Homemade Honey Marshmallows w/ Toasted Coconut

There are no words to describe the satisfaction of sinking your teeth into a soft, sweet, melt-in-your-mouth, homemade marshmallow! Literally, I don't even know what to write about them other than they are SO good! My brain is flustered just thinking about them! Okay, let me try to get my thoughts together and attempt to write a coherent post.

One of my grandma's favorite sweets are those toasted coconut marshmallows. I've always wanted to make my own marshmallows, so I decided to make some for her and all of my aunts for Mothers' Day. I checked around the blog circuit to find a recipe, but instead I found which recipe NOT to use. The TWD ladies made Dorie's marshmallows, and a lot of people said that the egg whites made them disintegrate and become goopy after a while. Thanks to their advice, I chose a recipe from Nancy Baggett's "The All-American Dessert Book." Her recipe doesn't use egg whites. And it uses honey, so they have a nice flavor. The recipe is perfect! The marshmallows were SO easy to make. I rolled most of them in toasted coconut, and I tossed the rest in confectioners' sugar so they wouldn't be sticky. I packaged them in pretty little jars with the recipe attached. When I gave them to my aunts and grandma, everyone went crazy over them! They loved them so much, they made me make another batch while I was there! If you've never made homemade marshmallows, I definitely suggest you add this recipe to your "recipes-to-try" list! You will not be sorry. :D

Homemade Honey Marshmallows (from The All-American Dessert Book by Nancy Baggett)
Makes 96 1-inch marshmallows

2 1/2 tablespoons unflavored gelatin (3-4 packets)
Generous 1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons water (divided)
2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1/4 cup honey (or 1/4 cup more light corn syrup)
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3/4 cup powdered sugar for dusting marshmallows

Line a 9x13 baking dish with wax paper, allowing the paper to overhand the ends by about 1 inch. Evenly coat the paper with nonstick spray.

In a small bowl, sprinkle the gelatin over the ½ cup cold water. Let stand, stirring once or twice, until the gelatin softens, about 6 minutes.

In a heavy 3 to 4-quart saucepan over medium-high heat, stir together sugar, corn syrup, honey, 3 tablespoons warm water, and salt until well blended. When the sugar dissolves, raise the heat and bring the mixture to a full boil, stirring. Boil for 20 seconds. Stir in the gelatin mixture and vanilla and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds longer. Remove from heat and continue stirring until the gelatin completely dissolves.

Pour the mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer. Using the whisk attachment, gradually raise the mixer speed from low to high; beat until the mixture is stiffened, lightened, and very fluffy, 5 to 7 minutes.

Using a rubber spatula coated with nonstick spray, scrape out the marshmallow mixture into the baking dish. Tap the pan on the table to spread the mixture and eliminate air bubbles. Coat another sheet of wax paper with nonstick spray, then pat it down on the marshmallow surface. Let the mixture cool and firm up, at least 6 hours and preferably 24 hours. (The mixture will become firmer and easier to handle if left for the full 24 hours.) (The second time I made these I only let them set up for 4 hours and they were already easy to cut. I used scissors, and I didn’t need any powdered sugar while cutting them.)

Sift about one third of the powdered sugar on a cutting surface. Lift the marshmallow slab out of the pan. Peel off the top sheet of paper. Invert the slab on the sugar and peel off the other sheet. Sift about one third of the remaining sugar over the top. Using lightly greased kitchen shears or a lightly greased, large sharp knife, cut the slab crosswise into twelfths and lengthwise unto eighths to form generous 1-inch marshmallows. As necessary, clean off and regrease the knife. Generally dust all the cut sides with powdered sugar to reduce their stickiness. (Optionally, toss the marshmallows in toasted coconut or other desired toppings.)