Ditch the Corn Syrup with this Homemade Marshmallow Recipe (2024)

Home » Recipe Index »Candy Recipes

ByLauraPublished onFebruary 12, 2019January 4, 2024Updated onJanuary 4, 2024

Jump to Recipe

This post has affiliate links.As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Thank you for your support.

I recently went on a Homemade Marshmallow Recipe spree. Blame it on looking for something fun to make for my kids for Valentine’s Day and to take to Palmer Food Swap.

Ditch the Corn Syrup with this Homemade Marshmallow Recipe (1)

Easy Homemade Marshmallows

I found it in this fantastic Homemade Marshmallow Recipe made without corn syrup. They’re soft and pillowy, perfect for a chocolate-covered bite or dropped in a cup of hot cocoa.

Ditch the Corn Syrup with this Homemade Marshmallow Recipe (2)

No Corn Syrup PLEASE!

Plus with no added corn syrup they’re a tiny bit more healthy, right? Please say yes! If you’re looking to ditch the corn syrup in another fabulous old fashioned recipe try my Pecan Pie without Corn Syrup Recipe. It is perfection!

Homemade is Better!

I know you’re thinking WHY BOTHER. Why bother indeed! I do not like marshmallows and usually, I only buy them for summer s’mores.

But these taste so fresh I actually enjoyed one, fine two. And they’re not rubbery like a marshmallow that’s been in a bag for 6 months.

Ditch the Corn Syrup with this Homemade Marshmallow Recipe (3)

Can you toast a homemade marshmallow?

You CAN toast a homemade marshmallow. You need to age them a bit first though. To do this let them rest uncovered in a dry cupboard somewhere for a MINIMUM of 24 hours. They’re better if you can do 2-3 days though!

Marshmallows Without Corn Syrup

Why? Well, I have found I don’t KEEP corn syrup around. I don’t use it often enough and the last bottle I had turned to a rock in the pantry.

Also, I think it’s gross. It’s just sweet for sweet’s sake and I can do without that. I came up with an easy enough recipe that uses no corn syrup and less gelatine so your chosen flavors come shining through.

Ditch the Corn Syrup with this Homemade Marshmallow Recipe (5)

Pick your Flavor and Your Color and Your Shape!

Ditch the Corn Syrup with this Homemade Marshmallow Recipe (6)

The fun part of this recipe, besides watching hot syrup getting whipped to fluffy deliciousness is picking food colors, flavors and shapes for your homemade marshmallows.

Try these fun combos for marshmallow madness fun:

Pink Color w/Peppermint-fun in cocoa all winter long

Green with mint perfect for St. Patrick’s Day and make them shamrock-shaped

Orange with pumpkin Spice for fall and make them little pumpkins
Try my Nutella Swirl Marshmallows if you want to try something AMAZING!

Ditch the Corn Syrup with this Homemade Marshmallow Recipe (7)

About Your ‘Mallows

A few kind words to get you going on the right track:

You NEED a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment; these take about 10 minutes of whipping
A Candy thermometer to clip on the side of the pan, these need to hit the soft-ball stage before you remove from the heat
Prepare your pan ahead of time, so it’s ready to go, dust it with powdered sugar
Once you remove the boiling syrup from the stove, let it cool for a bit. Once it’s cooled a little, really 2-3 minutes and you’ve added the salt and vanilla, then drizzle it down the side of the bowl letting it hit the bowl first and run down into the gelatine mix
These fit perfectly in an 8×8 pan BUT for thinner marshmallows put them in a 9×13
Once it hits 235 you can remove it from the heat but if you leave on PAST 240 it’s going to move to a different stage of candy making that will not work for this homemade marshmallow recipe

Yield: 64 marshmallows

Homemade Marshmallow Recipe

Ingredients

2 packets gelatine powder
1 cup water, divided
2 cups Sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract, OR scrape a vanilla bean in for EXTRA flavor
1/4 tsp salt

Instructions

add two packets of gelatine powder to the bowl of your KitchenAid, give it a stir and leave it to set
pour 1/2 cup of cold water in the bowl of a KitchenAid mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, give it stir or two and then leave it set
meanwhile stir the remaining water and the sugar together in a heavy bottom sauce pan
bring it slowly to a boil
continue boiling until the mixture comes to the soft-ball stage, or between 235˚-240˚ on your candy thermometor
once it hits 235˚ you can remove it from the heat and let it cool a little
then add your vanilla extra or other flavors, and the salt, be aware that adding things to hot syrup can sauce it to bubble violently
cool 1-2 minutes more, you just don't want to pour boiling syrup straight in the mixer
when it's cooled a bit, no more than 3 minutes total, turn the mixer on low, and start dribbling in the hot syrup
make sure it hits the bowl first and then runs into the gelatine
once all the syrup is added slowly turn the mixer up to high or 1-2 notches below will be fine too
let it run until the mixture is soft, white and fluffy, about 10-15 minutes it should hold a bit of peak when you dab a spoon in it, the top will hold and then fall over
meanwhile add 1-2 TBSP powdered sugar to a clean 8x8 pan and shake it around until it well coated
at this point you can add some food color if you want and stir it in until it's mixed
scrape the marshmallow fluff into your prepared pan
after 4 hours, sift more powdered over the top of marshmallows
cut around the edge and use a spatula to encourage it to come out of the pan
cut in 8 slices, and then cut across those 8 slices to make 64 squares
dust them all with more powdered sugar
store in a covered container 3-4 days