Marshmallow Fairy Wands

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My 4 year old munchkin has been asking for marshmallows and hot cocoa for weeks. And for weeks I have been saying, "No, get those marshmallows out of the cart! They are not good for you!" But then I realized, hey, you're only 4 once - let's have some fun and make our own marshmallows.

This was my first time making marshmallows and they turned out to be very simple. I started with Martha Stewart's recipe because it did not require the use of a candy thermometer which - gasp - I do not own. The less gadgets a recipe calls for, the better, in my book.

 

After cooling the mixture overnight in a baking pan, we used a cookie cutter to cut out star shapes. And since a little glitter makes everything better, we added gold shimmer dust. A lollipop stick transformed the sparkly stars into magical fairy wands.

       What little girls don't love pretending to be fairies?

But these aren't just for little girls.

Wouldn't they be fabulous at a hot cocoa bar for a winter party or wedding? Dreamy...

via Pinterest

Or how about atop a Slim Paley Marshmallow-tini?

Visit Slim for the recipe

Marshmallow Fairy Wands
printer friendly recipe 

Nonstick cooking spray
3 (1/4-ounce) packages unflavored gelatin
1/2 cup cold water
2 cups granulated sugar
2/3 cup light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract plus seeds from 1 vanilla bean scraped 
Confectioners' sugar, sifted, for coating

colored sanding sugar, sprinkles, or edible shimmer dust  

equipment: 

star cookie cutter

lollipop sticks (available at craft stores) 

Lightly spray a 9-by-9-inch baking pan with cooking spray. *YM note: I used 2 (8-in square) baking pans.  Line pan with plastic wrap, leaving a 2-inch overhang on all sides; set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, sprinkle gelatin over 1/2 cup cold water; let stand for 10 minutes. In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, corn syrup, and 1/4 cup water. Place saucepan over medium-high heat and bring to a boil; boil rapidly for 1 minute. Remove from heat, and, with the mixer on high, slowly pour the boiling syrup down the side of the mixer bowl into gelatin mixture. Add salt and continue mixing for 12 minutes.

Add vanilla extract; mix until well combined. Spray a rubber spatula or your hands with cooking spray. Spread gelatin mixture evenly into pan using prepared spatula or your hands. Spray a sheet of plastic wrap with cooking spray and place, spray side down, on top of marshmallows. Let stand for 2 hours.

Carefully remove marshmallows from pan. Remove all plastic wrap and discard. Cut marshmallows into stars using a cookie cutter coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle stars with sanding sugar. Insert one lollipop stick into each star.

linking to Serenity Now