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Homemade Marshmallows + Homemade Graham Crackers

the urban baker: Homemade Marshmallows + Homemade Graham Crackers

the urban baker

The Urban Baker is deliciously photographed blog about nourishing your family's soul through life in the kitchen. The recipes for fabulous savories and sweets are easily replicated and will inspire you.

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Homemade Marshmallows + Homemade Graham Crackers










Levi loves marshmallows.  He likes them in his pancakes, his oatmeal, by themselves in a big blue bowl, and roasted over the flame with a big hunk of bittersweet chocolate and a graham cracker. Marshmallows are his vice.   


Marshmallows are really very easy to make.  They take about 20 minutes to make and assemble.  I like to make toasted coconut marshmallows, chocolate covered marshmallows, rocky road and flavored marshmallows.  However, I like them best roasted and  wedged between a homemade graham cracker and some really good chocolate.  Who out there doesn't like a s'more?  

S'mores evoke so many emotions.  Childhood, camp fires, camp, and the joy you see when your child eats one for the very first time.  Melted marshmallows on a stick!  Come on....so good!


We get invited to a lot of bbq's during the summer months and I hate to arrive empty handed.  At the beginning of the summer I make a huge batch of Nancy Silverton's Graham crackers (see original post, here ).  The dough is really sticky and somewhat hard to work with, but the final result is unbeatable.  I make and shape the dough.  Cut them out to size and then freeze the shaped graham crackers until I am ready to take them to someones house.  The day of, I bake off a dozen or so and package it all up with the marshmallows and some chocolate bars. It's the perfect hostess gift!


Homemade Marshmallows
adapted from Martha Stewart
yield: 48 marshmallows

ingredients:
3 tablespoons +  1 1/2 tsp. unflavored gelatin
3 cups sugar
1 1/4 cup light corn syrup
1/4 tsp. salt
2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
sifted powdered sugar

instructions:
• spray a 9 x 13" baking dish with cooking spray.  line with parchment allowing for some overhang.  spray the parchment. set aside
• put sugar, corn syrup, salt, 3/4 cups water in a heavy duty saucepan.  bring to a boil over high heat. stirring to dissolve the sugar. cook without stirring, until mixture registers 238* on a candy thermometer.
•while that is cooking, put 3/4 cup cold water into the bowl of your electric mixer and sprinkle with the gelatin.  soften for 5 minutes.
• using the whisk attachment on your blender, turn on low speed and gradually add your hot syrup.  start on slow speed and once combined, increase the speed to ultimately the highest speed.  The mixture should be very stiff, mix for about 15 minutes.  Beat in vanilla to combine.  
• pour into prepared dish and smooth with an off set spatula.  
• set aside, uncovered for about 3 hours or overnight
• sift 1 cup of powdered sugar in a jelly roll pan.  cut marshmallows with a well oiled knife.  i like my marshmallows 1" squared.  roll the cut marshmallows in the powdered sugar.  if you need more sugar, sift more into the pan.
• store in a container for 3 days or freeze for 2 months.








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15 Comments:

Blogger Kelsey said...

These look like the ultimate s'mores. Homemade marshmallows and crackers with dark chocolate--sounds like heaven!

July 13, 2010 at 10:54 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

oh my goodieness!!! These are my favorites and of course the kids are delicious too!

July 13, 2010 at 2:37 PM  
Blogger gracie said...

ooooh! I love the picture you took of marchmallows placed between graham crackers dibbled with chocolate.... looks soooo yummy!!

July 13, 2010 at 7:30 PM  
Anonymous mindy said...

I can't wait to make the homemade marshmallows. I've always wanted to try them, but never have. Now I have a great reason! Love the pictures of the boys!

July 13, 2010 at 11:04 PM  
Anonymous mindy said...

Can't wait to make the homemade marshmallows! Yum....

July 13, 2010 at 11:05 PM  
Blogger Nicole@The Dirty Oven via twitter @ovenloving said...

I am going to have to try this. What a great idea for a hostess gift. So sweet! Thanks for sharing

July 14, 2010 at 5:42 AM  
Blogger Brooke said...

I'm wondering if I can pretend I never saw this recipe so I can never add MARSHMALLOW to my long list of vices...(Un)fortunately, you make this seem so easy, I might even get up the nerve to bake this delicious treat.

Clearly, getting a hankering for sweets is one of my many vices.

July 14, 2010 at 7:08 PM  
Anonymous Kristen said...

Wow - this is impressive! What a fantastic treat!

July 14, 2010 at 7:32 PM  
Anonymous marla {family fresh cooking} said...

Love this happy post! These homemade marshmallows & graham crackers look so awesome, I can see why Levi loves them so :) xxoo

July 14, 2010 at 8:05 PM  
Blogger Esi said...

I have a confession, I sort of grew out of s'mores years ago, but I am absolutely crazy over homemade marshmallows. So good!!

July 14, 2010 at 11:17 PM  
Blogger Zucchero & Cannella said...

Here we eat marshmallos too !!
I'll try yours.

: )

July 19, 2010 at 4:51 AM  
Anonymous Gina said...

Wow, these look amazing. I'm in India for two years and am happy to have a found a possibility of making a taste of home (America)! If I don't have access to corn syrup (I'm in India), do you have a suggestion for an alternative?

July 19, 2010 at 9:59 PM  
Blogger The Urban Baker said...

Hi Gina - wow, India! That is on my destination "wish list"! If you can find golden syrup, you will get almost the same results. If you do try them using golden syrup, please let me know how they come out!

July 19, 2010 at 10:30 PM  
Blogger Pei-Lin said...

Greetings from Malaysia!

Thank you for sharing this! I only knew of s'more and came to appreciate it when I was an undergrad in Minnesota. (I'm back home now.)

I remember the first time I had s'more was at a bonfire in the fall of 2008. What a sweet chapter of my life! It was a gooey, sticky and yet sweet experience! But then, I think I was taught to sandwich milk choc instead of bittersweet choc for s'more. Do you have a "rule" for that as to what constitutes an authentic s'more?

Oh, there was also once back in winter last year. Imagine a bunch of college students toasting marshmallows and making s'more on -30ish night in northern Minnesota. Man, what an experience! LOL! Yea, s'more even brings back so much lovely memory for a non-American! ;)

I doubt I'll introduce s'more to my folks here though. Sadly, the people here have a lower tolerance level for sugary foods. In other words, they're more of savory people, not quite a sweet tooth. But then, what the heck! I don't mind s'more anytime because of my super huge sweet tooth! S'more is welcome in the hot and humid Malaysia!

BTW, thank you for visiting my blog. I love yours, your food photography and your words. Will definitely be back for more. I miss America so much!

Have a gorgeous weekend!

P.S. Even for cinnabons, not everyone here appreciates the bread. They think the cinnamon taste is too much for them. That's where cultural differences come in. I bet there are certain things in life that are acquired. =)

July 24, 2010 at 7:30 AM  
Anonymous Connie said...

I must say, those are the best looking s'mores I've ever seen. Haven't had one in years, but now I really miss them! (Wish I had mine as a kid with homemade graham crackers and marshmallows!) Your friends are very lucky to receive these as gifts!

July 26, 2010 at 5:11 PM  

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