for veggies who want to make their own marshmallows, I just discovered Angel Food, a New Zealand-based vegan food company that carries prepackaged veggie marshmallow mix.