Alphabet Marshmallows

Who didn't love alphabet soup when they were growing up? I know I did. Well this is even better. I had this idea while making my first batch of quince sherbert marshmallows. I had just picked up these adorable alphabet cookie cutters from the 2 dollar shop. (How awesome are 2 dollar shops? I never used to understand my Mum's obsession with them, I found them so incredibly azn and pointless. But now I realise they are the perfect place to pick up stuff for baking!) And so I thought to myself, how cute would it be to make homemade vanilla bean marshmallows, that were cut out using these alphabet cookie shapes? The answer? REALLY FREAKIN' CUTE.

I decided to go with a nice, reliable marshmallow recipe. I didn't join Daring Bakers in time for the marshmallow cookies that they made, but I had heard the recipe was easy and good. The recipe from Gale Gand is indeed very good, light and fluffy and sets well, even better with the addition of real vanilla beans. If you can't get/don't want to spend money on vanilla bean pods, you can buy vanilla bean paste or just use vanilla extract from the supermarket. In hindsight, the cookie cutters were a tad on the large side for marshmallows, so I had a little trouble cramming them into my cup of hot chocolate. But the taste? And the look? Well this just says it all:

OMG, indeed. My only annoyance with this recipe is that it requires light corn syrup, something that is very hard to find in Australia. I managed to find some at the Essential Ingredient before it moved far far away from me :( I'd guess it might available at other gourmet stores or possibly David Jones food hall. Or you could possibly try replacing it with this Invert Sugar Syrup recipe at the awesome Not So Humble Pie blog. Or use a recipe that doesnt require corn syrup, and uses glucose syrup instead, like the quince marshmallows I did previously. And then get a giant teacup like the one I have so you can spell out as many funny words as you can think of.

Either way, homemade marshmallows are delicious. Vanilla bean marshmallows are uber delicious. Alphabet vanilla bean marshmallows are uber delicious and ridiculously fun! Kids will love them. You will probably love them too if you are a bit of a kid like me. And who doesn't love a melty, gooey marshmallow in a cup of hot chocolate?

Vanilla Bean Alphabet Marshmallows
(adapted from this recipe)
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup light corn syrup
3/4 cup (170grams) sugar
1 tablespoon powdered gelatin
2 tablespoons cold water
2 egg whites , room temperature
1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped, pod discarded (or 1 tsp vanilla bean paste)

3/4 icing sugar, sifted
1/4 cup cornstarch
Alphabet cookie cutters

Grease with vegetable oil and line a 28 x 18cm cake tin. In a saucepan, combine the water, corn syrup, and sugar, bring to a boil until “soft-ball” stage, or 235 degrees F on a candy thermometer. In the meantime, sprinkle the gelatin over the cold water and let dissolve.

Remove the syrup from the heat, add the gelatin, and stir until the gelatine dissolves. In a large stainless steel mixing bowl, whip the whites until soft peaks form and gradually add the syrup into the whites. Add the scraped vanilla beans and continue whipping until stiff, and the mixture cools slighty. Pour into prepared tin and leave to cool and set at room temperature, this will take 2-3 hours or overnight.

Combine icing sugar and cornstarch in a large bowl. Lightly dust a clean surface with mixture and then turn out marshmallow on to surface. Dust all surfaces with icing sugar mixture. Cut out shapes using alphabet cookie cutter, gently prying the marshmallows out of the cookie cutters. Toss each marshmallow in the icing sugar mixture to coat all surfaces.

Try to cut out shapes without wasting too much of the marshmallow, leftover marshmallow scraps can be cut into small pieces and dusted, then saved as mini marshmallows. Store in an airtight container. Serve on it's own or with a cup of hot chocolate or other hot drink.