These homemade marshmallows are absolutely delicious, and so much fun to make! I love making hot cocoa and mochas, and these chocolate peppermint marshmallows are the perfect topper. They also make a great dessert on their own!

We use Perfect Supplements gelatin (affiliate link) which we have been loving and would highly recommend! Their gelatin is exclusively sourced from pasture raised, grass fed cows and is 100% natural, pesticide-free, hormone-free, Glyphosate-free, and non-GMO. We love how transparent they are as a company and how dedicated they are to the health of their customers as well as the health of the planet with their packaging and production processes. You can use my discount code – SOLEIL10 – for 10% off of any of their products!

Now, let’s get to the recipe…

Notes

For the vanilla extract, I find that I like the subtle vanilla flavour that one teaspoon achieves, but if you want them to be extra vanilla-y add a bit more!

When sprinkling your gelatin over the cold water (it’s important that it be cold!) try to sprinkle it relatively evenly so you don’t get patches of undissolved gelatin.

If you use white sugar, when it’s fully dissolved it will look quite clear. However, if you use cane sugar you’ll have to pay more attention to the texture than the colour as it will stay a bit brownish. We’ve made it with both types of sugar and found that we enjoyed the marshmallows made with cane sugar a bit more.

We use a 9″ by 13″ baking dish which makes about 20 large marshmallows about an inch thick. That said, you can use any size pan you’d like if you want your marshmallows thinner or thicker. You could also use a muffin tin to make nice round marshmallows!

It’s important to quickly transfer the marshmallow mixture from the mixing bowl to the buttered baking dish once it’s ready as the gelatin will begin hardening quickly. Otherwise, you may not achieve a very smooth, even texture.

It’s very important also that your chocolate ganache be at room temperature when you top the marshmallow mixture with it, otherwise it will sink into the marshmallows a bit. Letting the marshmallows sit for at least five minutes can help to avoid this as well. You don’t want the marshmallows to totally set before adding the ganache though, or the two parts will split from each other easily when cut or bitten into.

If you don’t want slightly sticky marshmallows, you can dust them with equal parts corn starch and powdered sugar to achieve the dry, slightly powdery outer texture that store-bought marshmallows have.

Ingredients

marshmallows

• 2 cups sugar (we like using organic cane sugar)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 scoops (or about 3 tablespoons) Perfect Supplements gelatin (affiliate link)
• 1 cup cold water

ganache topping

• 3/4 cup (about 6oz) semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• one candy cane crushed

Instructions

1. First off, start your ganache by warming the heavy cream over medium heat until it gently simmers, but don’t let it boil! While that’s warming, add your chocolate to a heat proof bowl. Once the heavy cream is hot, pour it over the chocolate and let it sit for a few minutes.
2. After a few minutes have passed and the chocolate has largely melted, mix together the chocolate and cream with a rubber spatula until it is fully combined. It should look smooth and shiny. Let that sit to come to room temperature.
3. Butter your baking dish.
4. Next pour half a cup of cold water into a large mixing bowl (or the bowl of your stand mixer) and sprinkle your gelatin over the water. Let that bloom for a few minutes.
5. Meanwhile, heat the other half a cup of water along with the sugar over medium heat in a small pot until fully dissolved, stirring occasionally to keep the bottom from caramelizing (you don’t want it to boil)
6. Once the sugar is fully dissolved, remove it from the heat and add your vanilla extract. Then quickly pour it over your gelatin and begin mixing.
7. Use a hand or stand mixer to whip the mixture on a low speed. Feel free to go up a level or two to speed things up a bit, but once the mixture starts thickening you want to stay at a low speed because it can be difficult to tell when it’s ready.
8. The marshmallow mixture is done when soft peaks start to form on the end of your whisk when you lift it up out of the mixture. It will still flow down off of the whisk, but somewhat slowly in a thick tube shape that coils back the bowl.***
9. Quickly transfer the marshmallow mixture into your baking dish and let that sit for about five minutes.
10. After that’s sit for a few minute, give your chocolate ganache another quick mix and make sure it is at room temperature, before topping the marshmallow mixture with it. Use a toothpick to make a swirling pattern if you want to make it extra fancy. Add as much chocolate as you’d like to achieve a thin or thick later.
11. Sprinkle the crushed candy cane pieces over the top and let the marshmallows set in the fridge for at least two hours.
12. Once they’ve set, remove them from the baking dish (it should be quite easy!) and cut them into whatever size and shape you’d like. Enjoy!

***for a visual check out the reel that I made of me making the recipe here!

Optional: you can dust the marshmallows (I usually do dust the bottoms when I make the chocolate peppermint marshmallows, and the whole marshmallow if I make plain ones) with equal parts corn starch and powdered sugar mixed together. It doesn’t take much at all so don’t go crazy. I did way too much (1/4 cup each) my first time and ended up with more than enough to dust three batches of marshmallows.

Store the marshmallows in an airtight container at room temperature for about a week. If you need them to last longer (up to three weeks) keep them in the fridge! If you make plain marshmallows (no chocolate), it’s better to store them at room temperature because the excess moisture in the fridge causes the sugar to dissolve/melt a bit faster. Plain marshmallows at room temperature (in an airtight container should last up to a month).

let me know if you make this recipe!