Vanilla + Peppermint Marshmallows

O the torture I put myself through... and the messes I make.

Let me paint a picture for you, because while this was happening my hands were covered in marshmallow goop so I couldn't take a picture. I wish I had. Monday night, in a flurry of over-confidence, I decided that I could undertake marshmallow making on a week night. The flurry of over-confidence should be what tips you off, this is how all my great messes start. After a few hours, two techniques, two batches, and maybe a few unprintable words, I did have vanilla and peppermint marshmallows setting, waiting to be cut up the next morning. So in one sense, I was successful. I also had, and I am not exaggerating, confectioners sugar everywhere in my kitchen, across my living room, and on my cat. On. my. cat. How did that happen? O that's right, Nic loves torturing the cat so he decided to sprinkle her with the confectioner's sugar, because hey it was already everywhere else. I couldn't be too mad though because without his help this would have probably never turned out.

Now that I have thoroughly discouraged marshmallow making it seems, let me say that homemade marshmallows are far superior to store-bought marshmallows. I don't eat store-bought marshmallows, but these little guys, especially the peppermint ones are quite tasty, especially on top of a hot chocolate. The recipe requires very few ingredients. So these actually are worthwhile making, just don't make the mistake I made. And to give you all confidence, I will be making two more batches of these before Christmas to bring to my family.

Alton Brown says you can make mini-marshmallows by piping them through a pastry bag into strips, then cutting them when they set. He does this on his show and it looks so easy. In real life, it is a near impossibility. The marshmallow goop doesn't want to go into the bag, then it wants to come out the top, not the point, then it starts to cool before it is all piped and becomes impossible to work with. Unless you are a professional candy maker, just make the marshmallows in the pan and cut them into mini-marshmallows (the pink peppermint ones, batch #2, were done this way).

Marshmallows
Adapted from Alton Brown
To make both flavors of marshmallow you need to do this process twice.

Ingredients:
3 packages unflavored gelatin
1 cup ice cold water, divided
12 ounces granulated sugar, approximately 1 1/2 cups
1 cup light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup cornstarch
Nonstick spray
Vanilla Marshmallows
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Peppermint Marshmallows
1 tsp. peppermint extract
6-7 drops red food coloring

Directions:
-Set up the stand mixer with the wisk attachment. Put 1/2 cup of the water into the bowl with the gelatin. Don't mix. Just let it sit.
-In a small saucepan, combine the other 1/2 cup of granulated water, sugar, corn syrup, and salt. Heat over medium-high, covered for 3 to 4 minutes. Uncover and clip a candy thermometer on the side so that the point is submerged but not touching the bottom or the sides of the pan. Continue to cook until the temperature reaches 240 degrees, this takes about 7 to 8 minutes, but don't try to guess based on time. Use the temperature.
-When the mixture reaches 240 degrees, immediately remove it from the heat. Turn the mixer on low and while it is running slowly pour the sugar mixture down the side of the bowl.
-When all the sugar mixture is added, turn the speed up to high and let it continue to whip until the mixture is very thick and lukewarm, about 12 to 15 minutes. During the last minute of whipping, add the extract (vanilla or peppermint) and the food coloring if you are using it.
-While the mixture whips, combine the confectioners' sugar and the cornstarch. Spray a 13X9 inch metal pan with non-stick cooking spray and coat generously with confectioners' sugar mixture. (You can also use two smaller pans. I lined mine with parchment paper first because they were glass.) Spray a spatula with non-stick cooking spray and coat it in the confectioners' sugar mixture as well.
-When the whipping is finished, pour the marshmallow mixture into the pans. Use the sprayed and coated spatula to push the mixture into the pan evenly. Sprinkle the top with another generous coating of the confectioners' sugar mixture. (At this point you can press the marshmallow gently to even out and bumps.)
-Let the marshmallows set for 4 hours or over night at room temperature. Reserve the rest of the confectioners' sugar mixture.
-Coat a cutting board with the confectioners' sugar mixture. Turn the marshmallows out into the cutting board. Coat a very sharp knife or a pair of kitchen scissors with the confectioners' sugar mixture. Cut the marshmallows into desired size. As you cut, roll the marshmallows in the confectioners' sugar so that all of the sides get coated. Also re-coat your knife or scissors frequently. You can't use too much. Excess will fall off of the marshmallows later. But if you use too little, they will stick and be much harder to work with.
-Store in an airtight container for up to three weeks.

Candied Pecans and Almonds

I decided that my holiday season could start this weekend. I like to wait a little longer than most people to get into the spirit because I don't want to get sick of Christmas music and cookies and the smell of pine (ok, I could never get sick of that last one) before the 25th. My company holiday party was this weekend, so I figured I could start the season at home. Saturday we finally finished cleaning up from Thanksgiving (!), so Sunday we bought a Christmas tree and did a little decorating (I'll post pictures later). On a side note: Several people gave me a hard time about buying a real Christmas tree, but I think I appreciate the smell of the pine more than the ease of pulling a pre-lit tree out of a box. Also, when the tree is as little as ours, it really only takes 5 minutes to put lights on it anyway.

We also did our shopping for the families our apartment building "adopted" for the holidays. We had to buy clothes for an infant and a 3-year-old. We hit up the Baby Gap for some stylish duds-- I think they have better clothes than the adult store!

Sunday night I started my Christmas "baking" so I could send packages to the friends and family we wouldn't be seeing over the holiday season. These candied nuts were a good place to start, the hardest part was cleaning the pans after they were done. Use parchment paper! I ran out and was too lazy to go get some, even though I ended up going out to buy it a few hours later. Bad idea.

I will blog about the rest of the treats going into the packages over the next week. Happy Holidays!

Candied Nuts
Adapted from New York Magazine

Ingredients:
1/3 cup brown sugar
2/3 cup white sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
generous pinch of cayenne pepper
generous pinch of ground ginger
1 egg white
1 tbs. water
1 pound nuts (I did one batch of almonds and one of pecans)

Directions:
-Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper
-Combine the sugars and spices in a bowl.
-Wisk together the egg white and water in another bowl.
-Put the nuts in a large mixing bowl. Pour the egg white mixture over the nuts and mix gently until they are all coated with a thing layer of egg white.
-Pour half the sugar mixture over the nuts, stir gently until combine, then pour the rest of the sugar mixture into the bowl, and stir gently until the nuts evenly coated.
-Pour the nuts onto the cookie sheets and using a spatula to spread them. They can be touching, but they should be in one thin layer, not piled on top of each other.
-Put the nuts into the preheated oven for 15 minutes, then take them out and stir them around, using the spatula to spread them into a thin layer again before putting them back in the oven for another 15 minutes, or until the sugar coating starts to look dry.
-Let the nuts cool, then break apart any that are stuck together and store them in an airtight container.