Thank goodness it’s s’mores season! We recently moved into a neighborhood that celebrates all things with s’mores. Our neighborhood has fire pits all throughout the common areas, and when the weather is nice, you can almost always count on several fires going. If there’s a festival in one of the parks, extra fire pits are brought in for extra s’mores. It’s just part of the culture here. I’ve been caught more than once without s’mores supplies for an impromptu s’mores date invitation, to which the neighbors who have lived here longer say ‘you must be new here!’ It’s such a rookie move. I now constantly stock s’mores supplies in my pantry so that when the mood strikes us (at least once a week), we’re ready to go. And while my pantry has the usual s’mores necessities, I have to admit–bagged marshmallows aren’t my favorite.
My opinion is that everyone on earth walks around thinking bagged marshmallows are delicious until they have a homemade marshmallow. Homemade marshmallows are a completely different thing than store-bought marshmallows. It’s hard to even compare them. Eating just one homemade marshmallow will change your opinion on marshmallows forever. They’re powerful stuff. Store-bought marshmallows have a thick outer layer (or crust) and are gooey and sticky inside. Homemade marshmallows do not have a crust and are smooth and spongy/fluffy throughout. They often come in much more exciting flavors, like toasted coconut marshmallows with a lime marshmallow layer on top! (I also have chocolate-dipped chocolate marshmallows, matcha marshmallows, and raspberry marshmallows, if you’re interested!)
Side note: if you want your homemade marshmallows to taste like store-bought, you can leave them uncovered on the counter for a day, and they will develop that characteristic crust on the outside. It’s delicious! Anyway, I like bringing homemade marshmallows to s’mores parties because they instantly spark a conversation about baking (which is my favorite thing to talk about, you might have guessed). They’re also inherently impressive, especially when they’re two-tone like these! I get a lot of questions about how to make my small batch of homemade marshmallows, and so I thought I would go over it. It’s a 20 minute process to make marshmallows from start to finish. They take about two hours to set on the counter, but the actual cooking part is so quick! Don’t get too excited, though, the clean-up is a pain, hah! Just being honest here.
How to make toasted coconut marshmallows:
You can use any type of powdered gelatin to make these toasted coconut marshmallows, but I reach for my Vital Proteins grass-fed beef gelatin because I’m always trying to get more collagen and gelatin into my diet. These protein sources help improve digestion, strengthen joints, ligaments and tendons, and benefits hair, skin and nails (source). I’m always looking for ways to ingest it beyond my hot coffee, including using it for homemade fruit snacks.
Equipment for leaning how to make homemade marshmallows:
Okay, I think you’re all set up for making homemade toasted coconut and lime marshmallows. Your s’mores will never be the same!
