It's a marshmallow world....

So for those of you who may not know, I love to cook and bake. I love it. I've had dreams of going to culinary school. I would love to at least take some cooking classes. It's not really an option right now, but maybe before I'm 50.

Anyway, lately I've been looking at candy-making. Jeannie Bars (family recipe, may post it around Christmas - or sooner if someone asks) and the occasional peanut brittle used to be as far as I had gone, considering I didn't have a candy thermometer. That all changed back in December or January. I watched an episode of "Good Eats" in which Alton Brown made marshmallows. Interesting note: I never really liked marshmallows. I would eat the occasional smore, but I really didn't like rice krispy treats at all. Or marshmallows in hot chocolate. But because it was Alton, I watched. And I figured that maybe there was something to homemade marshmallows and since I really like sugar, and a marshmallow is almost all sugar, I could possibly come to like marshmallows. So I got a candy thermometer and resolved to try my hand at marshmallow-making.

It's not the trickiest recipe, but it is a somewhat challenging process. I brought the syrup to the right temperature and managed to pour it in a slow thin stream into the mixer bowl on top of the bloomed gelatin and mixed for 12-15 minutes. It was at that point that I got a little frustrated. 1) I forgot to add the vanilla and 2) marshmallows are sticky. I know that's obvious, but I just didn't really exactly how sticky. I finally got some of the mix in pans to set and piped in rows (mini-marshmallows), and covered with the powdered sugar/cornstarch mixture. Of course, parts of my kitchen were incredibly sticky messes at that point. Like my whole mixer and parts of the stovetop, range hood, and wall. Oh yeah, it got on the wall. It does easily clean up with warm water though, so it wasn't quite disasterous and off-putting. After they'd set, I tasted a few. Still wasn't in love with them, but I didn't hate them. So I tried them out on some friends and family with good results. And they make awesome smores.

I've been meaning to make them again ever since. Especially because one friend in particular really enjoyed them. But I hadn't had her over like I'd hoped and hadn't made them for her like I intended. Well, she graduates later today and I made a batch for her yesterday. Except this time, I kicked it up a step. I remembered the vanilla this time, and took out a portion of the result and spread it in a pan and piped it. But I added some cinnamon and red food coloring to what remained and piped it. So there's a variety now.

And what's more, I'll be trying a new recipe tomorrow. It's a recipe that was posted a few months back on some food blogs I follow and it got good reviews. I'll be trying two more flavors tomorrow. Chocolate and Bailey's. I'll have to let y'all know how it goes. I also plan to try my hand at some more candies on down the road. If you have suggestions, let me know. And if anyone is interested in the recipes, just leave a comment and I'll post them later.

So Emily, if you read this, marshmallows are the "something else" of which I was speaking earlier. And that's why I really didn't want to wait until next Friday to bring them to you. I hope you enjoy, and we love you! Congratulations, graduate!

~Laura