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Back in January I had made some gluten-free graham crackers for the Daring Bakers' Challenge. (Recipe here.) They came out really well and yet I only needed very little of them. I threw the rest of them into the freezer thinking they would someday become a cheesecake crust.
Marshmallows have been on my cooking to-do list for quite some time. They seem like something that would be really difficult and actually they aren't that complicated. They have also been on my mind a lot because I had some S'Mores at Off the Grid and they've come up in conversations with friends. It was one of those crazy 'Aha moments' when I realized that, "Gee. I already have homemade graham crackers in the freezer. I just need to make marshmallows."
There are plenty of marshmallow recipes out there, so I just used the one from Joy of Baking’s site. I chose to make mine coconut flavored since I thought that would be pretty tasty in a S'More.
One of the things I kept reading was that it was best to make them in a stand mixer. I only have a hand mixer. This may have made a difference. What I had were really soft marshmallows.
Making my S'Mores, then, was a bit difficult in the traditional sense. My marshmallows were too soft to skewer and roast over a flame. Then my unfrozen grahams were a bit on the limp side. I already knew I wanted a chocolate ganache instead of pieces of chocolate. What did I end up with?
Try #1 was a S'More fondue. I put a marshmallow on a plate, nuked it in the microwave for about 20 seconds to melt it, and then put some chocolate over it. I then proceeded to dip the grahams in it. Still tastes good, but not really the desired effect.
For Try #2 I took my thawed grahams and tossed them in a 250 degree oven for 15 minutes to crisp them back up. That worked great. This time I used two forks to roast a marshmallow over my stove flame. Seeing as that they were really soft to begin with, it melted very quickly and I placed it on top of the graham. Top that with some ganache, another bit of graham, and we have a plated S'More. Again, yummy and more to what I had in mind.
What I’ve learned today is that I need to make another go at marshmallows. I need them to be firmer and I’m not sure what I need to change that. Anyone have suggestions? In the meantime, I’ll be happily eating my not so perfect batch.
Marshmallows have been on my cooking to-do list for quite some time. They seem like something that would be really difficult and actually they aren't that complicated. They have also been on my mind a lot because I had some S'Mores at Off the Grid and they've come up in conversations with friends. It was one of those crazy 'Aha moments' when I realized that, "Gee. I already have homemade graham crackers in the freezer. I just need to make marshmallows."
There are plenty of marshmallow recipes out there, so I just used the one from Joy of Baking’s site. I chose to make mine coconut flavored since I thought that would be pretty tasty in a S'More.
One of the things I kept reading was that it was best to make them in a stand mixer. I only have a hand mixer. This may have made a difference. What I had were really soft marshmallows.
Making my S'Mores, then, was a bit difficult in the traditional sense. My marshmallows were too soft to skewer and roast over a flame. Then my unfrozen grahams were a bit on the limp side. I already knew I wanted a chocolate ganache instead of pieces of chocolate. What did I end up with?
Try #1 was a S'More fondue. I put a marshmallow on a plate, nuked it in the microwave for about 20 seconds to melt it, and then put some chocolate over it. I then proceeded to dip the grahams in it. Still tastes good, but not really the desired effect.
For Try #2 I took my thawed grahams and tossed them in a 250 degree oven for 15 minutes to crisp them back up. That worked great. This time I used two forks to roast a marshmallow over my stove flame. Seeing as that they were really soft to begin with, it melted very quickly and I placed it on top of the graham. Top that with some ganache, another bit of graham, and we have a plated S'More. Again, yummy and more to what I had in mind.
What I’ve learned today is that I need to make another go at marshmallows. I need them to be firmer and I’m not sure what I need to change that. Anyone have suggestions? In the meantime, I’ll be happily eating my not so perfect batch.
Marshmallow
