How To Make Marshmallows With Just 3 Ingredients

The big, blocky marshmallows on display at the charming little neighborhood bakery sure look a lot fancier than the bagged supermarket stuff, but that doesn't mean they have to be. Of course, the uniform spheres found among the commercial varieties certainly have their uses — they're ideal for Rice Krispie Treats and for enjoying plainly toasted over a cozy campfire — but homemade marshmallows will make for fantastic homemade s'mores and send your creamy hot chocolate into new realms of deliciousness.

To make an impressive batch of marshmallows worthy of a Hallmark movie about a big city executive who returns to her hometown and opens a sweet shop, you only need water and three store-bought ingredients: Unflavored gelatin, granulated sugar, and powdered sugar. Yes, this brief recipe is notably absent of any element of the mallow plant that originally gave the confection its name. Marshmallows have been made without that eponymous item for more than a couple of hundred years now.

One unlisted ingredient here is the very air that we breathe, so you're going to need a stand mixer to whip in as much of that sweet, life-sustaining nitrogen-oxygen mashup into your marshmallows as possible. But first, coat the bottom of an 8 ✕ 8 pan or glass dish with a thin layer of powdered sugar — this is essentially going to act as your non-stick agent — then set it aside.

Next, whisk two seven-gram packets of unflavored gelatin and half a cup of boiling water in a medium-sized bowl and set it aside too. Then, using a shallow saucepan, boil half a cup of water and half a cup of granulated sugar, essentially creating a simple syrup that you bring past a baseline boiling temperature. Let the mixture reach 240 F. Immediately combine the hot simple syrup with the reserved gelatin liquid in your mixer's bowl, and mix on high until peaks begin to form like they would with a meringue. When it's ready to distribute, the unset marshmallow mix will have a consistency unsurprisingly similar to jarred marshmallow fluff, though your concoction will be, ironically, fluffier.

Finally, ideally with a silicone spatula, spread the sticky mix into the pan or dish that you've already dusted with powdered sugar. Sprinkle more on top and let sit for two hours before cutting into cubes. Stored in an airtight container, they can last for up to three weeks.