Peppermint Marshmallows: Week 3 of 12 Weeks of Christmas Treats

It's Thursday, and time for another installment of 12 Weeks of Christmas Treats, hosted by Meal Planning Magic. If you're a blogger, it's never too late to sign up! Head on over and fill out the form.

Want to really impress your friends and relatives this holiday season? These marshmallows are tasty and festive. Peppermint-flavored and marbled with red color, they'll remind everyone of the ubiquitous holiday treat, candy canes. How amazed will they be when you tell them that the marshmallows are homemade?

Marshmallows are not physically difficult to make, but they do require precise temperatures and timing. However, the end result more than makes up for the effort! Homemade marshmallows are fresher than store-bought. You control the flavor. You control the color. You control the shape (hmmm, homemade Peeps this Easter?).

You will need a deep-fry or candy-thermometer. I like candy thermometers that list the "stages" of sugar syrup right on the face — I use this one. It clips to the side of the pot, and it's adjustable for deep or shallow saucepans. Keep a very close eye on the sugar mixture while it is cooking. It can take forever for the syrup to reach 220 degrees, but after that, it heats very quickly. 

Peppermint Marshmallows
Source: Martha Stewart
Makes 16 (2-inch square) marshmallows

Ingredients

• Nonstick vegetable oil cooking spray
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon light corn syrup
• 1 ½ cups water, divided
• 1 ounce unflavored powdered gelatin
• ¾ teaspoon peppermint extract
• 2 egg whites
• Red food coloring

Directions

1. Liberally spray an 8-inch square baking pan with nonstick cooking spray. Line the bottom with parchment paper, and spray again.
2. Put the sugar, corn syrup, and ¾ cup of the water in a small saucepan. Clip a candy thermometer to the side of the pan. Cook over medium heat, stirring, until sugar is dissolved (when the syrup reaches about 100 degrees). Stop stirring; let mixture come to a boil. Raise heat to medium-high. 
3. Meanwhile, sprinkle gelatin over ¾ cup water in a heatproof bowl; let stand 5 minutes to soften. Set the bowl with the gelatin mixture over a pan of simmering water; whisk constantly until gelatin is dissolved. Remove from heat, and stir in extract; set aside.
4. When sugar syrup mixture reaches 200 degrees, start beating the egg whites in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat just until stiff peaks form. Whisk gelatin mixture into sugar mixture. Once the sugar mixture registers 260 degrees, immediately remove from the heat, and with mixer running on medium-low speed, gradually add to egg whites. Mix on high speed until very thick, 12 to 15 minutes.
5. Scrape the mixture into the lined pan with a spatula. The mixture is very thick and very sticky, so don't worry about scraping off any batter that sticks to the bowl, the whisk, or the spatula. Working quickly, drop dots of red food coloring across surface of marshmallow. Using a toothpick, swirl in the food coloring to create a marbleized effect. 
6. Let marshmallow stand uncovered, at room temperature, until firm, at least 3 hours or overnight. Use a pizza cutter sprayed with nonstick spray to cut into squares.