Coconut-Coated Marshmallows

Continuing with the theme of holiday traditions, making and eating homemade marshmallows has been a tradition in my family for a loooooooong time. Every year, we would eagerly wait for our Christmas trip to Grandma's house and the yummy little marshmallows that awaited us there! After she passed away, my mother and I kept up the tradition. It's taken several years of trial, error, and experimentation to finally get them right. These marshmallows are sweet and delicious with a fluffy, pillowey texture. The toasted coconut coating provides a nice balance to the natural sweetness of the marshmallows. Plus, homemade marshmallows are naturally grain-free!

Some notes before we begin:

• While most of my recipes are designed for any baker with minimal equipment, these marshmallows are more challenging. For best success with this recipe, you will need a stand-mixer with the whisk attachment and a candy thermometer.

• Patience is a virtue! Attend to your sugar with care and attention to avoid accidentally overcooking your sugar as the temperature of the sugar is very important to the final texture of your marshmallows.

• Credit where credit is due. After multiple attempts with my grandmother's recipe, we made some adjustments based on the recipe and techniques of "The Flavour Bender" blog which you can find here: https://www.theflavorbender.com/how-to-make-marshmallows-tips-and-tricks-for-homemade-marshmallows/ Her excellent post also provides some additional tips and tricks for various steps in the marshmallow-making process which I encourage you to explore.

Coconut-Coated Marshmallows:

Ingredients:

• 4 cups sweetened shredded coconut

• 2 cups superfine sugar (castor or berry are also fine)

• 1/4 cup golden syrup

• 1/2 cup water (for the syrup)

• 1/2 cup water (for the gelatin)

• 3 packets of Knox gelatin (21 g, ~7 tsp)

• pinch of salt

• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Empty the shredded coconut into a large skillet. Toast over medium-low heat until coconut is golden brown. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

2. Ensure stand-mixer is set up with the whisk attachment. In the bowl of the mixture, place 1/2 cup water. Sprinkle the gelatin packets over the water and mix to moisten the gelatin. Allow the gelatin to bloom for at least 10 minutes while you are preparing the sugar syrup.

3. In a medium saucepan, mix together sugar, golden syrup, and 1/2 cup water.

4. Heat over medium high heat until the sugar comes to a boil. Gently swirl the pot to ensure the syrup is evenly heated.

5. Cover the saucepan with a lid and allow the syrup to continue cooking for 2 minutes. This should allow condensation to drip down the sides of the saucepan to take care of any sugar crystals that may have formed along the sides of the pot.

6. After 2 minutes, remove the lid from the saucepan. If you notice there are still sugar crystals around the sides of the pot, you can use a silicone pastry brush with a small amount of water to wash those crystals down into the syrup.

7. Clip your sugar thermometer to the side of the saucepan, ensuring the thermometer is not touching the bottom of the pot. Continue heating sugar syrup until it reaches 242-245 degrees F (firm ball stage).

8. Remove the sugar syrup from heat and let the bubbles subside.

9. Turn on the stand-mixer to low. Slowly pour the sugar syrup into the mixing bowl making sure to drip the syrup along the wall of the bowl in order to prevent burning the gelatin. Once all of the sugar syrup is combined, add the salt and increase the speed to high.

10. Mix on medium - high speed for 7-8 minutes until the marshmallow mixture is smooth, white, fluffy, and about three times its original volume.

11. While the marshmallows are mixing, prepare a 9 by 9 dish by brushing it with oil or butter and then lining the dish with toasted coconut. Brush all utensils (spatulas, etc) with oil or butter as well.

12. Scrape the marshmallows into the prepared pan using an oiled utensil and spread evenly. Coat top and sides with additional toasted coconut.

13. Allow to set at room temperature for 6 hours prior to cutting.

14. Turn the set marshmallows onto a cutting board dusted with toasted coconut. Cut the marshmallows into bite-sized pieces with an oiled knife. Coat the sides of the marshmallows with additional toasted coconut and store in an airtight container. Any remaining toasted coconut can be placed in the container with the marshmallows.