I can't quite recall where I first heard of making your own marshmallows, you buy them at the store right?!? I believe it was the cooking show, Good Eats, that introduced me to the idea of making my own marshmallows. I heard comments about homemade marshmallows being much more than your everyday store bought marshmallows. I have to brag a bit. My uncle informed me that my grandmother, who was an excellent baker, was not able to make homemade marshmallows. I was thrilled to be able to 'beat' the marshmallow for her.
I researched many recipes for homemade marshmallows. Some believe you have to have egg whites in your marshmallow. I went with this recipe from Alton Brown, with no egg whites. I had no problems with it at all. My mixer did not die, a complaint I noted from research, and my marshmallows were awesome. The first batch I flavored with peppermint extract and tinted with red food coloring. I added more than the recommended 1 teaspoon of extract and it resulted in over flavored marshmallows. (The first batch I made is pictured at left in my grandmothers dishware.) My next batch would be the regular marshmallows, half with toasted coconut.Since I wanted to add toasted coconut to my half of my second batch I began by toasting the coconut so it could cool to be added to the top of the marshmallow once it was ready.
Toasted Coconut
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Toss shredded coconut with confectioners sugar and spread evenly on a baking sheet. Once the oven is up to temperature put coconut into the oven. Stir the coconut every few minute. Once it begins to brown, it is done. I pulled mine out while it still had some white left in the coconut.
I don't have a candy thermometer so I used my digital one with an added bonus. I set it to go off at 238 degrees so I could ensure I would not over cook the sugar syrup. I rested the thermometer on the spatula so the tip wouldn't read from the bottom of the pan.
The end result of my second batch was a half sheet pan half plain and half with toasted coconut. I dusted the top of the plain half with a mix of confectioners sugar and cornstarch.
*This is my first blog post I hope to get better as time goes on.*
