Our kitchen comes alive when homemade marshmallows are mentioned. We’re talking singing and dancing and smiles so wide they threaten to swallow us whole. (Well, from us girls, that is!)
Where I was once intimidated by the whole process, making marshmallows at home is nothing short of pure joy for me now. It is super easy. Super fun. And the delicious chewy sweetness is better than any you could bring home from the store. We make them plain and simple, cut like bunnies and dipped in chocolate, and now…these fun and fabulous Marshmallow Conversation Hearts!
It was fun to read up on the history of Sweethearts Conversation Hearts, and how the sayings have changed over the past century. Such an icon of Valentine’s Day, over 8 billion of these little candies are created annually. Production starts just after Valentine’s Day each year and runs to mid-January of the following year. Then they completely sell out in just 6 short weeks…that’s about 100,000 pounds of little colored hearts every day!
Even if you don’t want to take the time to produce a batch of your very own marshmallow conversation hearts, I would love to encourage you to at least give homemade marshmallows a shot. Just take a look at my first plain and simple marshmallow post from one year ago. And if you want to indulge a bit more in this Valentine’s season, you could take it one step further with a heart-shaped cookie cutter, creating a feast of marshmallow hearts. They’re pretty darn cute floating in a mug of hot chocolate. I’m certain your friends and family would say, “U ROCK“.
Ingredients
- powdered sugar, for coating pan
- 2/3 c. water, divided
- 3 (1/4 oz.) envelopes unflavored gelatin (found by the Jell-O at the grocery store)
- 1 c. granulated sugar
- 1 c. light corn syrup
- pinch of kosher salt
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 2 12-oz. bags white Wilton candy melts
- candy coloring - I used Wilton yellow, red, and blue candy (not icing) coloring
- Please visit my very talented friend - Amanda from i am baker - for her glaze icing recipe and tutorial. She’s just so great at using this stuff, and really is your best teacher. Just read my notes specific to this Marshmallow Conversation Hearts recipe in the Preparation section below.
- Wilton "no taste" red icing color (Don't use liquid food coloring.)
Preparation
Lightly spray the inside of an 9'' x 13'' pan with cooking spray. Generously coat with powdered sugar and set aside.
Pour 1/3 cup of the water into the bowl of a stand mixer. Sprinkle the gelatin over the water and stir briefly to incorporate. Let stand for about 10 minutes, or until the gelatin has softened.
In a saucepan, off the heat, combine the remaining 1/3 cup of water and the granulated sugar, corn syrup, and salt. Place the pan over medium-high heat. Clip a candy thermometer on the inside of the pan, making sure it doesn’t touch the bottom. Cook the mixture without stirring until it reaches 240°. Brush down the sides of the pan with a pastry brush, dipped in water, to gently wipe away any sugar crystals.
With your mixer on low speed, very carefully add the hot syrup to the softened gelatin. Add the vanilla and increase the speed to medium-high. The mixture will start out clear, but quickly turns very white. Beat for about 8 minutes, or until the marshmallow gets very thick and sticky, and starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl, in string-like pieces. This will really give your mixer a workout.
Spread the mixture into the prepared pan using a lightly oiled spatula. With wet hands, press the batter evenly into the corners of the pan. Just keep rewetting your hands to help with the stickiness. Set aside for at least 1 hour, or until the mixture is firm and cool.
Run a wet knife around the edge of the cooled pan to loosen the marshmallow. Remove the marshmallow from the pan, onto a sheet of parchment paper.
Dip your small heart-shaped cookie cutter (mine measures 1-3/8" wide by 1-3/8" tall) into a shallow bowl of water and then cut the slab of marshmallow into heart shapes. This is a sticky job, but just have patience. It’s worth it! It helps to dip the heart cutter into the water in between cuts. Repeat this process until the whole slab of marshmallow is cut.
Divide the candy melts between 3 glasses. In the microwave, carefully melt the candy melts, taking special care to not let them scorch. It's best to get the candy melts partially melted and then just stir them until they are completely melted. Then color each separate glass to your liking.
Drop a marshmallow heart into the colored melted candy and dunk with a fork to completely coat. Pick the marshmallow up with the fork, allowing excess candy coating to drip off while lightly tapping the fork to coax more of the excess off. Then slide the fork out of the glass, scraping the underside of the tongs along the rim of the glass. This will scrape off any remaining excess candy coating, so you don’t have a pool of it form around your heart as it cools.
Set the candy coated heart on parchment paper to cool and completely set up on your kitchen counter. After they are dry to the touch, they are ready to decorate.
Again, here's the link to Amanda's recipe and tutorial for her glaze icing. I only have a couple things to add, how I did things a little differently for these hearts...
Use only a 1/2 tablespoon of milk, as little as possible. You want the glaze icing to be stiff, so the letters won't spread too much. And do not add any lemon or other flavoring to the glaze icing. Color with the red icing color to your liking and then pipe on the letters with a tiny round Wilton #1 tip. I will admit that the lettering was a little tedious, and that I did have a bit of an issue with the glaze icing still wanting to spread, but I really like its finished glossy look. If you're not up for working with this for the lettering, you might wish to consider a stiffer frosting.
Source
Marshmallow recipe adapted from jam it, pickle it, cure it by Karen Solomon (I love, love, LOVE this book!). Glaze icing from i am baker. Marshmallow Conversation Hearts concept from a farmgirl's dabbles.
I’m linking up with the following:
- Cheryl at TidyMom for I’m Lovin’ It (The Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe) I need to try this out!
- Allison at Alli ‘n Son for Sweet Tooth Friday (Chocolate Cake with Raspberry Filling & Whipped Buttercream)
These are so cute and fun! Love them!
Maria recently posted..Vegetarian Quinoa Chili
Thanks, Maria!
When you say brush the sides with a wet pastry brush, do you have to be careful to not get any water in the mixture? That’s the only part of this recipe that seems hard. Any thoughts?
Amanda KP recently posted..Refreshing Thai Cucumber Cups
Hi Amanda! It’s just fine to get some water in there. I usually only do that once or twice while it’s cooking.
I love them!!
Katrina @ In Katrina’s Kitchen recently posted..Super Bowl Sundaes
Love it!
Blog is the New Black recently posted..Almond Cherry Chip Blondies
so cute!!! I’m doing something similar with brownies this week, but I love the marshmallow!!!!
TidyMom recently posted..I’m Lovin’ It: The BEST Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe
Wow. These are fantastic. So creative. Love them.
Lora recently posted..Applesauce Caramel Pomegranate Cakies with Caramel Glaze
Thank you so much, Lora!
This is the cutest idea ever. Love it!
Haylee recently posted..All About Your Heart.
Thanks, Haylee!
These look so good! I’ve been wanting to make some marshmallows for a while now, I might just have to do this with them.
Hi, Shane! If you like marshmallow, you really do owe it to yourself to try them homemade.
I’m honestly blown away by the fact that 8 billion conversation hearts are made each year and sold out every year! These marshmallow ones of yours are really cute, love this idea!
I know…crazy! That’s ALOT of Conversation Hearts!!
They look very cute but I’d never colour my food voluntarily. Especially a bright blue causes me revulsion just because a natural product would never ever be THIS blue.
Probably I’ll do some marshmallows and coat them with some nice bitter chocolate. ^^
Apfelkern recently posted..Versuchung
They look amazing! Very cute and colourful!
Harriet recently posted..Samsung Omnia W
Thanks, Harriet – have a great week!
I don’t like the taste of conversation hearts. Never have and I don’t think I ever will, but I like the little sayings on them; most of them are cute :3. I like the idea of conversation marshmallows. Marshmallows are much tastier than chalk hearts.
Becca-cookie jar treats recently posted..Cake Slice Bakers – January 2012: Chocolate Almond Cake
I’m with you, Becca. I’m not a fan of the taste of Conversation Hearts. But I’ve always loved the sentiment, and never minded receiving them in my school Valentine box, just because I liked to read the sayings.
Oh, Brenda, you know my love affair with anything marshmallow! These are to cute to eat. No, on second thought I guess not.
Thanks, Mom.
xoxo
Perfect for heart’s month. I love cute and adorable mallows! I can’t believe we are already almost on the 2nd month of the year. Thanks for the post.
I know! Where did January go?! On the bright side…it makes spring roll around faster.
Thanks, Anna.
LOVE THESE! What a fun idea!
Sally @ Spontaneous Hausfrau recently posted..Orange Dijon Chicken
Thank you so much, Sally.
I have wanted to try this for a while and thanks to this post I will!!!! Thanks!!!
denise burton recently posted..Time Flies When You are NOT Having Fun!!
Yay! So happy to hear that. Let me know how it goes for you.
I love Valentine’s Day simply because of all of the heart-shaped things! These are so adorable!
Mercedes recently posted..Classic Biscuits (January Daring Bakers’ Challenge)
Thank you, Mercedes. I agree – it’s such a fun time of year for dessert!
These are the cutest! What a creative idea. Thanks for sharing!
Angie @ Sweet Natured Treats recently posted..Red Velvet White Chocolate Cheesecake (for two)
Thank you, Angie!
Thanks for linking up this week Brenda! I featured you post in my wrap up http://tidymom.net/2012/valentines-day-crafts-food-decor/
have a fabulous Sunday!
TidyMom recently posted..I’m Lovin’ It: The BEST Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe
Awesome, Cheryl – thank you so much! Have a great week!
These are so cute! I love making homemade marshmallows and these are a precious way to use them for V-day!
Thank you so much, Rachel!
Cutest Valentine treats ever! Seriously cute!
Lori @ RecipeGirl recently posted..Baked Jalapeño Poppers
Thanks, Lori!
These are adorable and really make me want to give making marshmallows a go. Quick question though. The Wilton candy coating comes in different colors. Is there a reason to use the white and color it yourself? I’m just wondering of the colored coatings don’t work for this. Very inspiring. Glad I came across your blog! Fun!
muddledmom recently posted..A Word About Trophies
Hello! Yes, you surely can use the precolored melts. I just knew I wanted to use yellow, blue, and pink…and the store was out of one of the colors. So it was more efficient for me to just buy 2 bags of white and color them myself.
These are TREMENDOUSLY cool! My husband and I try and go homemade for Valentine’s Day and I think this just might be my gift this year. I love that you included a bit about heart candy history also!
These homemade marshmallow conversation hearts are so precious! And looks like they’re super easy to make! Can’t wait to try them out! Our food lovers would love to hear about this on our community page! Check it out! http://bit.ly/wlZhX4
These are so stinkin’ adorable!!
Lisa [With Style and Grace] recently posted..Black Bean, Sweet Potato & Quinoa Chili
My kids love marshmallows, what a great idea! I’d love for you to submit this to the M&T Spotlight http://www.makeandtakes.com/spotlight
Sue recently posted..Radicchio Slaw Rice Rolls, Perfect for Game Day
Thanks, Sue! I just submitted to the Spotlight, thanks for the reminder!
OMG I am definitely trying these. Yours look so perfect. You really need a steady hand for the writing. I just love this. Did you use the beater bar or whisk attachment on your mixer? I can’t wait to make these. Thank you for sharing. You’ve inspired me.
Hi Vicki! I used the beater, not the whisk attachment. Have fun!!!!
It looks like the recipe that Amanda has is similar to a royal icing recipe. I make one that’s thick and uses meringue powder that can then be thinned. If you’d like that let me know and I’ll send it your way.
Vicki Bensinger recently posted..Ooey Gooey Cheese Dip & Homemade Tortilla Chips
Sure, Vicki, I’d love to take a look at it. Please go to my “Contact” tab and send me a message. Thank you!!
this is the best thing ever
Emily recently posted..TWD, Baking with Julia: White Loaves
OK, I made them and they are great! They taste awesome. I’m not sure I can ever eat prepackaged marshmallows again. Then covering them with the coating…come on! It is pure goodness. At every step I kept saying I couldn’t do it, but it was actually very easy and worked just as you said. I’ll be making the chocolate ones for Easter. Thanks. I love it when a recipe turns out great. My kids will love them!
muddledmom recently posted..The Lost Note
Yay! Thank you so much for letting me know…I’m so happy you liked them AND it sounds like you had fun doing it!! Warning, though…those chocolate dipped Easter ones are my absolute favorite.
Those could not be any cuter!!! You have out done yourself my friend!
Amanda recently posted..My Future Flashed Before My Eyes