Malt Chocolate Marshmallows

Homemade marshmallows are so much better than store bought marshmallows. I made them for the first time for Christmas, 2011, and well . . . haven't made them since. Then I kept seeing this chocolate malt marshmallow recipe on pinterest. I took it as a sign that it's time to try my hand at marshmallow making again. It not only looked delicious but was a bit more complicated than the mug recipes I've been making lately. The recipe calls for the use of a standing mixer (you need to beat the mixture for 18 minutes on high), but I don't own one. I did not let this deter me (I never do) and all that beating with an electric hand mixer paid off because these marshmallows are oh so good.

Ingredients: 
Cocoa slurry:
1/2 cup natural unsweetened cocoa*
3/4 cup malt powder (I used Ovaltine)
2/3 cup boiling water

The base:
1/2 cup water
1 1/4 cup corn syrup
1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
pinch salt

The bloom:
4 tablespoons unflavored gelatin
1/2 cup cold water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For coating:**
2 tablespoons powdered sugar
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder

*Use cocoa powder that has less than 1.5g of fat per tablespoon. Cocoa with more fat could result in heavy marshmallows.

Directions:
Spray a 7x11 dish with cooking spray (or lightly grease with butter). Whisk together the coating ingredients then flour the pan with roughly 2 tablespoon of the mixture. Reserve the rest of the coating mixture and set aside.

The slurry: Combine all the slurry ingredients in a medium bowl and whisk until mixture is smooth and well combined. Set aside.

The base: Place all the base ingredients into a medium, heavy-bottomed sauce pan. Over medium heat, bring the mixture to a boil, stirring frequently. Once it reaches a boil, wipe down the sides of the pan with a damp pastry brush. Cover and allow to boil for 2 minutes without stirring. Remove the lid and insert a candy thermometer. Raise heat to medium-high and boil until the syrup reaches 260 degrees F.

The bloom: While the base is cooking, make the bloom. Trust me, you'll have plenty of time; it seemed to  take forever for my syrup to reach 260 degrees. Add the water and vanilla into a shallow bowl. Sprinkle the gelatin across the surface and distribute evenly. The mixture will turn into gelatin, but that's okay. Set aside.

The base: As soon as the temperature reaches 260, remove from heat. Stir in the gelatin. Beware the mixture will foam up. Next, stir in the slurry. Mix until well combined and smooth. Pour into a large bowl (the bowl of your standing mixer if you have one) and attach the whisk attachment. Gradually bring mixture to the highest speed setting. The original recipe said to beat for 18 minutes. I beat my for 25 and probably could have made my marshmallows even fluffier by giving them another 10 minutes. Anyhow, your mixture should be light and fluffy like marshmallow creme.

Pour  the mixture into your prepared pan and smooth the top with a spatula. Cover with a piece of foil and leave out at room temperature overnight to set.

Remove the marshmallow from the pan (I found it easiest to just lift the marshmallow from the pan versus turning the pan over). Dust the top of the marshmallows with the leftover coating mixture. Spray a knife or kitchen shears with cooking spray and cut marshmallows into squares. Store in an airtight container.

**You can use other coating. Skip the cocoa-powdered sugar all together, then after you cut them, coat  them with sprinkles, chopped nuts, mini-chocolate chips, or even dip them in tempered chocolate.

FYI: To die for smore recipe: Malt chocolate marshmallow, cookies and cream chocolate square (I used Ghirardelli) and graham crackers.

Enjoy!


~Krissy

Homemade Tootsie Rolls

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Every since I made my first homemade caramels, I've loved candy making. I've made sea salt caramels, pumpkin caramels, marshmallow, truffles, chocolate covered cherries, candied citrus peels, candy corn, different types of fudge, and bon-bons. (Click here for candy recipes). So when I saw this tootsie roll recipe on Pinterest, I had to try it.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoon cocoa powder, sifted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon butter, melted
1/4 cup powdered sugar, sifted
pinch of salt
1 to 2 cups instant non-dry milk powder

Directions:
In a large bowl, mix together honey, cocoa powder, and vanilla using a spatula or spoon. Pour in melted butter and mix well. Add powdered sugar and salt; mix until well incorporated.

Add the milk powder 1/4 cup at a time until dough forms. Remove the dough from the bowl and onto a work surface. Knead the dough by hand and continue to add the milk powder until the dough becomes firm. You may not use all of the milk powder. When the dough is firm and only slightly sticky, roll it into a ball. Spray cling wrap with cooking spray and wrap the dough in it.

Let the dough rest for a 1 to 2 hours. I cut the dough into strips. Next time, I think I'll roll them out into logs then cut them into pieces. Wrap in wax paper and store at room temperature.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

Butterscotch . . . Somethings

In the summer, we usually hit up the local ice cream shop. 99% of the time Eric orders a butterscotch milkshake. I think next to peppermint, it's his favorite flavor. So I had planned on making butterscotch fudge for him this Christmas. I used the Nestle Toll House recipe for butterscotch fudge. The only alteration I made to the recipe was taking out the nuts. But the fudge never set. I even tried freezing it. The recipe had awesome reviews; I don't know what went wrong, but the fudge was a fail. However, while some kitchen fails have to go in the trash, others can be transformed. So that's what I attempted to do with the butterscotch fudge. It tastes damn good (Eric said he'd happily eat it with a spoon) so I turned it into a truffle-like candy I'm calling a "something." But these somethings need to be kept in the freeze, otherwise they don't exactly melt, but become gooey and lose their shape. Even transformed, they're not my most successful concoction, but Eric loved them so much that I thought I'd share the recipe anyway.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2/3 cup evaporated milk
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups mini marshmallows
1 2/3 cups (11-ounce package) of butterscotch chips
1 teaspoon vanilla extra
nuts, powdered sugar, sprinkles, etc.

Directions:
Line an 8x8-inch baking pan with parchment paper.

In a saucepan, combine sugar, evaporated milk, butter, and salt and bring to a full rolling boil over medium heat, stirring continuously. Let boil for 4 to 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.

Stir in marshmallows, chips, and vanilla extract. Stir vigorously until the marshmallows and chips are completely melted and the mixture is smooth. Pour into prepared pan and freeze overnight.

Scoop out a heaping tablespoon of the butterscotch "fudge," roll into ball, then roll the ball in chopped nuts, powdered sugar, sprinkles, whatever you'd like. I used up some leftover pecans and powdered sugar. Set the balls on waxed paper lined plate and refrigerate. Since these suckers become gooey rather quickly, it's better to work in batches.

Store in an airtight container in the freezer.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

2012 Christmas Baking List
Christmas Kiss Cookies
Tea Cookies
Cornflake Wreath Cookies
Candied Citrus Peels
Christmas Candy Corn
Homemade Chocolate-Covered Cherries
Sea Salt Nutella Fudge
Peanut Butter Fudge
Spiced Cranberry Juice

Check out last year's baking list!

Sea Salt Nutella Fudge

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I've made homemade caramels, marshmallows, and even candy corn. But for some unknown reason I've been intimidated by fudge. I don't know why. It's not difficult to make. So I decided to tackle it this holiday season. I absolutely love hazelnut-chocolate spread and I love chocolate and salt, so when I found this recipe I knew it had to be my first fudge recipe. But I do have a confession. I didn't use Nutella. I used Jiffy's Hazelnut-chocolate spread. It's cheaper and just as yummy.

Recipe comes from here.

Ingredients:
1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup bittersweet chocolate chips
1 cup hazelnut-chocolate spread
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature and cup into little blocks
sea salt

Directions:
Line the bottom and sides of an 8x8 pan with parchment paper and spray with cooking spray (you can also grease it with butter).

Combine the sweetened condensed milk, vanilla, chocolate chips, hazelnut-chocolate spread, and butter in a medium glass (heat proof) bowl.

Create a double-boiler by setting the bowl over a medium-size saucepan of simmering water. The bottom of the bowl shouldn't touch the water. Stir in chocolate chips. Mix until the chips are melted and the mixture is smooth.

Double boiler

Pour the fudge into the prepared dish and smooth the top with a spatula. Sprinkle with sea salt. Refrigerate for 2 to 5 hours or until the fudge is firm.

Sprinkle with salt

To cut the fudge, remove the parchment paper from the dish. Run a knife under hot water, dry it off, and use it to cut the fudge into squares. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. 

Enjoy!

~Krissy

2012 Christmas Baking List
Christmas Kiss Cookies
Tea Cookies
Cornflake Wreath Cookies
Candied Citrus Peels
Christmas Candy Corn
Homemade Chocolate-Covered Cherries
Peanut Butter Fudge
Spiced Cranberry Juice

Check out last year's baking list!

Homemade Candy Corn

Candy corn. It's a love it or hate it kind of candy. My mom loves it. Eric could eat it by the truck load. One small handful and I'm good until next year. But I have friends who venomously hate this autumn candy, who can go on a ten minute rant about how much they hate this candy. However, this homemade candy might just change their minds. They taste like candy corn, but like a better vanilla-y, buttery version. Plus, there's a great versatility to these candies. Swap out the vanilla extract for peppermint extract, change the colors, and you have candy corn for Christmas.

I found this recipe on a few different websites, but here's the one I used with a few minor changes.

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup non-fat milk powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup light corn syrup
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Red food coloring
Yellow food coloring

Directions:
In a large bowl, sift powdered sugar, milk powder, and salt. (Sifting is very important) Set aside.

Over high heat bring corn syrup, granulated sugar, butter, and vanilla extract to a boil in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. When the mixture just begins to boil, reduce heat to medium-high. Stirring frequently, bring the mixture to 228 degrees on a candy thermometer. Remove pan from heat.

Gradually stir in the sugar mixture until it's completely incorporated. Now I'm going to be honest with you, doing this with a spatula wasn't easy. I finally got to the point to where I kneaded the rest of the sugar mixture into the dough (for lack of a better word). If you decided to do this, be very careful. The dough is still quite hot and can burn you. I only handled it for maybe 10-15 seconds at a time.

Once the sugar mixture is completely incorporated, place the dough on a piece of wax paper for 10-15 minutes or until the dough is cool enough to handle.

I halved the recipe so you'd half twice as much dough if you prepare the entire recipe.

Divide the dough into three equal pieces and place each in its own bowl. Add about 3 drops of yellow food coloring to one of the bowls and knead the color into the dough. If you're worried about staining your hands, use gloves, but the food coloring washed right off my hands. Add about 2 drops of yellow food coloring and 2 drops of red food coloring to the second bowl and knead it into the dough to make orange dough. Leave the third bowl uncolored.

Roll out a large piece of wax paper over your work area. If you want, you can roll three ridiculously long, thin ropes of dough (one in each color) or you can do what I did and work in batches. If working in batches, make sure to cover any unused dough with plastic wrap or else it will dry out. Line the ropes up so they form a long rectangle with white on top, yellow in the middle, and orange on the bottom. Press the ropes together and flatten them a little. Using a knife, cut the rope into little triangles. Half of your pieces will look like normal candy corn (white-yellow-orange) and the other half with look like inverted candy corns (orange-yellow-white). I won't lie, this is a time consuming process, but the end result is so cute and delicious, it's worth the effort.

Aren't  they cute?

Store the candy corn in an airtight container, making sure to separate the layers with waxed paper. Keep container at room temperature.

The original recipe says that this makes 100 pieces. However, that all depends on how thin you roll your ropes. With each batch my candy corns kept getting bigger and bigger.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

Also Check These Fall Recipes:  
Creamy Butternut Squash Soup
Applesauce Cookies with Caramel Frosting
Cheese Tortellini in a Pumpkin Sauce
Cinnamon-Sugar Pastry with Pumpkin Dip
Mini Pumpkin Pies
Pumpkin Caramels
Pumpkin-Black Bean Stew with Spicy Sausage
Pumpkin Chocolate-Chip Brownies