World Actuality

One regular marshmallow contains about 4 grams of added sugar. But as many of us know, very rarely do we eat a single marshmallow.

 For instance, a cup of mini marshmallows for a desert recipe or to top hot chocolate contains a whopping 29 grams of sugar. This translates to over 400 empty calories and exceeds the recommended daily amount by nearly 10 grams. Healthy Marshmallow Recipe :

Ingredients : 1/2 tbsp. grass-fed gelatin (or agar agar for a vegan option); 1/2 cup cold water; 1/2 cup honey; 1/8 tsp. salt; 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract;

Instructions : Lightly grease a loaf pan. Then cover with parchment paper (with enough to hang over the sides of the pan one way), then grease the parchment paper. Put ¼ cup of water in a medium bowl (or in the bowl of a mixer with attached whisk) , and sprinkle the gelatin over the water. Set aside to soften.

In a small pot, place the honey, salt, and the other ¼ cup of water. Heat on medium heat. Using a candy thermometer, bring the mixture to 240 degrees. (Because this is such a small amount of liquid, I had a hard time getting an accurate temperature. You can also test it by dribbling a little of the liquid into a bowl of ice cold water. It should be in the candy stage of forming little soft balls when cooled in the water and taken out. It takes about 7-8 minutes to reach this temperature. ). Remove from the heat as soon as it’s at the right  temperature.

Using a hand mixer on low, very carefully mix in the hot syrup into the gelatin mixture by pouring the hot syrup in a drizzle down the side of the bowl. Once it’s all combined, add the vanilla and increase speed to high. Beat for 12- 15 minutes, or until the mixture is thick and fluffy (it will look like marshmallow fluff). Scrap into the prepared pan and leave, uncovered, for 4-12 hours to dry. It’s just about perfect in my climate when left overnight. Cut into squares, serve as is.

Coconut Version: Toast about ½ cup of coconut flakes, unsweetened. Sprinkle ½ of it on the bottom of the pan, scrap in the marshmallow mixture, and sprinkle with the rest of the coconut flakes.

Cocoa Version: Roll finished and cut marshmallows in cocoa powder.