Peppermint Candy Cane Marshmallows

Fluffy marshmallows made from scratch, with a peppermint swirl. Easy to make for homemade gifts, and incredible in a cup of warm hot cocoa!

Peppermint Candy Cane Marshmallows – Fluffy marshmallows made from scratch, with a peppermint swirl. Easy for homemade gifts, and incredible in cups of hot cocoa! | thecomfortofcooking.com

‘Tis the season of Christmas cookies galore, but there’s another sweet treat on my mind this holiday season! Soft, fluffy marshmallows swirled with peppermint and stuffed into mounding mugs of hot cocoa. Give me a fluffy blanket, a roaring fire, and a warm cup to cuddle up to. That’s my kind of holiday celebration right there!

Peppermint Candy Cane Marshmallows – Fluffy marshmallows made from scratch, with a peppermint swirl. Easy for homemade gifts, and incredible in cups of hot cocoa! | thecomfortofcooking.com

Being no master candy-maker or Martha Stewart clone, I was appropriately terrified to try homemade marshmallows. And the fact that my mom called for a “quick chat” while I was boiling sugar didn’t help matters. But! These puffy, peppermint-flavored beauties went off without a hitch and I’m proud to say I have no sticky scars or destroyed cookware. A personal achievement!

Peppermint Candy Cane Marshmallows – Fluffy marshmallows made from scratch, with a peppermint swirl. Easy for homemade gifts, and incredible in cups of hot cocoa! | thecomfortofcooking.com

Sittin’ pretty in a holiday package with Christmas cookies, truffles and hot cocoa mix, these minty ‘mallows would make a wonderful gift for anyone on your list!

You only need six ingredients to be successful, and a bit of patience during the process. You start out by boiling sugar, water and corn syrup. Combine it with a mixture of gelatin, water, fluffy egg whites and peppermint extract. Whip the lovin’ heck out of it. Sounds scary, right? It isn’t really. The whole shabang goes by surprisingly fast, and before you know it you’re dumping a big heap of marshmallow fluff into your pan to set! I swirled dots of McCormick red food color into the marshmallows’ surface for a candy cane-like effect. Ain’t it cute?

Peppermint Candy Cane Marshmallows – Fluffy marshmallows made from scratch, with a peppermint swirl. Easy for homemade gifts, and incredible in cups of hot cocoa! | thecomfortofcooking.com

Melted into a steaming hot cup of cocoa, these peppermint marshmallows are pure bliss! Slide a couple Christmas cookies alongside two full mugs, pop these marshmallows on top, and clink ‘em together with someone special. You won’t believe the amazing flavor they add to your favorite cozy cocoa, and even recipes using them.

Helloooo, peppermint Rice Krispie treats!

Peppermint Candy Cane Marshmallows

Peppermint Candy Cane Marshmallows

Yield: 16 (2-inch) marshmallow squares

Ingredients

Special equipment needed:

  • Candy thermometer
  • Electric mixer with whisk attachment
  • Wooden skewer

Instructions

  1. Coat a 9-inch square pan with cooking spray. Line bottom of pan with parchment paper and coat with cooking spray; set aside.
  2. In a small saucepan, combine sugar, corn syrup, and 3/4 cups water. Set to medium heat and cook, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Stop stirring and increase heat to medium-high. Bring mixture to a boil and cook until it registers 260 degrees on a candy thermometer.
  3. Meanwhile, pour an additional 3/4 cups water into a heatproof bowl. Stir in gelatin and let stand 5 minutes. Set bowl over a small pan of simmering water; whisk constantly with a fork until gelatin is dissolved into mixture (it may be lumpy at first – just keep whisking). Remove from heat. Stir in peppermint extract and set aside.
  4. Beat egg whites in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment until stiff, glossy peaks form.
  5. Meanwhile, whisk gelatin mixture into sugar mixture. With the mixer running, gradually add gelatin-sugar mixture to egg whites. Mix on highest speed until very thick, 10 to 12 minutes.
  6. Pour marshmallow mixture into prepared pan (you may end up with excess). Working quickly (marshmallow will begin to set), drop dots of red food coloring across surface. Using a wooden skewer, swirl food coloring into marshmallow to create a marbleized effect. Let marshmallow stand, uncovered, at room temperature until firm, at least 3 hours or overnight. Cut into squares.
  7. Package marshmallows as gifts with hot cocoa mix, or keep for yourself to enjoy!
  8. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.
  9. Enjoy!

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Join the Conversation

  1. Wow am I here first? I haven’t seen this email yet but I just decided to stop by to see if you have a new post. :D What a lovely surprise! This looks amazing. Never seen anything like this. My marshmallow lover son will go crazy with peppermint candy cane one! Such a creative treat!!!

  2. these marshmallows are BEEEAUTIFUL and I think a big mug of hot cocoa with a couple of these sounds divine!

  3. You have sparked a serious peppermint hot chocolate craving, my dear. Facilitated by these pretty swirled marshmallows!!

  4. These are so fun!!! And pretty. Love them!

  5. I have wanted to try to make marshmallows but have yet to do so! These looks so pretty and festive!

  6. These are festive and look absolutely delish! Great recipe.

  7. SImply beautiful! All I want for Christmas is a bag of these beauties!

  8. YOU ARE KILLING ME!!!!!!!! omg. i love these!!

  9. They are so pretty and X’masy!

  10. So perfect for the holidays! Love this!

  11. YUM! Those looks so fun, tasty, and festive. My kids would love them!

  12. So festive and your gift boxes are lovely. Many grateful recipients I’m sure :)

  13. You read my mind! I have been wanting to make marshmallows for the longest time. So excited to dive into this recipe.

  14. Your marshmallows are gorgeous, Georgia! I’ve been afraid to try making my own and they’re on my holiday list — I’m hoping to make some tonight. These are really inspiring me to get with it even more!

  15. How wrong is it that I want this ALL YEAR LONG?!

  16. We NEED this for Christmas Eve! Such a great idea Georgia!

  17. This is the coolest thing I’ve seen in a LONG time!!

  18. I think these officially make you a candy maker. These would make AMAZING rice cripie treats!

  19. Wow – your marshmallows are GORGEOUS! I made some peppermint marshmallows last year, but they didn’t turn out quite as pretty as yours. Feel free to send me any extras you might have. :)

  20. My heart instantly went pitter patter – Peppermint Marshmallows. My life is complete! I hope you have a wonderful Holiday Season!!!

  21. Just beautiful, Georgia! Love your styling and photography here. I’m so glad you delved into candy making. Making confections is so much fun. Your marshmallows are perfect for Christmas! Thanks for sharing, girl. Pinning (of course)!

  22. You are SO talented! These are gorgeous my friend!

  23. Ahhh Georgia, these little candy cane marshmallow pillows are just gorgeous! Way to take the mallow-making by storm. The last time I tried to talk on the phone while making candy (caramel), things didn’t go quite as smoothly, lol. You are a portrait of focus and multi-tasking!

  24. I love homemade marshmallows and yours look SO wonderful – how gorgeous are they? And I bet they are just divine in a cup of hot cocoa. Happy Holidays, Georgia – hope it’s a great one!!

  25. Oh these are so pretty! I love homemade marshmallows – need to add them to my list for this week!

  26. I’ve never made homemade marshmallows before. These are so beautiful!! So beautiful. And would have been perfect in my box of truffles and cookies I just mailed out.

  27. I’ve never tried marshmallows but every year I say I’m going to. These look fantastic!

  28. Uhm, these are incredible. I’ve never seen anything like this, not at a restaurant or ever and I am blown away!!

  29. Absolutely beautiful marshmallows, love that swirl – it’s like a piece of art work! :)

  30. These are so mnuch fun!! Love the swirl. I am totally obsessed with marshmallows right now–and I haven’t even been making them. Just staring at other people’s creations.

  31. How pretty…I can imagine opening up a gift of these on Christmas morning.

  32. 5 stars
    Peppermint marshmallows would be great with hot chocolate!

  33. So festive and perfect with hot cocoa!

  34. How cute and Christmas-y… I love it. :) My kids would go crazy for these marshmallows… I only buy the store bought kind and now I need to step it up and get on this. You deserve a big round of applause for pairing it with hot chocolate too… YUM!

  35. 5 stars
    I made a batch of homemade marshmallows too just so I could have them with my hot cocoa! Makes for a perfect night on the couch : ) These look so pretty – I love that red swirl!!

  36. I’m terrified of making marshmallows, actually. I’m sure my whole house would explode or something! :–( Thing is, I really want to try yours: they look so so pretty! I love those swirls! x

  37. 5 stars
    Too much fun! I love how ours are similar but so different!

  38. Now I want big mug of cocoa brimming with mallows and a fuzzy throw. Yum!

  39. 5 stars
    We all love marshmallows. This is another twist that will make marshmallows really exciting.

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