Because my family is rebelling at the thought of having a years worth of Peeps stashed for the Dumply man I’ll be making some today, two recipes…one traditional and one easy. Actually both are pretty easy, but you will want a stand mixer for making these. In fact, I wouldn’t recommend trying them unless you do, well, if you have stamina and strength in your arms like Michael Phelps you’ll be ok, but otherwise…not so much.

Dumplin’ says he prefers the Martha Stewart version the best…she should know…she has horses

Homemade Marshmallows – Martha Stewart

Ingredients

Makes 24.

* Vegetable oil, for brushing
* 4 envelopes unflavored gelatin (3 tablespoons plus 1 1/2 teaspoons)
* 3 cups granulated sugar
* 1 1/4 cups light corn syrup
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
* 1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar

Directions

1. Brush a 9-by-13-inch glass baking dish with oil. Line with parchment, allowing a 2-inch overhang on the long sides. Brush parchment with oil; set aside.
2. Put granulated sugar, corn syrup, salt, and 3/4 cup water into a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring to dissolve sugar. Cook, without stirring, until mixture registers 238 degrees.on a candy thermometer, about 9 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, put 3/4 cup cold water into the bowl of an electric mixer; sprinkle with gelatin. Let soften 5 minutes.
4. Attach bowl with gelatin to mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. With mixer on low speed, beat hot syrup into gelatin mixture. Gradually raise speed to high; beat until mixture is very stiff, about 12 minutes. Beat in vanilla. Pour into prepared dish, and smooth with an offset spatula. Set aside, uncovered, until firm, about 3 hours.
5. Sift 1 cup confectioners’ sugar onto a work surface. Unmold marshmallow onto confectioners’ sugar; remove parchment. Lightly brush a sharp knife with oil, then cut marshmallow into 2-inch squares. Sift remaining 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar into a small bowl, and roll each marshmallow in the sugar to coat. Marshmallows can be stored in an airtight container up to 3 days.

***tasting notes***

I eliminated the Vanilla and substituted a bit of peppermint…just a bit as the flavor grows as they cool.

We’ll be visiting the farm of a dear friend tomorrow and I needed to make some treats to take along with us. I thought of Dorie Greenspan’s Apple Cheddar Scones. But I was craving something sweet and yummy and I only had a little bit of time on my hands. After flipping through some blogs I settled on a quick, easy and (sort of) healthy cookie on 101cookbooks.com

I made some modifications to suit what I had on hand and my sweet tooth, and unhealthy need for cookies with texture, has been satisfied. The child proclaims them A+ as well.

Cocoa-Nana White Chocolate Chunk Cookies

3 large, ripe bananas, well mashed (2 cups)
1-1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup Olive oil
2-1/3 cups rolled oats
3/4 cup almond meal
1/3 cup coconut sweetened flaked coconut
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
3 teaspoons dark cocoa powder (I used Black’s Organic)
1 teaspoon baking powder
4 ounces white chocolate chopped

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees and line a cookie sheet with parchment or use a silpat

1. mash the bananas, oil and vanilla in a large bowl.
2. Combine the dry ingredients (sans white choclate) in a seperate bowl.

3. Stir the dry into wet ingredients until combined
4. Fold in the white chocolate

5.Drop by rounded spoonful onto your cookie sheet…about ping pong ball, bite sized drops.

6. Place in the top third of the oven and bake for 15 minutes…do not overcook!

These are delightful, I will HIGHLY suggest you make a double batch and share them with someone you love

Have a wonderful Friday and do something delicious! (Like make a batch of cookies!)

Colleen

www.foodwineartdesign.com

PS. It seems my uber favorite chef (you are reading the sarcasm in that right?!?!? I think it’s pretty evident from posts on this blog how I feel about Rachel Ray) is opening a new restaurant! WOOO WOOO! And it will feature, what else? BURGERS! Here’s the link Isn’t it enough that I am getting like a gazzillion emails each week from readers who want to know what I think about her pet food?  (No, please don’t buy it. It’s made by  Dad’s, so just save yourself the money and buy that if you want  to feed an economy brand-of course I don’t recommend that either).

I think my head just exploded again.