Vanilla and peppermint Marshmallows

There are only 3 more days left until Christmas! In Sweden Christmas is celebrated in the evening of Christmas eve so it is only two days for me here! So, I decided to make marshmallows, one of my favorite candy. Well, the homemade one is even better, so soft and so fluffy and you know exactly what the ingredients are. It is easy if you have a Kitchen aid or something like that but people like me with a hand mixer, need to be extra patient because it takes a pretty long time to beat it. But I think the result is worth the effort.  Here is the recipe.

Vanilla and peppermint Marshmallows

2 cups sugar

2 cups water

2 tablespoons glucose syrup

1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon gelatin powder

1 tablespoon vanilla sugar

Green food color (optional)

¼ teaspoon peppermint extract

Icing sugar and corn starch for coating ( I needed about ½ cup + 2 tablespoons of each)

Start by heating the water with the sugar and the vanilla sugar. Let it boil for 5 minutes. In a cup put the gelatin powder along with 4 tablespoons of water and let it dissolve. Remove the syrup from heat, add the gelatin and stir until it dissolves. Let it cool.

Line with baking paper and grease lightly a pan about 20x 40 cm ( I used a 20 x 30 cm at first but it became so much that I used a 10x 20 too).  Mix together in a bowl about ½ cup of corn starch with ½ cup of icing sugar. With the help of the strainer cover the baking paper with the mixture of corn starch and sugar. Be generous with it, because the marshmallows will absorb a lot.

When the water, sugar and gelatin mixture is cool put it in a big bowl and beat with the mixer. Add the peppermint extract and the food coloring while u beat it. The mixture will be ready when it looks and has the consistency of meringue. (It took about 30-40 minutes for me with a hand mixer) When it is ready put it in the prepared pan with a strain again cover it with a generous amount of sugar and corn starch and let it dry in room temperature uncovered for about 8 hours or overnight.

The next day make another mixture with corn starch and icing sugar (50%- 50%). I used about 2 tablespoons of each. Put some of the mixture on your work surface, put there the marshmallow and cut it in squares with a knife or cut it in shapes of your choice. I made Christmas trees. Once you have cut them put them in a bowl and coat them with the rest of the mixture of icing sugar and corn starch. Keep it in room temperature. It will make about 70 marshmallows, depends on how big you cut them. I got 8 of 10 cm Christmas trees and about 40 squares.