Well, it seems that winter has finally arrived.  Last weekend I felt like I was living in a cozy little snow globe with all of the snow that we got.  Rather than shoveling, I decided that it would be a good idea to make marshmallows and make a wonderful winter drink! 

I've made marshmallows in the past, but they used corn syrup and powder sugar (which also has corn in it), and while they were delicious....I just could not bring myself to make those this year.  But yes....I did put that corn syrup filled candy cane into my drink ;-)  Ya win some....ya loose some.

Making these is not hard at all, but they key is to have a good candy thermometer to make sure you will get the correct consistency.  Brendan was not believing that the syrupy mixture would some how fluff up into a marshmallow, but within 10 minutes of whipping - magic!  Be sure to work quickly when spreading the mixture into your pan, because they will start to firm up as soon as you stop the mixer. 

It's going to snow again this weekend, so grab these ingredients and make them for a perfect snow day treat! 

Honey Vanilla Bean Marshmallows
Makes: About 25 squares
Level of Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients

1/2 cup water
3 Tbs grass fed gelatin 
1/2 cup water
1 cup plus 2 Tbs local honey
1 vanilla bean 
Candy Thermometer

Directions

1. First prepare the pan. Line it with parchment paper for easy removal and rub a little butter onto the paper. 
 - I used an 8x8 square to make THICK marshmallows. If you want to cut out shapes with a cookie cutter (aka to make snowflakes) I would spread them into a thinner layer using a larger pan. 

2. Pour 1/2 cup water into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and sprinkle gelatin over top. Set aside to gel.

3. In a saucepan set over medium heat, combine 1/2 cup water and honey. While stirring constantly, bring it to a low boil and cook until the mixture reaches 235 degrees on a candy thermometer.

4. Turn on the mixer to slowly whip the water and gelatin. Then with mixer on low, scrape the vanilla beans into the bowl and pour hot honey mixture into it. 

5. Turn mixer up to high and beat for 10 minutes. The marshmallow will turn white and fluffy, and the bowl will feel cool to the touch.

6. Quickly pour the fluff into the pan and with smooth the top with your spatula. Transfer to the prepared pan and smooth out the top.

7. Let set 15 minutes and then remove from pan and slice into desired shapes. 

8. Enjoy!