Candy · Marshmallows · Uncategorized

Snowman Marshmallow Toppers

Liven up your hot chocolate with these festive Snowman Marshmallow Toppers. They are inexpensive and quick to make and so much more flavorful than store bought marshmallows. Whip up a bunch for your holiday parties or to give as gifts!

A tall travel mug viewed from about a 20 degree angle above. The white ceramic mug is filled with hot chocolate and a single snowman marshmallow topper sits in the middle. Th topper takes up most of the top of the mug. The round white marshmallow has two brown M&M eyes and an orange M&M nose. minichocolate chips form a smile.

I was perusing Sur La Table sales recently. Basically dreaming of the fun things on their site. They had some really cute snowman marshmallow toppers but they were over $1 each.

One dollar for a marshmallow is a bit steep for me no matter how cute they are. And, marshmallows aren’t that hard to make. If you’ve made meringue, you’re halfway there.

Marshmallows are a type of meringue. The difference is the sugar. In regular meringues, you beat in dry sugar. In marshmallows you make a hot sugar syrup, add gelatin and then mix that in.

This is a view directly above a white mug filled with hot chocolate. A marshmallow topper sits in the middle of the hot chocolate and takes up most of the top of the mug. The round white marshmallow is decorated with brown mini M&M eyes, an orange mini M&M nose and six mini chocolate chips arranged in an arc to form a smiling mouth.in a

 

I used a teaspoon of vanilla bean paste to give these strong vanilla flavor. It makes the snowman marshmallow toppers look a little brown at first but the brown color fades as they dry.

Marshmallow batter is sticky – really sticky. I spread a THICK layer of cornstarch/powdered sugar mixture on parchment paper to keep the toppers from sticking.

When they were solid and not sticky, I dusted off the backs for storage. I put the left over dusting sugar back in a ziplock back for future use.

This is a photo of a tray full of snowman marshmallow toppers. Thre are 16 toppers arranged randomly on parchment paper with a generous dusting of powedered sugar and cornstarch. Each topper is a round white marshmallow with brown M&M mouth and eyes. The nose is a single orange M&M.

I used a large cookie scoop (about 2 tablespoons) to portion out my toppers and I smoothed them down with a wet finger. You want the tops to still be sticky when you add the decorations so it’s best to work quickly.

If the top dries out, wet your finger with a little water and rub the areas where you want the decorations to stick.

You can decorate these however you like. Kids could decorate their own. I tried a variety of materials – milk chocolate chips, eye candies, mini M&Ms, sprinkles, mini chocolate chips. 

Three marshmallow snowman toppers sit on a white plate with a green border. Each round white marshmallow has two brown M&M eyes and an orange M&M nose. Mini chocolate chips are arranged in an arc to form the smiling mouth.

The combination that gave me the cutest snowman marshmallow toppers was mini M&Ms for eyes and nose and mini-chocolate chips for the mouth.

My stove is cooking slow right now so it took a while for my sugar syrup to get to the right temperature. It took me about an hour to make these. A faster stove and a little more organization (I took a while to experiment with decorations) and you could have these in less time than that.

Wrap up some of these snowman marshmallow toppers with Joan’s Hot Chocolate Mix and you’ve got a wonderful, inexpensive gift in no time!

Yield: about 20

Snowman Marshmallow Toppers

This is a view directly above a white mug filled with hot chocolate. A marshmallow topper sits in the middle of the hot chocolate and takes up most of the top of the mug. The round white marshmallow is decorated with brown mini M&M eyes, an orange mini M&M nose and six mini chocolate chips arranged in an arc to form a smiling mouth.i
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Additional Time 20 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes

Ingredients

Dusting sugar

  • ¼ cup cornstarch
  • ¼ cup powdered sugar

Marshmallows

  • ¾ cup cold water
  • 2 ¼ cup sugar
  • ¼ cup hot water
  • 3 ½ tablespoons unflavored gelatin
  • 2 large egg whites (3 medium egg whites)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract

Decorations

  • Mini M&Ms, Mini chocolate chips

Instructions

  1. Mix powdered sugar and cornstarch together in a ziplock bag. Set aside.
  2. Put cold water and sugar in a large pot (2 quart is good) and bring to a boil. Boil until the temperature reaches 248°F (120°C) - about 10 minutes.
  3. While the sugar is cooking, mix gelatin and hot water to soften the gelatin.
  4. In a separate bowl beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Add vanilla and beat to mix in.
  5. When the sugar syrup is done, turn off the heat and add the gelatin. It will bubble up a LOT so be careful.
  6. This is the tricky part. Turn your mixer on high (stand mixers are great for this). Slowly pour the hot sugar syrup into the egg whites. If you pour too fast, the egg whites cook so a slow steady stream is best. Let this cool for about 5 - 10 minutes so it starts to solidify.
  7. Heavily dust a large sheet of parchment paper with dusting sugar. Use a large cookie scoop to portion out balls of marshmallow batter onto the dusted parchment paper.
  8. Dip your finger in water and smooth out the tops. While the tops are sticky, decorate with mini-chocolate chips and mini-M&Ms.
  9. Let the tops dry until they are no longer sticky (about 30 minutes). Dust the excess sugar off the backs and store in an air tight container.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

20

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 159Total Fat: 3gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 11mgCarbohydrates: 33gFiber: 1gSugar: 30gProtein: 2g

Nutrition information is provided as a guide only. Please consult a dietician for specific dietary needs.

Looking for more marshmallow treats?

 

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