Campfire Treats

I’m going to go on and clear the air here. What you will see on this post has nothing to do with New Year’s resolution #1, but everything to do with New Year’s resolution #6. I will also confess that batch number one was in fact made before the end of the last decade, if that counts for anything. Meaning, prior to those crazy resolutions I made.
Either way, if you have a candy thermometer and a stand mixer, I bet you’ll have a hard time getting either of these recipes off your mind. If you are missing one of said tools, I’ll just say that it’s too bad Christmas just passed and neither were on your wishlist. Shame on you.

These little bite-size squares of heaven called marshmallows are officially my new addiction. Remember when I went on and on about how much I adore making caramel? Forget about it, just take it totally out of your mind. Marshmallows are way more fun – plus, you still get to heat up sugar until it’s oh-so-close to being caramel. And then, then, you get to take that 248-degree syrup and dump it into your stand mixer, turn it on high (high!) and watch it magically turn into smooth, silky, shiny marshmallow fluff – a fluff that is nothing short of life-changing.

This madness began back in the last decade (you know, soooooo 2009) when we decided to have a little NYE shindig. And let’s be honest, I love shindigs – especially when we’re hosting because it is the perfect excuse to make all sorts of lil’ nibblers. The little shindig turned into a Mexican Fiesta, and in addition to my insisting on making churros from scratch, (watch out, Xoco) I developed a huge, huge, hankerin’ for homemade marshmallows. And who knows why since I’d only eaten the store-bought (jet-puffed?!) ones, but when searching the world-wide-web for ideas, I found the Homesick Texan’s blog where she’d recently whipped up her own batch of marshmallows, with Mexican spices to boot. Clearly, marshmallows were born to be part of my NYE fiesta. Clearly.

Boys and girls, the fun just didn’t stop there though. Consider yourself forewarned – they truly are addictive. So, since I had another shindig to attend on Saturday, my eyes immediately wandered over to those pretty chocolate squishy squares and I knew right then and there that a Round 2 was in my (very near) future, no matter what resolution I made. They simply can’t be stopped, those marshmallows.
That being said, a recent version of Giada’s show came to mind where she’d made some cutesy orange marshmallows – done & done. Look at ‘em – they are too pretty and too delicate to really contain those wicked calories, right? Right.

If truth be told, I may have to consider myself as being on somewhat of a “marshmallow kick”. But in an effort to make myself feel a tad less bad about it, I may even whip up a batch with Splenda, just to see if it works. We’ll see how that goes.
Splenda or not, you can bet the farm I’ll be having some more of these soon. Only next time, I’ll make them stick around long enough to either attend a pool party in a nice big mug of hot chocolate or get strung onto a wire hanger and roasted over the coals. Maybe even both.

Mexican Marshmallows*
Adapted from the Homesick Texan blog
printable recipe
ingredients
3 .25 oz envelopes of unflavored gelatin
2 c sugar
3/4 c corn syrup
4 oz of semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate
2 T of unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 t salt
1 t ground cinnamon
1/4 t ancho chile powder
1 t vanilla
1/2 c of powdered sugar
Water
must-havescandy thermometer
stand mixer
instructionsLine your baking pan with foil and spray with cooking spray
In the bottom of your mixer, mix the gelatin with a 1/2 cup of water. Let it sit for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, melt the chocolate and then stir in the cocoa powder. Add to the gelatin and beat until combined.
In a large pot, mix together the sugar, corn syrup and 1/4 cup of water. Insert the candy thermometer and turn the heat onto medium low. Without stirring, let the syrup cook until it reaches 248 degrees.
Remove from heat and slowly add sugar syrup to the gelatin/chocolate mixture. Add the salt, cinnamon and ancho chile powder and mix at high speed for 10 minutes or until it’s fluffy. Add the vanilla and pour marshmallow fluff into prepared pan.
Let it set for at least four hours. Remove marshmallow slab from the pan.
Cover both sides of slab with powdered sugar. With a sharp knife, cut marshmallow into squares using scissors or a sharp knife coated in cooking spray or powdered sugar.

Orange Marshmallows*From Giada de Laurentiis through Giada at Home
printable recipe
ingredients
3 .25 oz envelopes of unflavored gelatin
2 c sugar
1/4 c evaporated milk
1 lg orange, zested
1 t vanilla
1/2 c of powdered sugar
Water
orange decorating sugar (optional)
must-havescandy thermometer
stand mixer
instructionsLine your baking pan with foil and spray with cooking spray
In the bottom of your mixer, mix the gelatin with a 1/2 cup of water. Let it sit for 10 minutes.
In a large pot, mix together the sugar, evaporated milk, and 1/4 cup of water. Insert the candy thermometer and turn the heat onto medium low. Without stirring, let the syrup cook until it reaches 248 degrees.
Remove from heat and slowly add sugar syrup to the gelatin mixture. Mix at high speed for 10 minutes or until it’s fluffy. Add the vanilla and orange zest and pour marshmallow fluff into prepared pan.
Let it set for at least four hours. Sprinkle top with orange sugar. Remove marshmallow slab from the pan and sprinkle bottom with orange sugar.
Cover both sides of slab with powdered sugar. With a sharp knife, cut marshmallow into squares using scissors or a sharp knife coated in cooking spray or powdered sugar.

*Contrary to some computers’ strange tints, these are NOT pink. Neither of them. Strangely enough, they are clearly white on my mac at home but do look pink on my work pc. wtf? either way, if you want them pink, just put a couple of drops of red food coloring in and it’ll do the trick!
Are you into marshmallows now, too? I’ll be making more! I’ve already tried out a couple of grapefruit recipes for the Iron Chef Battle and will soon have a listing on Etsy where I can make them for you! Let me know if you’re interested!   http://chiknpastry.com/2010/01/homemade-mexican-orange-marshmallows/