Salted Caramel Marshmallows

 

Ok before you tell me the only use for a marshmallow is on a s'more, please hold your judgement until you try these babies. This recipe should honor marshmallows with a new name. I’ve come up with a few:

o   Fluffy Caramel Fluffies

o   Pritty Pillows

o   Marbled Caramel Fluffs

o   Yours?

These turned out so soft and pillowy, yet rich with caramel. After mixing the marshmallows to stiff consistency, I folded in some caramel sauce to ensure the flavor would be in every bite. Then I made a marbled caramel effect by drizzling the caramel in a few lines across the top and sliding a knife around to create the design.

For the marshmallows I used this recipe from Epicurious, which I have copied below.

For the caramel I halved this recipe from Brown Eyed Baker Blog. Be careful not to scorch it!

Marshmallows

o   1 cup cold iced water

o   3 packets unflavored gelatin (each packet is ¼ ounce)

o   2 cups sugar

o   2/3 cup light corn syrup

o   ¼ tsp salt

o   2 tsp vanilla

o   ¼  cup rice flour or starch

o   ¼  cup powdered sugar

Line your 13x9 pan with greased foil.

Pour ½ cup ice water into large bowl. Sprinkle gelatin over water and allow to sit at least 15 minutes.

On the stove, fill stainless steel pot or pan with 2 cups sugar, corn syrup, salt, and ½ cup ice water. Stir over medium low heat until sugar dissolves and place candy thermometer in pan. Increase heat a bit to bring syrup to a boil. Boil, without stirring, until syrup reaches 240˚F, about 8 minutes.

With mixer running on low, slowly pour hot syrup into gelatin mixture in this stream away from the beaters. With all of the syrup now added, increase speed to high and beat until mixture is very thick and stiff, about 15 minutes. Add vanilla and beat to blend, about 30 seconds longer. Delicately fold in about half the cooled caramel using spatula.

Scrape marshmallow into prepared pan. Smooth top with wet spatula. Pour in cooled caramel in long lines and make a marbled effect using a knife. Allow the marshmallow to set overnight.

The following day you will want to slice your marshmallows. Take a large wood cutting board and sprinkle it with some of the blended rice flour (or corn starch) and powdered sugar. You want to put this layer down to avoid the caramel from sticking to the cutting board. Now invert your marshmallows onto the cutting board by flipping the pan over and carefully peeling off the foil. Slice the marshmallow into bite sized pieces. Sprinkle more of the rice flour/powdered sugar onto a piece of wax paper and roll the marshmallows around to get a light dusting. This will take away the stickiness factor and make your marshmallows easier to hold or mail. Store marshmallows in Tupperware lined with wax paper. If you need to double deck it, layer some wax paper on top before adding the next floor of marshmallows. This will prevent the stickiness factor.

Salted Caramel Sauce

o   1 cup sugar

o   6 tbsp butter

o   ½ c heavy cream (regular works as well)

o   1 tsp fine or flaky sea salt

Add the sugar in an even layer over the bottom of a heavy stainless steel pan. Heat the sugar over medium-high heat, whisking as it begins to melt. You’ll see the sugar begin to form clumps. Continue whisking until all of the sugar is melted. Now stop whisking and only swirl the pan occasionally if needed.

Continue cooking the sugar until it reaches a deep amber color. Once it reaches 350˚F, pull it off the stove immediately. It is extremely easy to burn caramel and render it useless!

Add the butter and whisk until completely melted. Slowly pour in the cream and use your whisk to incorporate into the sugar/butter mixture. Add salt and whisk. Allow the caramel to sit and cool awhile before storing or adding to marshmallows.

S'more Bars

This is a recipe I adapted to make S'more Bars in a 9x13 pan. It is a graham cracker crust, followed by a layer of homemade marshmallow creme, a layer of chocolate, and topped off with another graham cracker crust.

Graham Cracker Crust

· 1 cup butter

· 1 ½ cups sugar

·  2 large eggs

· 2 tsp vanilla

· 2 ⅔ cups flour

·  11 sheets graham crackers (1 ½ cups)

· 2 tsp baking powder

· ½ tsp salt

1.    Grease 9x13 pan.

2.    In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar until creamy. Add eggs, vanilla, beat until combined.

3.    In a separate bowl, combine flour, crushed graham cracker crumbs, baking powder, and salt. Gradually add flour mixture into butter mixture, beating to combine.

4.    Flip over your baking dish and line the bottom with wax paper. Use half of the dough to form the base graham cracker layer. I recommend making your dough a little wider and a little longer than the dish bottom.

5.    Press the other half of the dough into your greased pan making an even layer. Now you are ready to add the marshmallow layer.

Marshmallow Crème

·         2 egg whites

·         1 ⅓ cups light corn syrup

·         ¾ tsp salt

·         1 ⅓ cups confectioner’s sugar

·         2 tsp vanilla

1.    Beat egg whites until foamy.

2.    Add corn syrup and salt. Beat for 10 minutes until you reach stiff peaks (this will take less time if you have a KitchenAid mixer). When you lift up the mixer, the marshmallow should stay firm.

3.    Gradually add in the confectioner’s sugar, beating well after each addition.

4.    Mix or fold in the vanilla.

This makes enough marshmallow crème for two batches of S’more Bars. So you can make it again next week!

S’more Bars

Smooth a layer of marshmallow crème on top of the graham cracker crust.

On top of the marshmallow, add the chocolate of your choice. I use 12 oz. Ghirardelli semi-sweet chocolate chips. You could also use Hershey’s chocolate bars.

Flip the graham cracker crust on top of the chocolate and smooth to the edges. Peel away the waxed paper.

Bake 25-30 min at 350. Allow to cool before cutting into squares.  

Tips:

v  You will need to crush the graham crackers into crumbs. I like to put them in a Ziploc and whack away with my crab mallet.

v  The marshmallow crème recipe makes enough for 2 batches of S’more bars. I figure if you are going to go to the trouble, mise as well make a big batch. It will last a few weeks in the fridge.

v  If you use chocolate chips, they will not melt completely from baking. If you want that gooey look, use milk chocolate bars or melt the chocolate down before adding it to your s’more pan.