Gut-healthy marshmallows

I hadn’t eaten marshmallows in years. And as a summer-camp-for-life girl who looked forward to s’mores by the fire all year long, this was kind of a big deal.

I make exceptions for some junk foods, but my nutritionist brain could not get behind this list of ingredients. (If you’re buying them at the grocery store, this is the most popular brand): Corn syrup, sugar, modified corn starch, dextrose, water, gelatin, tetrasodium pyrophosphate, natural and artificial flavor, blue 1.

There are:

1. 3 kinds of sugars, all heavily refined

2. 3 kinds of corn-derived ingredients; yes, you can bet they are GMO

3. Natural and artificial flavours, which can be derived from pretty much anything without disclosure

4. Blue 1, which can cause allergic reactions, hypersensitivity, and may be carcinogenic

5. Tetrasodium pyrophosphate, which is used in household and industrial cleaners, water softeners, metal cleaners and oil well drilling. It has been classified as a hazardous substance that can irritate the nose and throat and irritate the skin and eyes.

6. Gelatin, which is generally sourced from factory farmed pigs, especially for cheap candies

I was seeing a lot of people making marshmallows at home and realized the ingredients are super-simple and I had all of them in my pantry! And in December, there is nothing better than hot chocolate with melty marshmallows.

Bonus: for those of you who don’t consume pork, you can make these with beef gelatin, or you can try fish (although I can’t vouch for those results).

You can also roast these (yes, for s’mores!), dip them in chocolate, or use them in any recipes where you would use marshmallows. They keep fresh for months—if you don’t eat them all!

A few tips:

1. A candy thermometer works best here, but I actually used my instant read thermometer and just checked the honey mixture every couple minutes.

2. A stand mixer will make your life really easy. But be sure to stop before the mixture is completely cool, or you’ll end up with tough marshmallows rather than pillow-soft ones.

3. You can use any starch here; tapioca is a good replacement for arrowroot.

4. If they feel too wet, leave them on the counter for a day to let them dry out a little extra.

5. The square pan makes big marshmallows, but you can use a rectangular 9×13 pan for smaller marshmallows.

6. When lining the pan, it helps to put down a little coconut oil, so the parchment paper sticks better and won’t move around.

7. You can try maple syrup instead of honey for a different flavour profile.

8. Swap in a different flavour instead of vanilla, like peppermint or orange extract, or even crushed dehydrated strawberries. If you want to make them colourful, use a natural food colouring, like beet powder or spirulina.

9. Want marshmallow fluff? Making puffed rice squares? Instead of spreading the mixture into a pan, use immediately as is.

Gut-healthy marshmallows

Prep Time 30 mins

Resting time 6 hrs

Servings: 25 marshmallows

Ingredients

1 cup water

1 cup honey

3 Tb gelatin grass-fed if possible

Pinch salt

1 tsp vanilla optional

Arrowroot starch for dusting

Instructions

1. Pour 1/2 the water into the bowl of a stand mixer. Sprinkle with the gelatin and let sit for at least 10 minutes. If you only have a hand mixer, pour this into a large bowl instead.

2. Combine honey and the rest of the water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Don’t stir! Let it boil gently until the liquid hits 240°F. Use a candy thermometer or a high-heat instant read one. If you don’t have this, look up “soft ball stage” test and check your mixture that way. It will take about 15 minutes.

3. Turn the mixer on low and slowly pour the hot mixture into the bloomed gelatin. Turn speed to med-high and let mix for 5-8 mins, until it triples and looks like marshmallow fluff. Add in the salt and vanilla about halfway through the mixing process.

4. In the meantime, line an 8x8 square baking pan with parchment paper and dust the paper with arrowroot starch.

5. When done, quickly pour the mixture into the pan and smooth the top.

6. Let rest for at least 2 hours, remove from pan, and leave to dry out for another 4 hours or overnight.

7. Dust the top with arrowroot starch, grease a knife with coconut oil, and cut into 25 squares.

8. Toss in more arrowroot starch and store in an airtight jar.