Guest Post: GDK

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas weekend!!

Did Santa bring you everything you were hoping for??

Today we are headed from Austin to Houston for a few days. Then it's on to El Paso.

Luckily, I still have some awesome bloggers who are willing to share some yummy recipes with you while I'm traipsing through Texas.

Today we have Katie from gdk.

Katie is a fellow military spouse who makes some delicious looking casseroles and soups. Lately, she's been making sweet treats for the troops.

Today she is sharing a recipe that I've never made but have been intrigued by for a couple months now.

Thanks for sharing with us today Katie! I think you may have kicked my butt into gear so I'll be making my own marshmallows soon!

Take it away Katie:

When Maranda asked me to do a guest post, it was pretty hard to narrow down my huge list of Christmas-time recipes to one single idea.

I have a huge sweet tooth, so I cut out a third of my list and stuck with the sweets.

After a few days of asking my Marine what he liked best and him trying to convince me to do something savory or salty, I finally decided.

Homemade marshmallows.

What is more tempting than homemade marshmallows?  I think the actual definition of homemade marshmallows is:  better than anything you can buy in a bag.

Super vanilla-y and more fluffy than you can imagine, they absolutely melt in your mouth. 

And for some reason, the Christmas season always reminds me of marshmallows.

I don’t know if it’s all the hot chocolate I consume and the decadent chocolate cakes that just beg for white fluffs on top, but they just seem like an indulgent treat to have this time of year.

And hey, add a drop of mint extract or two, and a drop of red (or green!) food coloring and you’ve really got the Christmas spirit going on!

Homemade Marshmallows

Makes a ga-zillion.

Stores in a tupperware container forever and a day.

Three 1/4-oz. envelopes unflavored powdered gelatin
2 cups sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons powdered sugar; more as needed

Pour 3/4 cup cold water into the bowl of a stand mixer.

Sprinkle the gelatin over the water.

Attach the bowl to the mixer and fit it with the whisk attachment.
Clip a candy thermometer to a 3-quart saucepan; don’t let the tip of the thermometer touch the bottom of the pan. In the saucepan, boil the sugar, corn syrup, salt, and 3/4 cup water over medium heat without stirring until it reaches 234°F to 235°F, about 10 minutes.

With the mixer on low speed, pour the hot sugar mixture into the gelatin in a slow, thin stream.

Add the vanilla, carefully increase the speed to high, and beat until the mixture has thickened and cooled, about 5 minutes (the bottom of the bowl should be just warm to the touch).

Line a 9x13-inch pan with foil, leaving an overhang on 2 sides. Sift 1 tablespoon of the confectioners’ sugar into the bottom of the pan, then pour the marshmallow mixture into the pan and sift another 1 tablespoon confectioners’ sugar on top.

*snow, right???*

Let sit at room temperature until set, at least 2 hours.
Use the foil overhang to lift the marshmallow from the pan. Using a knife that has been dipped in cold water, cut along the edge of the marshmallow to release it from the foil. Transfer to a cutting board and remove the foil. Put the remaining 1 cup confectioners’ sugar in a medium bowl. Cut the marshmallow into cubes of different sizes, from 1/4 to 3/4 inch (you will need to continue to dip the knife in cold water as you cut the marshmallows). The marshmallows will be very sticky—dip the cut edges in the confectioners’ sugar to make them easier to handle. As you work, toss a few cubes at a time in the sugar to coat, then shake in a strainer to remove the excess.

Store in a tupperware.
Or use to top a really decadent chocolate cake :)