Sweet, minty, puffs of clouds; these homemade candy cane marshmallows are worth every bite. They are perfect to drop into a hot cup of cocoa or for the adults something a little stronger (wink, wink)! Every morning from here on in I’ll be popping a homemade marshmallow into my tea to enjoy by the Christmas tree.

Last week we went Christmas tree shopping and got a hot cup of cocoa at Tim Hortons to enjoy while we walked around to find the perfect tree (which we did). They are currently offering a peppermint hot chocolate and well, we couldn’t resist! Then it got me thinking, it’s nice to have a hint of peppermint to make things a little more festive. How can I incorporate that into my holiday baking?!

Well, I love making homemade marshmallows for the holiday and anyone I know who hasn’t tried a homemade marshmallow is pleasantly surprised. So to make it even more festive I made them with peppermint extract and dyed them with swirls of red colouring.

I wanted fun swirls running through each marshmallow but ended up with just the tops coloured. I think next time I’d add half the fluff to the pan, add the food colouring to swirl around and then repeat with another layer of fluff. The challenge with making marshmallows is you have to work fast, so if you try this method before I do, let me know how it goes!

Fun ways to use homemade candy cane marshmallows

Gift giving
Accompanying a holiday dessert
As part of a cookie platter
In hot chocolate or coffee
As a gluten free option

For Tips and Tricks on making homemade marshmallows, see our blog post on regular marshmallows here.

Happy Holidays Everyone.

Homemade Candy Cane Marshmallows

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These candy cane marshmallows are sweet, minty, puffs of clouds. With a little patience and time these homemade treats are worth the work! They make cute little Christmas gifts too!

Author: Alie Romano
Prep Time: 24 hours
Total Time: 24 hours
Yield: 36 1x
Category: Candy
Cuisine: American
Diet: Gluten Free

Ingredients

Units Scale

1 cup granulated sugar
2 Tablespoons corn syrup
2 pkg (7g each) unflavoured gelatine (or 4 1/2 teaspoons)
2 large egg whites
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons pure peppermint extract
approx 6–8 drops of red food colouring
1/3 cup icing sugar (for dusting and coating marshmallows)

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Instructions

Line a 9×9 pan with parchment paper and dust the paper with icing sugar, set aside.
In a medium-large saucepan bring granulated sugar, ⅓ cup water and corn syrup to a boil on medium-high heat. Boil without stirring (you can brush down the sides of the pan with a pastry brush dipped in cold water if you need to). Boil until a candy thermometer reaches 260˚F (125˚C), or until hard-ball stage (when 1 teaspoon of the syrup dropped into cold water forms into a hard ball), approx. 12 minutes. Remove from heat.
While syrup is boiling, in a small saucepan sprinkle gelatine over ½ cup of cold water, let stand for 5 minutes.Then over low heat, melt gelatine stirring until clear (3-5 minutes). Whisk into hot sugar syrup (be careful as mixture will bubble).
In a stand mixer using the whisk attachment, whisk egg whites with salt until foamy and stiff. With the mixer running, gradually and very carefully pour gelatine mixture into egg whites. Beat on high until increased in volume and cool, about 10 minutes (feel the sides of the bowl to check temperature on mixture). Beat in peppermint.
Immediately pour into prepared pan, scraping down the sides. Smooth the top of the marshmallow fluff. Drop 6-8 drops of red food colouring all over the top. Using a butter knife, slide the colouring through the fluff to create swirls.
Dust the top with icing sugar. Let stand, uncovered for 6 hours or overnight (until firm).
Remove pan and peel parchment paper back. Using a sharp large knife slice into squares (you may need to grease the knife or keep cleaning it as you go).
In a ziplock bag, add the rest of the icing sugar. Add one marshmallow in the bag at a time and shake to cover the entire marshmallow. Place marshmallow on a piece of parchment paper and repeat with the rest of the marshmallows, leaving one inch between. Let set another hour until all sides have dried.

Notes

For storing, store in an air tight container, making sure marshmallows don’t touch (if they are not set they will stick together).
If you find your marshmallows are damp, put them back into your ziplock bag with icing sugar and re-coat.
You can freeze marshmallows in an air-tight container for up to 2 months.