Eat your heart out... chocolate covered marshmallow hearts

First of all, thank you again Blog Better Boston for featuring me (along with 7 other fab bloggers) for the {hub}links round-up about all things love.  

And while we're on the topic of love, here's a little insight into something else I love. For the holiday's- and I mean all the holiday's- Hershey's and Russell Stover come out with chocolate covered marshmallow hearts or Santa's or Easter eggs... and I'm completely addicted to them. I think I buy at least one every time I see them because I tell myself "oh, it's fill in the blank here Holiday and they won't be around for long" but the candy companies make "every occasion candy" so there's always a holiday!!!

Anyway, this is neither here nor there because you too can take action and make these for any occasion! I cut out hearts for Valentine's Day but you could use any cookie cutter shape or carve out a custom one with a knife... the holiday's are yours to celebrate. Also, these would make really cute party favors or be adorable for a bake sale.

These are better than any store-bought version I could get my hands on (no preservatives!). I added the pink drizzle with Wilton candy melts but I think white chocolate would be equally pretty. Here's how I made them: (recipe after the jump)

gelatin and water soaking

I basically used an entire box of this gelatin

water, corn syrup and sugar boiling

gelatin and boiled sugar mixture has tripled in volume!

whipped egg whites and vanilla

sprinkled with powdered sugar on top, these marshmallows are ready for a cool-down

the dipping process

Chocolate Covered Marshmallows

Lightly adapted from here

Makes 24- 1½” hearts

Special Equipment:

A stand mixer is ideal, but a good strong hand mixer is a necessity

Cookie cutter (whatever shape you prefer)

Recipe Notes:

- I only dipped 75% of the marshmallows in chocolate so you may need more chocolate if you plan on dipping all of them.

- I made the marshmallows a day in advance so they would be completely cool. 

- Don't you think for a moment that a single marshmallow went to waste. All the craggy cut out marshmallow remnants will go towards copious amounts of hot cocoa, as it should. 

Ingredients:

About a Cup of confectioner’s Sugar

2 Tbs. + 2 ½ tsp. unflavored gelatin

1 Cup cold water, divided

2 Cups granulated sugar

½ Cup light corn syrup

¼ tsp. Salt

2 Large egg whites (room temp)

1 ½ Tbs. vanilla

8 oz. chocolate (milk, dark, bittersweet, white- whatever flavor you choose)

¼ Cup candy melts (optional) 

Directions

1. Grease the bottom and sides of a 13x9” pan and dust the bottom and sides with confectioner’s sugar

2. In a bowl of a stand mixer (or a large bowl if using hand mixer) pour ½ cup of cold water and sprinkle all the gelatin over it. Let stand to soften.

3. In a heavy saucepan over low heat, cook granulated sugar, corn syrup, salt and second ½ cup of cold water. Stir with a wooden spoon until sugar is dissolved. Increase heat to a moderate boil, without stirring, until a candy thermometer reaches 240º F, or a “soft boil”  (may take about 10 minutes).

4. Remove pan from heat and pour sugar mixture over gelatin mixture. Turn mixer on low to mix the ingredients. Once mixed, increase speed to high until mixture is tripled in volume (about 6 minutes with a stand mixer, 10-12 minutes with a hand mixer).

5. In a separate medium bowl, with cleaned beaters, beat egg whites until they hold stiff peaks. Add vanilla and beat to incorporate.

6. Pour egg mixture into sugar/gelatin mixture and beat to combine. Pour the mixture into the prepared baking pan and spread out evenly with a spatula. Sift ¼ cup confectioners sugar evenly over the top. Let cool completely before handling (can be refrigerated or left out on the counter to cool).

7. Once marshmallow is cooled, either run a knife or cookie cutter through some confectioner’s sugar and start cutting away. You could just cut squares and toss these babies into some hot cocoa or you can cut them into shapes for chocolate dipping.

8. Melt the chocolate and shake off any excess confectioner’s sugar. Immerse the marshmallow in the chocolate and set on a tray of parchment/wax paper or on a cooling rack. Once all the marshmallows are dipped, place them in the fridge just to let the chocolate harden. If you'd like to do a decorative drizzle, melt the candy melts (or white chocolate) in a zip-top bag. Snip a corner off and gently squeeze the candy melt over the hardened chocolate. Refrigerate again until all chocolates are hardened. 

9. Marshmallows will keep at room temperature for a week in a cool airtight container.