patris

This sounds like an opportunity - raid the bulk bins at the grocery store (that's where I've always gotten them), package them nicely and call them "chapeaux de neige"!

Might they mean those chocolate buttons with the hard candy sprinkles on them? Like sno-caps, but bigger? We always called them nonpareils when I was a kid.

Tammy, Those are gorgeous! The colors are wonderful - did you add any coloring to the pumpkin ones? Mine don't ever have that beautiful soft coloring - maybe I use too much ground spice, but they seem to turn out a bit browner and muddier.

Totally agree on the chocolate coating keeping them fresher longer. I have managed to keep enrobed marshmallows for as long as 8-10 weeks with little deterioration in texture or flavor. I had been having issues with re-crystallization after a week or 2, but I started adding about 3/4 teaspoon of cream of tartar to the sugar (or for fruit flavors, a scant 1/2 teaspoon of citric acid). That has extended the shelf life considerably for me.

Thank you! I've never had a big problem with the marshmallows melting - perhaps your chocolate is too warm, or you're letting them sit in the chocolate too long? Or are you putting several marshmallows into the chocolate at once and taking them out one at a time? I just drop one in the chocolate, flip it upside down with my dipping fork to get it coated, then knock the excess chocolate off and slide it off the fork onto my wax-papered cookie sheet. As far as coating them goes, for myself I find a mixture of half cornstarch and half powdered sugar works really well. I cut them into cubes, toss them in that to coat them thoroughly, then knock off the excess in a strainer. Mine haven't really gotten sticky. I think if you're cooking to 240ish, the sugar temp shouldn't be an issue, and Nightscotsman's recipe gets rave reviews from just about everyone who tries it. Sorry I couldn't be of more help!

After reading about and looking at all your work from this book, I took the plunge and am desperate to start playing around! I just have one question: can anyone suggest an appropriate substitute for the invert sugar that is called for in most of the recipes? Can I swap it out for an equal amount of corn syrup in, say, a ganache recipe? You all are truly an inspiration to a novice like me who has never even tempered chocolate before. Thank you for sharing your work and your wisdom!

I don't know how much I could add to an educated discourse on this subject, but it seems to me that it's maybe 80% clever marketing ploy and 20% good idea. Aren't there volatile oils in spices that dissipate - or even go a bit rancid - over time? Whole spices might fare better, but I would imagine that ground spices would indeed deteriorate significantly over, say, 15 years. In terms of aging, it seems to me that a kitchen cupboard environment might experience significant changes in temperature and humididty, particularly in a house without air conditioning, or when spices are stored in a cupboard above the stove (um, not that mine are, or anything...). I would assume that a warehousy-type environment wouldn't be so susceptible to these things. Of course this all assumes that aging is necessary/a good thing. All in all, a very intriguing question!

Kerry - I intend to be fortunate enough to learn from YOU when you come to Premier Gourmet in Buffalo for your truffle demo in October - I can't wait!

That cookie cake makes my teeth hurt in the best possible way. Cookies and frosting, together at last...

Thank you! I use a different recipe from Nightscotsman's legendary one that most folks here use, but I subbed out most of the water for pumpkin puree - just a bit of water to bloom the gelatine. I posted the recipe on recipe gullet: Recipe Gullet - Patris's Pumpkin Spice Marshmallows I've never written a recipe from scratch before, so please let me know if anything needs clarifying. Enjoy!

Patris's Pumpkin Spice Marshmallows Serves 117. 3-1/2 oz pumpkin puree 1-1/2 oz water 3 envelopes gelatine 1-1/2 tsp powdered ginger 1-1/2 tsp cinnamon pinch ground cloves hefty grating nutmeg 4 oz pumpkin puree 1 lb light brown sugar 7 oz light corn syrup 1-1/2 tsp powdered ginger 1-1/2 tsp cinnamon pinch ground cloves hefty grating nutmeg pinch salt In bowl of stand mixer, thoroughly combine 3.5 oz pumpkin puree, 1.5 oz water, 1.5 tsp cinnamon and ginger, pinch of cloves and grating of nutmeg. Sprinkle gelatine over mixture and stir to combine thoroughly. Allow gelatine to bloom for at least 10 minutes. Line 9X13 pan with plastic wrap and spray wrap with cooking spray. In heavy saucepan, combine remainder of ingredients. Cook over medium heat, stirring often, until sugar is completely dissolved and mixture begins to boil. Stop stirring and continue to cook until mixture reaches 240 degrees. With mixer running on low speed, carefully pour sugar mixture into gelatine mixture. Increase to high speed and beat for 10-12 minutes or until mixture becomes the texture of slightly stiff marshmallow fluff. With greased spatula, scrape marshmallow into prepared pan and spread (with spatula or greased hands) to level out. Allow to rest for 2 hours or more. Lift marshmallow out of pan by the edges of the plastic wrap. Dust surface with a mixture of corn starch and powdered sugar. Cut into 1-inch pieces using pizza cutter. Dredge pieces in corn starch/powdered sugar mix and use a sifter to knock off excess. If desired, dip in melted chocolate. Keywords: Candy, Stand Mixer, Intermediate ( RG2026 )

Taking advantage of a brief chilly spell, I decided to work on pumpkin spice 'mallows (inspired by many of you). I bloomed the gelatin in pumpkin puree, a bit of water and loads of spices - cinnamon, ginger, cloves and nutmeg, and cooked the brown sugar/corn syrup/water mixture with even more spices - all told, a tablespoon each of cinnamon and ginger, a few heavy pinches of cloves, and a liberal grating of nutmeg. Then I dipped them. They're incredible - the taste reminds me of a really good pumpkin-chocolate chip muffin. I took pictures:

Oh, man. I'm not a particular fan of figs, but that looks amazing!

Oh, thank you thank you thank you!!!!

Just resurrecting this thread, as I have begun my own batch of holiday presents (12 12-oz Ball jars worth of Tahitian/Madagascar blend happily steeping in the basement). Has anyone tried making any other alcohol-based homemade extracts or flavorings? I imagine citrus of any sort would be pretty simple, but what about other fruits, like berries? Coffee? Coconut? Cinnamon? I just can't figure out how to tell whether something has compounds that are soluble in alcohol to the extent that it would produce a good quality extract. I'm in the process of starting a small marshmallow business, and making my own flavorings and extracts would not only save money, but enable me to stick to my "no artificial ingredients" guns. Thanks to one and all - this is a marvelously educational thread!

Tammy - if it helps at all, I used about 2 tablespoons of instant espresso in the blooming water (I don't use Nightscotsman's recipe, I don't think, but the components seem to be the same). The espresso dissolves quickly in cold water and gives a really pronounced, but not overbearing, flavor. I also subbed out the white sugar and light corn syrup with dark brown sugar and dark corn syrup, which lends an extra bitter-sweetish thing that I love. Funny you call it a grown-up flavor - my sister said the same thing when she called me in despair that she'd devoured the samples I gave her. David - I find that underbeating, while it takes longer for the finished product to set up to a nice cuttable consistency, not only makes spreading easier but results in a lovely, creamy texture. I don't so much go by time as by look - about 30 seconds after big sticky "threads" of marshmallow begin to appear between the sides of the bowl and the beater is when I call it quits. The couple times I kept track of timing, it ended up to be about 7 minutes. I would stick with underbeating and work like a maniac to get it spread quickly - I generally use my (gloved) hands sprayed with pan spray to pat mine out evenly. I never could find a spreader that worked for me. It makes me so happy to see this thread popping up again with more regularity!

Geez Louise, you all are incredibly talented. I'm on vacation for 2 weeks, so I spent my first week satisfying my marshmallow obsession: passionfruit, strawberry, brown sugar espresso, pomegranate, and raspberry. The raspberry, which are absolutely exceptional, got turned into S'Mores bars (S'Bars?) with 60% bittersweet ganache and graham crackers. If I can figure out how to do it, I'll post pictures tomorrow. Suffice to say, my tasting circle of family and friends are LOVING me right now.

I second the Goya recommendation - I get it in the frozen food section at Wegmans, so I imagine it's not too hard to find in your basic (incredibly excellent Wegmans-type) grocery store. It's relatively inexpensive - I think it was about $1.50 for 12 oz. It seems to be of good quality - I used it for passionfruit marshmallows (I owe you one for that idea, Desiderio!) and they were spectacular.

Ooooh, those ideas sound good. My mom always added several handfuls of crunched up cornflakes to her chocolate chip cookies - the basic Toll House recipe - which did 2 things: 1. made the dough stretch farther (there were 8 of us kids, and we ate a LOT!); and 2. gave the cookies an extra crunchy, salty greasiness that is 100 percent un-resistable. Basic, trusted recipe, enhanced for flavor and practicality, and hauntingly tasty.

First and foremost, let me say that I have been reading these forums for many months and you are an extraordinary and inspiring bunch of people! I have a minor marshmallow obsession, and wondered if anyone has tried a malted milk ball flavor. I was thinking either incorporating malt powder somehow and dipping the finished product in chocolate, or making my fantastic triple vanilla marshmallow (vanilla sugar, vanilla extract and vanilla bean paste), rolling them in crushed malt balls (without the coating - I can get just the malted bits at a candymaking place around here) and then coating in chocolate. Anyone conducted any experiments like that?