Homemade Marshmallows

Hi everyone - Merry Christmas - Happy Hanukkah!
My brother in law and sister in law Mike and Nancy have an annual Holiday party and they really lay out the spread - including a Chocolate fountain with assorted fruit and sweets to run through the fountain. So I made some homemade marshmallows that went over pretty well. I promised to post the recipe on the blog - (still trying to get this blog to go viral so I can retire, hunt, cook and play golf so tell all your friends :p )
OK so by popular demand here is the recipe for the homemade marshmallows - with props and credit to Alton Brown - his show is where I saw it first a few years ago and I used his recipe...
Ingredients:
3 packets unflavored gelatin
1 Cup Ice cold water -divided
12 oz by weight of granulated sugar (about 1 and 1/2 cups by volume if you don't have a scale)
1 Cup Light Corn Syrup
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup Confectioners Sugar
1/4 cup Corn starch
Non Stick Spray
Candy thermometer
Oh and a strong Kitchen Aid or other brand stand Mixer with whisk - these will test a machine's oomph :)

Directions:
Place the gelatin into the bowl of the stand mixer along with 1/2 cup water -have whisk attachment standing by.
In a small saucepan combine the remaining 1/2 cup water, granulated sugar, corn syrup and salt. Place over medium high heat, cover and allow to cook for 3-4 minutes. Uncover and clip candy thermometer onto the side of the pan and continue to cook until the mixture reaches 240* F - about 7-8 minutes. (for you candy makers that is the "soft ball" stage). Once it reaches that temp, IMMEDIATELY remove from heat. (OK SAFETY WARNING HERE- THIS STUFF IS HOT AND WILL BURN LIKE NO ONE'S BUSINESS - SHOULD PROBABLY NOT HAVE THE KIDS HELPING FOR THE NEXT STEP)

Attach the whisk and turn the mixer on low speed and while running SLOWLY pour the sugar syrup down the side of the bowl into the gelatin mixture - careful it is hot and you sure don't want that to splash up on to you. Once it is all in the bowl increase the speed to HIGH. Continue to whip until the mixture becomes very thick and lukewarm. about 12-15 minutes. Add the vanilla during the last minute of whipping. I am always amazed at watching the transformation from hot syrup to white shiny clouds. While it is mixing prepare the pan as follows:

Combine the confectioners sugar and cornstarch in a small bowl. Lightly spray a 13 x 9 metal (I use Pyrex too) pan with nonstick cooking spray. add the sugar and cornstarch mixture and move it around to COMPLETELY coat the bottom and sided. Return the remaining mixture to the bowl for later use.
When ready (and take my word for it your mixer will be ready to take a rest) pour, with the help of an oiled spatula into the prepared pan. Use the oiled spatula to spread the mixture around to the corners of the pan. Dust the top with enough of the sugar cornstarch mixture to lightly cover and reserve the rest (I use a small Ziploc bag or prep bowl) for later. Allow the marshmallows to set for at least 4 hours or up to overnight.

Turn the marshmallows out onto a cutting board and cut into 1" squares using a pizza cutter dusted with the cornstarch/sugar mixture . Use the rest of the mixture (I always have to mix up a little more at this stage -50/50 mix remember) to lightly dust the cut marshmallows so they don't stick... You can store them for up to 3 weeks in an airtight container..... Yeah RIGHT that'll happen. I am going to try some variations - Creme` de Menthe instead of vanilla, perhaps?????

Anyway below is the link to the recipe I used so if you want to go there directly and print off the recipe card - I give full credit to Mr. Brown-but want you to know that it isn't hard and really not too time consuming but they can be a little messy. Happy Holidays :)

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/homemade-marshmallows-recipe/index.html