I've been making homemade marshmallows multiple times a year for more than a decade now. Whether it is for Christmas cocoas, campfires, or just a sweet treat, they always seem to impress. One of my first Instructables was even making these little confections: Homemade Marshmallows. Through playing around with them, I continue to learn new approaches and techniques for additional flavors and ideas. This year I've been doing batches of a chocolate cupcake flavor that is now everyone's favorite, so I wanted to come back and share.

Supplies

Here's what you're going to need.

Hardware.

A stand mixer with a whisk attachment
Various measuring cups/spoons
A small saucepan or pot with a lid
A small mixing bowl
A square/rectangular cake pan (9 x 13 or something similar)
A candy thermometer
A pizza cutter (A knife can work, but the pizza cutter is far superior.)
Parchment paper
A silicone spatula
Stirring tools (Chopsticks work great for this.)
A kettle for boiling water. (Optional)
Aluminum Foil (Optional)

Ingredients

3 quarter-ounce packets of unflavored gelatin. (3/4 ounces total.)
1.5 cups of white sugar
1 cup of corn syrup
A pinch of salt (1/16 teaspoon)
1 cup ice-cold water (divided) plus 1/4 cup of boiling water
1/3 cup plus an additional tablespoon of cocoa powder
1.5 teaspoons McCormick Cake Batter flavor (Or vanilla extract if the cake batter isn't available.)
Sprinkles and/or Nonpareils
1/4 cup of powdered sugar
1/4 cup of corn starch

Step 1: Bloom Your Gelatin

Start off by adding the 3 packs of gelatin to your mixer's bowl. On top of this, add 1/2 cup of your cold water. Stir it so that no visible clumps of the gelatin are left undissolved. Let the gelatin bloom while you work on your next steps.

Step 2: Boiling Sugar and Prepping Cocoa

Add water to your kettle and bring to a boil. You will use this shortly. (If you don't want to use a kettle, you can heat up some water in the microwave instead.)

Pour the sugar, corn syrup, salt, and remaining 1/2 cup of cold water into your saucepan. Give it a quick stir to loosely combine the ingredients, then cover and boil on medium-high heat for 3-4 minutes.

Carefully remove the lid and clip the thermometer to the side of the pot, making sure that the tip is submerged, but not touching the bottom. Boil the sugar mixture until it comes up 250 degrees. This will take 6-10 minutes, but keep a close eye on it.

Note: This is where this recipe strays from my standard marshmallow recipe the most. My normal marshmallows are only brought up to 240 degrees, but since we are adding additional water with the cocoa in a later step, we need to compensate for that now.

While you wait, take your 1/3 cup of cocoa powder and 1/4 cup of boiling water and mix them together. Stir this until it is well combined and smooth. To this, add the cake batter flavor.

As soon as the sugar reaches 250, remove the pot from the heat and then set the lid and the thermometer to the side.

Step 3: Combine and Whip

Lower the head of your mixer into the bowl and lock it in place. Turn the mixer on its slowest setting. Very carefully pour the boiling sugar into the bowl between the whisk and the side of the bowl.

Turn up the speed a couple of notches and let mix for about 3 minutes. Add in your cocoa/water slurry and allow to mix for another minute. Turn the mixer up to high and allow it to whip for another 8-12 minutes. You will notice the color lightening and the volume increasing as it whips.

Note: How long you whip it is going to depend on multiple factors like the temperature and humidity of your kitchen, as well as what your desired texture is. Whipping it for a shorter period of time will make your marshmallows easier to pour out of the bowl and they will be softer later on. Whipping them for a longer time will make them slightly easier to cut and will make them slightly chewier as a finished product. The extra chew is useful if you want to use the marshmallows for roasting or s'mores.

Step 4: Pan Prep

While it is whipping, we'll get the pan ready. In a separate mixing bowl combine the 1/4 cup of powdered sugar, 1/4 cup of corn starch, and a tablespoon of cocoa powder. Stir it so that no clumps are left.

Cut out a sheet of parchment paper and use it to line the inside of the cake pan. Folder and crease the paper so that it sits in place. Add about 1/4 of your powder mixture to the parchment paper and spread it around the bottoms and the sides.

Save the rest of the powder for future steps.

Step 5: Pouring and Covering

Once you are done whipping, pour the marshmallow mixture into the parchment-lined pan. Use the silicone spatula to scrape any extra out of the bowl. Shake the pan and use the spatula to smooth out the marshmallows as much as possible.

Add your sprinkles or nonpareils to the top of the marshmallows. The brighter the colors the better.

Using about 1/2 of your remaining powder mix, cover the entire surface of your marshmallows. Use another small piece of parchment paper to pat down the top of the marshmallows. If it sticks anywhere, cover it with some additional powder.

Cover with aluminum foil (or just more parchment paper) and allow to set for at least 4 hours.

Step 6: Cutting

After the marshmallows have set, pull out the entire parchment lining and the marshmallows and set them on a hard, working surface. Cut 1-inch strips vertically and horizontally using the pizza cutter. Add some of the remaining powder mixture to the top of the marshmallows. Now, carefully pull each individual marshmallow loose from the paper and the rest of the fluff. Roll it around in the powder you just added until it is completely covered and no longer sticky. Move it to a separate bowl and continue the same process with the rest of the marshmallows.

Note: If you are having a hard time separating the marshmallows from the sides of the parchment, you can trim those parts off easily with the pizza cutter.

Step 7: Enjoy

And now, you're done. You should have enough marshmallows to fill about a gallon storage bag. They are best in the first couple of days, but they will stay good for at least a couple of weeks if kept sealed up.

These make great little treats for when you have a sweet tooth. They also make nice gifts to share with neighbors and teachers.

One of our favorite things to make with these is quick microwaved s'mores. Break a marshmallow in half and put both halves between two graham crackers. Microwave for a few seconds at a time until it just becomes gooey.

I hope you and those around you love this as much as we do.