Though they are tasty any time of the year, marshmallows are obviously more popular during the cold seasons. The cold Canadian winters I grew up with necessitated hot chocolate, warm lattes and a cozy crackling fire (and gloves, face mask and a good ice scraper). And that hot chocolate had marshmallows, of course. When I was little, I never wondered how marshmallows were made. They just seemed like sweet little puffs that I assumed could only be made by a fancy machine. One day, someone gave me a homemade marshmallow and my mind was blown. Not only did it taste a thousand times better than store bought marshmallows, the texture was light as air (not chewy and dense), and it was packed with flavor. Mmm..and now you can make them too.
I decided to get creative with my jar of PB2. Have you guys seen this stuff? It's powdered peanut butter, except it has 85% less fat than regular peanut butter. It's amazing stuff - just add water and enjoy. For this recipe, we only needed 2 tablespoons of PB2. Dip them in some jelly for some PB+J fun. If anyone tries this with Chocolate PB2, let me know how it turns out!
Note our past recipes: Mint Marshmallows Covered in Chocolate & Caramel Cream Marshmallows
INGREDIENTS:
- About 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
- 3 1/2 envelopes (2 tablespoons plus 2 1/2 teaspoons) unflavored gelatin
- 1 cup cold water, divided
- 2 cups granulated sugar (cane sugar worked just fine)
- 1/2 cup light corn syrup
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 large egg whites or reconstituted powdered egg whites
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 tablespoons PB2
- 2 drops of green food coloring (optional)
DIRECTIONS:
- Oil and dust a 13- by 9- by 2-inch rectangular metal baking pan with some powdered sugar.
- In bowl of a standing electric mixer or in a large bowl sprinkle gelatin over 1/2 cup cold cold water, and let stand to soften.
- In a large saucepan, cook granulated sugar, corn syrup, second 1/2 cup of cold water, and salt over low heat, stir on occasion until sugar is dissolved. Increase heat to medium and boil mixture, without stirring, until a candy or digital thermometer registers 240 degrees F. Remove pan from heat and pour sugar mixture over gelatin mixture, stirring until gelatin is dissolved. Sprinkle in your PB2.
- Beat the mixture on high speed until it becomes white and thick. It should almost triple in volume. Overall, this could take 5-7 minutes.
- In a mixing bowl, beat egg whites until they become powdered whites.
- Beat the eggs and vanilla into the sugar and gelatin mixture until they are completely combined.
- Pour into baking pan and sift the top with powdered sugar.
- Let the marshmallow harden in the refrigerator for 3-5 hours. Then take out and remove from pan. With a knife, cut the marshmallow sheet in to bite-sized portions. Roll and dust the marshmallow squares in powdered sugar. Make sure to cover on all sides.