A junior here at Ludlowe talked about her favorite holiday recipes to make when she wants to get into the holiday spirit: Merry Marshmallows!  The marshmallows are perfect if you want to entertain children, or just make something a little bit more personalized with your family.

Merry Marshmallows:

Makes roughly 24 marshmallows

Ingredients

• ⅓ cup cold water
• 2 envelopes unflavored gelatin
• 1 ½ cups sugar
• ¼ cup water
• ¼ cup corn syrup
• Pinch of salt
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• Confectioners’ sugar
• Colored sugar

Directions

1. First, pour the ⅓ cup cold water into a large mixing bowl, sprinkle the gelatin over it, and set it aside.
2. Combine the sugar, ¼ cup of water, corn syrup, and salt in a medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring until dissolved.  Stop stirring and heat the mixture until it boils and reaches 240 degrees on a candy thermometer.
3. Carefully pour the hot syrup over the gelatin and beat with an electric mixer on high speed for 12 minutes.  Blend in the vanilla extract, then scrape the batter into a 9×3-inch pan lightly coated with cooking spray.
4. Let the marshmallows sit until they’re dry to the touch (this may take up to 12 hours depending on the humidity).  Invert the pan onto a cooking board dusted with confectioners sugar. Pour the colored sugar onto a plate or a shallow dish, then use cookie cutters to cut the marshmallows into shapes.  Press the top of each marshmallow into the colored sugar.

(This recipe was taken from a Disney FamilyFun book called Wintertime Fun: Warm and Cozy Treats and Crafts)