Fluffy Homemade Marshmallows are easier to make than you might think, and much more delicious than store-bought marshmallows! Make a batch for your summer campfire today!
Confession time: I've never been a huge fan of s'mores. They're messy, hard to eat, and have an odd combo of textures and flavors.
You don't want to see me eating traditional s'mores. Graham crackers crumble under the pressure of my hunger-powered fingers. It's just not pretty.
That said, I do like the idea of making s'mores with sturdier, chocolate-chip and chocolate coated cookies, like my friends at Franz Bakery did this year.
I created this recipe for Franz Bakery to go along with their brand new S'more cookies release. Their new cookies are perfect to enjoy with marshmallows, a la s'more style! You can see the three different flavors of s'more cookies in the photos here.
❤️ Why you'll love this recipe
Making these Fluffy Homemade Marshmallows were surprisingly easy - much easier than I thought they would be!
And, they are 100% tastier than anything you will buy from a store in a plastic bag.
Plus: if you do use traditional graham crackers and melted chocolate bars with your s'mores, these homemade marshmallows are just the right size to help your ooey gooey yummy creation stay together better.
It's really as simple as starting by heating and dissolving the sugar with gelatin and water.
Then, you combine all ingredients in either a stand mixer or a mixing bowl using a hand mixer. Or, if your biceps need a tough workout, simply use your mighty prowess and a whisk (you go, Muscles!).
Mix until the mixture fluffs up - about 10-15 minutes using a mixer; a lot longer if you want to Popeye it and mix by hand. Once it's fluffed up to almost twice the size of the original liquid mix, you pour the marshmallow mixture into a parchment-paper topped baking pan and allow it to sit serenely for a few hours until it becomes the consistency of marshmallows.
Resist the urge to poke and prod it while it's setting. This is where your Yoda training comes into play. Patience, young marshmallow-making Padawans!
I've learned this takes at least four hours, and sometimes up to eight. The temperature and humidity in your house will also determine how long it will take for the marshmallow mixture to finish setting.
One your marshmallow mixture has reached a maximum marshmallow fluffiness to firmness ration (which only you and your personal preference can judge), slice into squares.
Then gently coat each square with powdered sugar.
These fluffy homemade marshmallows nestle in nicely between two s'more cookies. YUM! Now THIS is a s'more I will never pass up!
Of course, you can always use traditional graham crackers and chocolate bars with these marshmallows to create your s'mores. No judgment here. But if you can find the new Franz Bakery s'mores cookies in your local grocery store, I highly recommend giving it a go! They're made for each other!
Did you make this recipe? Don't forget to leave a 5-Star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 rating in the recipe card, and if you really loved it, please leave a comment further down on the page. Thank you!
Fluffy Homemade Marshmallows
Ingredients
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 2 packets gelatin 2 Tablespoons
- ½ cup cold water
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- ½ cup cold water
- ¼ tsp teaspoon salt
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- • Lightly grease the bottom and sides of an 8-inch or 9-inch square pan with butter.
- • Dust powdered sugar over the pan, moving the pan around to ensure the entire bottom and sides are well covered. Shake off excess powdered sugar back into the bowl of powdered sugar. Set aside both the prepared pan and the reserve powdered sugar.
- • In a medium bowl, add first ½ cup of cold water and gelatin powder. Stir once, gently, then set aside.
- • Add granulated sugar and the second ½ cup of cold water to a large heavy saucepan over medium heat. Stir until the sugar is dissolved. Add the gelatin mixture to the pan and bring to a low boil.
- • Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly at room temperature for a few minutes.
- • Pour into a stand mixer (or large bowl, then use a hand mixer), and add the salt and vanilla extract. Beat at low-medium speed for about 10-15 minutes, until the mixture has become soft and slightly fluffy, and until it has almost doubled in size.
- • Pour the marshmallow mixture into the prepared square baking pan.
- • Allow the marshmallow mixture to cool in the pan at room temperature for at least 4 hours. It will be ready when you can touch the marshmallow and it won’t stick to your fingers. This can take anywhere from 4-8 hours, depending on the temperature and humidity in your home.
- • Once set, cut the marshmallow block into 1” to 1½” squares. Roll squares gently into the reserve powdered sugar, covering all sides of the marshmallow squares. Add more powdered sugar as needed.
- • Serve immediately, or store in an airtight container. Marshmallows should keep at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is a general estimate. Actual nutrition details may vary depending on the exact foods & brands you use to make this recipe. It does not take into account any substitutions, toppings, or optional ingredients.
How do YOU feel about s'mores? Love 'em? Hate 'em? How do you customize your s'mores?
More Summer Food Bliss
Nutty S'more Cones
Mini Pavlova Cakes with Strawberries, Peaches, and Cream
Summer Corn & Quinoa Caprese Salad
Melon & Prosciutto Caprese Salad
This recipe was developed for Franz Bakery, who is a client of mine. As always, all opinions and photos are my own.
srjca says
I always to to make my own marshmallows but this is not enough. your dish so pretty easy I might brave and make them before summer ends.:)
Swathi says
I have to make it for my self as my daughter is asking for marshmallows for camping in the backyard. Your recipe sound easy.
Maren says
I have never made marshmellows before! They sounded so intimidating to me, but you make them sound really easy here. What a decadent treat for a special occasion. Yum! All you need now is some hot chocolate.
Amy says
Not a fan of s'mores?!?! Glad you found a way to enjoy them! They are one of my favorite treats! These marshmallows look delicious!
Rachel says
These look so much better than anything you buy at the store! I've never thought about making them myself, but I'll be trying this recipe ASAP! My kids love smores (and so do I!). Thanks for the recipe.
Whitney @WhittyPaleo says
I've always just assumed that making marshmallows was too technical.. however, the breakdown of this recipe is so easy to follow and I'm actually not afraid to make them anymore! Thanks for the recipe!
Gloria @ Homemade & Yummy says
I have never attempted to make homemade marshmallows, but an always intrigued by the recipes I see. I really have to give this a try. I bet they taste so much better than bought...they would be so fresh and fluffy.
Noel Lizotte says
Kids would love this recipe! Talk about a fun way to spend an afternoon.
Molly Kumar says
OMG, the homemade marshmallows look so pretty and delicate. They infact look better than the store bought version. I've never made marshmallow at home and your recipe looks so easy to try at home.
Adriana Lopez Martn says
I have alwasy wanted to make my own marshmallows but I have not been brave enough. Yoru recipe sounds pretty easy I might brave and make them before summer ends.
Catherine @ Ten Thousand Hour Mama says
I like regular, traditional smores (with dark chocolate, though). These look amazing—I want to step up my campfire game this year!
pech says
I love the idea of smores, but don't eat them usually because I don't like what is in prepackaged marshmallows, and F doesn't eat gelatin being a vegetarian - on the other hand these cookies also look perfect for ice cream sandwiches!
Veena Azmanov says
It's been years since I made marshmallows. Must admit growing up I only ate homemade but my eat only ever eat store bought. mmmm.. must make homemade soon. Thanks for the recipe
Catherine says
I've never made my own but how fun is this?! I would love to try these homemade marshmallows.
Joanna @ Everyday Made Fresh says
When my daughter was diagnosed with a corn allergy, I was thinking, oh no how is she gonna enjoy smores!? (we do a camp fire almost every weekend in the summer) I started looking up how to make marshmallows, and I was honestly intimated looking over the recipes. But, I knew that I had to do it. I did, and was shocked it's not as hard as one might think! Plus, they taste so much better!
Mary says
I really have no say in the matter on this subject because my kids LOOOOOVE s'mores, and I'm all weirded out about store-bought marshmallows. But I did buy some in-store made marshmallows from Whole Foods last summer and we all loved them. They looked very similar to the ones you have here. I'm TOTALLY going to try to make these this summer. They look really easy to make. Not sure why I've never tried making homemade ones before? May make me much more of a supporter of my kids eating marshmallows ;)