Ever have one of those moments when you think back fondly on a memory that makes you chuckle? Such was the case this week when I tackled Martha Stewart’s homemade marshmallows. It took me back to a time when my niece and I were hanging out watching old family videos (yes VCR stuff!) and cutting up about the wacky clothes, hair and antics of our clan. When the tape ran out and it went back to regular programming, Martha Stewart came on with a show about making marshmallows. Suffice to say that we mocked her activity as well. Now here I am a few years later, the object of my own joke.
In my defense, I am now a grandmother and food blogger so I submit that I do it for the kids. The store bought Easter mallows are garishly garnished, overly sugary temptations to tempt unwitting small children. So what’s a grandmother to do? Mollify, or mollycoddle them with homemade marshmallows of course! In my book it’s win-win.
Although it’s unlikely that making the marshmallows at home will reduce the sugar content by much, it does decrease the amounts of food dyes and preservatives. As Martha points out , the results are “fresher, softer, much more delicious and customizable.” Agreed.
With a good quality candy thermometer (see Pampered Chef’s thermometer) the recipe was easy to follow and the results were impressive. I found a canister of spring hued sanding sugar at our local Sur La Table store which worked fabulously to give the bunnies a soft pastel color. I also had good results with regular granulated sugar. I anticipated trouble in cutting out the mallows with a cookie cutter but had no problems at all. In fact, I did not have to clean the cutter in between as referenced in the recipe instructions. The bunnies seemed to hop right out of the pan.
** A note to niece. Now that you are a mother of two small children I would venture a guess that you might even succumb to marshmallow making in the near future. I don’t expect that you’ll broadcast the news to me, but I do have a bunch of marshmallow bunnies to bribe my sweet little grand-niece into talking.
Happy Easter!
Go to Martha Stewart’s Marshmallow Easter Critters for recipe
