Fluffy Vanilla Swirl Marshmallows Recipe + Tips For Staying Burn Aware over the Holidays

This post contains sponsored content. All opinions are my own. #FireandBurnPrevention

I love the holiday season! All the sights, sounds, feels and smells of this time of year just envelope me and I can’t help but be happy. With winter creeping in, hot chocolate becomes a staple in our home and we can’t have hot cocoa without homemade marshmallows! Marshmallows are a great baking together activity with your kids and a fun idea for homemade holiday gifts.

Since holiday baking is something I do quite often, it’s incredibly important that I teach my kids kitchen safety and how to stay clear of certain things in the kitchen. Having been burned as a child by accident, I know the pain and fear that comes along with an unfortunate event like a baking accident. I myself need to make sure I’m taking every precaution to Be Burn Aware while baking, especially with my kids.

With the uptick in cooking and baking the holidays bring there’s also an increase in accidents waiting to happen.  Holiday activities can increase the risk of house fires and burns due to more cooking, open flames, and decorations. Make sure you and your family stay safe this holiday season.

The Shriners Hospitals for Children Be Burn Aware campaign reminds families of simple safety tips that could save their lives. Take a look at some of their tips to stay safe during the holiday season:

• Go to beburnaware.org to test your safety knowledge with a five-minute quiz. You may be surprised!
• Don’t leave lit candles unattended. 27% of U.S. adults surveyed admit to leaving lit candles within reach of children.
• Turn pot handles toward the back of the stove to keep them out of a child’s reach. 25% of Americans surveyed reported that they don’t take this simple action.
• When you’re cooking, keep a lid or cookie sheet nearby to put out a potential fire. 47% of the people who took the survey skip this simple tip.
• Water fresh-cut trees daily. 45% of Americans surveyed do not water live Christmas trees every day, even though 70% reported they knew they should. A dry tree can ignite in seconds making this one of the deadliest types of fires!
• Keep trees away from heat sources like fireplaces, heaters, and candles.
• Inspect your lights. Replace any that have kinked or frayed wires

Shriners Hospitals For Children knows that the best burn treatment is prevention. They have resources available at beburnaware.org to keep families safe. Shriners Hospitals for Children goes beyond the limits of traditional medical care. For decades, they’ve been a global leader in pediatric burn treatment.

Now that we’ve all made sure to stay safe, let’s get to baking! I love making our own homemade marshmallows. They are easy, fun, taste amazing and look great floating in a big mug of hot cocoa.

Materials you will need:

• Candy thermometer
• Stand or hand mixer
• 2 mixing bowls
• 9×13 pan (I recommend glass or using a large plastic container or cake/cupcake holder for easier removal)
• Spatula
• Sifter
• Food coloring ( I suggest gel colorings since they tend to be more vibrant but regular ones work fine too)

Each batch of marshmallows will yield around 25-30 good sized marshmallows.

FLUFFY VANILLA MARSHMALLOWS RECIPE

Ingredients

• 3 1/2 envelopes unflavored gelatin
• 1/2 cup cold water (set aside)
• 1/2 cup cold water (for gelatin)
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup light corn syrup
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 large egg whites
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Preparation

Using vegetable oil, oil a 9 x 13 baking pan (I suggest using glass or a large plastic container or cake/cupcake holder for easier removal later). VERY generously, sprinkle powdered sugar to cover and coat. Set aside. Pour the cold water and gelatin into a mixing bowl. Gently mix once with a spoon, then let sit while you make the sugar mixture.

In a medium saucepan combine sugar, bourbon, syrup, and salt. Heat over low heat and whisk until sugar is dissolved (about 3-5 minutes). Turn heat up to medium and let sugar come to a boil. It will bubble up so keep your eye on it. Let it boil for 8-12 minutes. Measure temperature with a candy thermometer, remove from heat when it reads 240 degrees F. The mixture will appear to be a light brown color.

Gently pour sugar mixture into mixing bowl over top of the gelatin. Mix on low until ingredients are blended. Then, mix on high and beat for 6-8 minutes. The mixture should grow in size and be white and fluffy. In a separate bowl, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Then add egg whites and vanilla extract to the sugar-gelatin mixture and beat until just combined.

Pour marshmallow mixture into 9 x 13 pan. It will be very sticky. Remove as much as you can, then spray a spatula with non-stick spray and smooth top surface of 9 x 13 pan. Dust powdered sugar on top and let sit for 6 hours until firm. Once firm, turn the pan upside down on a cutting board to release marshmallow rectangle. Cut into pieces.

For Color Swirled Marshmallows: If you want to get fancy, you can remove some of the marshmallow mixtures before pouring it into the pan and add coloring to it. Pour the remaining white mixture into the pan and then add dots of your colored mixture on top. Use a skewer or toothpick to swirl the coloring around for patterned marshmallows. 

How did your marshmallows turn out? I’d love to hear!