Peppermint Marshmallows

Chilly weather always makes me think of sitting in front of a crackling fire, with a cozy blanket and a hot mug of something.  Well, we haven't got a fireplace, but I do have a blanket, two cozy kitties, and mugs waiting to be filled with that something.

 

The husband's favorite wintery combination is peppermint and chocolate.  Classic!  Making peppermint marshmallows to go with hot chocolate seemed like a fantastic idea.  You have to be careful, however, to not add too much extract to the 'mallow because if you do, it tastes like toothpaste.  Not an ideal flavor.  I started with a tiny amount (that turned out to be perfect), because you can always add more!  It's a bit tougher to take it away.

My friend, Chut, of previous marshmallow fame, suggested cutting them into circles to fit in a mug.  Adorable.  So instead of spreading it all out and then using a biscuit cutter to make circles, (and have funny-shaped leftovers), I thought I'd try my hand at piping circles. 

I lightly traced some circles on my parchment paper and used them as a stencil.  The actual piping worked... okay.  I had forgotten a key difference between frosting and marshmallow and that is... the stickiness factor.  The marshmallow didn't, however, stick to the prepared parchment paper (which is good), but then it would stick to the bag which made for some wonky circles (and lots of cursing).  At the end I just started piping individual 'dollops' which actually looked kind of cute.  Or like snowman poop.  Anyway.

Also, for fun, I finely chopped some bittersweet chocolate and sprinkled it on top of the marshmallow immediately following piping.  Because extra chocolate is never a bad thing.

I packaged these up with my favorite sipping chocolate as my holiday gift for my coworkers.  What a shock that I always prefer to give something edible!

So go ahead and whip these up to have with your family on some wintery night!

Peppermint Marshmallows
(Chut's recipe)

Cold mixture:
1/4 cup water
1 packet of gelatin
Pour water in stand mixer bowl, and sprinkle the packet of gelatin on top and let sit while you work on the syrup.

Flavoring:
1/8 tsp. peppermint extract (it seems small, but it really is enough!)
1 oz. finely chopped chocolate for garnish

Syrup:
3/4 cup granulated white sugar
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1/4 cup hot water

Combine into saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook until it reaches 240 degrees (soft-ball stage). It took roughly 10 minutes on medium-high heat. Remove from heat and pour slowly into stand mixer, with whisk attachment, and whip at high speed until it's opaque, no longer runny, and at least doubled in volume, and is much stiffer, about 10-15 minutes. In the beginning of the whipping of this, add the peppermint extract.

While it's whipping, put parchment paper on a cookie sheet, and lightly spray with cooking spray, and lightly sprinkle cornstarch on it. After marshmallow is done whipping, scoop into large Ziploc bag and cut off corner. Pipe circles, dollops, or straight rows, and sprinkle chopped chocolate immediately on top. Then sprinkle cornstarch over it and let sit for at least and hour or two to completely set.

If you piped rows, use pizza cutter to cut marshmallow when set.

Pair with your favorite sipping chocolate and enjoy!