Oh boy. I must tell you, there are two things that compelled me to think of making marshmallows this summer.

One reason is that I keep seeing s’mores everywhere. I seriously think it’s a trend this summer, and I’m 100% on board with this trend. Solid work, trend-starters.

Another reason is that I keep dreaming of these marshmallows that were served at Dandelion Chocolate. They were so soft, fresh, and sweet. I had never tasted anything like these marshmallows. They were like eating sweet little pillows of sugary goodness. I love store-bought marshmallows, I really do. But these were 1000x better than any store-bought marshmallow that I’ve had.

I had them…4 months ago. I’ve been dreaming about them since then!

So of course, I had to take a shot at making marshmallows at home. But I wanted to add a twist to them by making them chocolate. The chocolate flavor strikes the perfect medium–light enough so that you can still taste the marshmallow, but bold enough that you can still taste the cocoa.

Add them to s’mores or throw them in a cup of hot cocoa. With our cold winter nights, people can still enjoy a cup of hot cocoa in the summer!

Homemade Chocolate Marshmallows

Makes about 64 1″x1″ marshmallows

Ingredients:

• 2 envelopes of unflavored/plain gelatin
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2/3 cup light corn syrup
• 1/3 cup water
• 1/8 teaspoon sea salt or kosher salt
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Directions:

Lightly grease a loaf pan and line it with parchment paper.

In a large mixing bowl or in the bowl of your stand mixer, add the water. Then sprinkle the gelatin in, and let it sit.

On the stove in a medium saucepan, boil the sugar, corn syrup, and salt until the mixture reaches about 250 degrees F. Take it off the flame and add the cocoa powder and stir.

Slowly pour the syrup into the mixing bowl and start using your mixer on low. Gradually increase the speed every 2-3 minutes. After about 12-15 minutes (especially if you have a hand mixer), you should have a thick batter-like mixture. Gently beat in the vanilla on a low speed.

Pour the mixture into the loaf pan. Smooth it out with a spatula or a spoon. Leave it uncovered and let it sit.

In about 3 hours or so, the mixture will turn into a marshmallow block! It’s better to let it sit overnight.

When you’re ready to cut it into cubes, use a sharp knife or a pastry knife thing (whatever they are called) to do so. Flip the block out onto a cutting board or a clean counter that has been sprayed with a non-stick spray (or buttered). Then as you make each cut, grease the blade to make sure the blade cuts through the block smoothly.

Now, the marshmallows already have a light cocoa flavor. However, they are quite sticky. To add extra flavor and make them far less sticky, roll them in unsweetened dutch cocoa powder. I actually found that over time the marshmallows would absorb the powder and the flavors of both would blend together. You can also roll them in powdered sugar, or leave them as is. I totally prefer rolling them in cocoa powder. 
When storing the marshmallows, put them in an airtight container. They will keep for about 3 days or so. 
While these marshmallows are so fun to eat on their own (I usually tell myself I should only one, only to find myself reaching for my 6th or 7th one before stopping), I thought it would be nice to put them in s’mores! So tasty!

Hope you all enjoy these marshmallows as much as I will this summer!

Yum