iT'S A MARSHMALLOW WORLD

We had a rare and wonderful treat recently. We got to keep all 3 of Elizabeth's little boys - at the same time! It was going to be 2 1/2 days and 2 nights away from Mommy and Daddy, so we planned to keep them so busy having fun they wouldn't realize that. And the time flew by!

The work bench and tools were a huge hit.

 

Having fun in front of mirrored doors

Seth watching cartoons. . .

. . . Ryan playing games. . .

. . . and Reed having fun with all the toys.

Reed was so good - and loved the pretzel rods!

But the best part of all was MAKING MARSHMALLOWS!

They each helped carefully add the "gredients"

AND OUT CAME MARSHMALLOWS!!

This was a really fun project and one I'd never tried before, but I'll be doing this again. For those of you with a descriminating sweet tooth, here is the recipe.

2 tsp butter

3 envelopes unflavored gelatin

1 cup cold water, divided

2 cups sugar

1 cup light corn syrup

1/8 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla extract (clear is nice but I used the regular)

Toppings or garnishes (See below)

Line a 13-in x 9-in pan with foil and grease the foil with butter (don't skimp or you'll be sorry!); set aside.

In a large metal bowl, sprinkle gelatin over 1/2 cup water; set aside. In a large heavy saucepan, combine the sugar, corn syrup, salt and remaining water. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Cook, without stirring, until a candy thermometer reads 240 degrees (soft-ball stage).

Remove from the heat and gradually add to gelatin. (I transferred all to a glass bowl because that's what fits my mixer stand and it worked fine.) Beat on high speed until mixture is thick and the volume is doubled, about 15 minutes. (Mine was ready in half that time.) Beat in vanilla. Spread into prepared pan. Cover and let stand at room temperature for 6 hours or overnight.

Using foil, lift marshmallows out of pan. With a knife or pizza cutter coated with cooking spray, cut into 1-in. squares. Dip or drizzle marshmallows with toppings if desired or coat with desired garnishes. (Better plan on doing this because these things can be sticky!) Store in an airtight container in a cool, dry place.

To finish, try one of these:

Roll in candy sprinkles, colored sugars, chopped nuts, crushed candy, or (my personal favorite) cocoa.

or

Dip in melted chocolate or candy coating

You can also try different extract flavors like almond, peppermint, lemon, or chocolate.