Sticky Fingers

Times are tough, so this Christmas involved a lot of handmade items--hats, scarves and the like. I also gave to my unappreciative family homemade hot chocolate mix. Three flavors, no less: chocolate peppermint, chocolate toffee and double-dark chocolate. The piece de resistance: homemade marshmallows. Last I heard from my ingrate kin, they hadn't even touched them. Sigh. They don't know what they're missing--the leftover marshmallows I kept for myself, and they were flat-out awesome. The stash was big, too--I just ran out, and had to whip up some more.

I cannot take credit for the recipe--it's all Alton Brown, and you can grab it here--but I do take credit for the hard work. Feel free to make some yourself and hand out to your impressed friends. You can also feel free to neglect to tell them  how danged easy the process is. If you do decide to delve into homemade marshmallows, a few things to remember:
* You should have a powerhouse stand mixer. Candy-ass cheapo mixers won't stand up to the formidable task of whipping the thick, gooey mixture for 15 minutes, and you'll end up burning out your motor. Get thyself a KitchenAid, or something similarly awesome.
* Before boiling the goop, clip your candy thermometer to the pan and get it to the right height--once the stuff is in the pan, you can't see diddly.
* Do not go beyond the suggested temperature, unless you want the mixture to be near-unworkable. The marshmallows will still be marshmallows, and look/taste perfectly normal, but you'll get a hell of a workout trying to scrape the marshmallow from the bowl, whisk attachment, and other sundry items.
* Before spreading the whipped-up mallowstuff in the pan, lightly spray your spatula with non-stick spray

That's all. Enjoy, kids.