I have been wanting to try my hand at making homemade marshmallows for quite a while now. I have seen a ton of recipes and blog posts taking about easy they are and how much better they taste than regular store bought marshmallows....plus you can make any shape you want when you make them yourself! But I was a little worried that homemade marshmallows were going to be SUPER time consuming and SUPER sticky, so I kept putting off making them. But since Easter weekend is here and I have been a major slacker about doing stuff with the boys lately, I figured homemade marshmallows would be a fun way to make up for it:) So yesterday while it was raining outside, we were making Hand-painted Homemade Marshmallow Easter Eggs...and they turned out really cute!
I started by using Martha Stewart's recipe for homemade marshmallows. Basically you mix sugar, corn syrup, and water in a pot and then boil until it's at the soft ball stage. Next you pour the hot syrup into your mixer bowl that already has gelatin powder and water in it. Then you whip the mixture on high for around 12 minutes. BTW, I think Kitchenaid should sell earplugs with their mixers...that thing is LOUD when it runs on high for a long time! {Click over to MS to check out the whole recipe.}
This is what your mixture will look like after you finish whipping it.
You pour the mixture into a parchment lined pan that has been oiled well. The recipe called for a 9 X 13 pan but I wanted my marshmallows to be a little thinner, so I used a cookie sheet.
Let the marshmallows sit uncovered for about three hours....and let someone lick the beater so all that yummy marshmallow creme doesn't go to waste:)
After the marshmallows have set for 3 hours, dump the pan out onto a surface that you sprinkle with plenty of powered sugar. You can use any cookie cutter you want, but since we were making Easter eggs, I used my egg shaped cutter. Dip your cookie cutter into a little bit of oil before cutting the marshmallow to keep the cutter from sticking.
Use plenty of powdered sugar on the bottom, but be careful not to get too much on the top surface because that is the surface you are going to paint on and the powdered sugar will keep the color from sticking. Also be careful not to get too much oil on the top surface because it will keep the color from sticking too.
After you have all your marshmallow eggs cut out, mix up some "paint". I used a little bit of gel food coloring stirred together with a little water. You could also use liquid food coloring diluted with just a little bit of water. Test out the colors on a scrap of marshmallow to make sure they aren't too watery before painting on your eggs.
Then grab a few {just for food} paintbrushes and get creative.
The boys had a ton of fun "decorating" their eggs...but I think I may have had a little more fun than them! The best part about these Easter eggs is that they are SUPER sweet, just don't try hiding them!
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