churro marshmallows;
Yeah I said it—churro marshmallows! If you like churros, and you like marshmallows, then you’ll love these fluffy little babies! Homemade marshmallows are so light and fluffy. Add a rich, deep cinnamon flavor, with built in toasty flavor and a hint of buttery goodness. And of course rolled in cinnamon sugar. You’ll never go back.
I’ve made marshmallows before, including a classic vanilla bean marshmallow and a chocolate version. And the saga continues! This time I wanted to try using molds for some different shapes as opposed to cutting a pan into squares.
So how do you get that churro flavor you ask? There’s two reasons these aren’t “cinnamon” marshmallows. Usually I use white sugar to make classic marshmallows. In this recipe we sub half the white sugar for brown sugar. This helps to get the “fried” toastiness you know and love from churros. And then a dash of butter extract to stay true to that savory baked good quality.
To make homemade marshmallows, I always recommend two pieces of equipment. One is a good candy thermometer (if you don’t mind investing in a good digital thermometer, I recommend the thermopop or the dot). You need to cook the sugar to a specific temperature. It’s not an eyeball thing. 240 degrees F and then you remove the sugar mixture from the heat and whip it into the gelatin and flavorings.
The second is an electric mixer. Stand mixer is preferred because you’ll be whipping for roughly 8 minutes, but a hand mixer works fine too. You’ll just have to hold the electric beater up yourself, so it can get a little tiring! But I can’t imagine anyone whipping homemade churro marshmallows by hand. I don’t even know if it’s possible to get the speed and air without some mechanical help.
After you’ve whipped your marshmallow up good, you can either pour it into a pan to cut squares of marshmallow later, or you can pipe it into molds.
I used some fun silicone heart molds, as well as my donut pan for some variety. I don’t know why but marshmallow doughnuts seem so cute to me! And the hearts would be perfect for Valentine’s Day or a sweet addition to hot chocolate for someone you love. (Hey, someone you love could be you! Self care is important…and best with chocolate. 😘. And churro marshmallows.)
Be warned: piping is messy! Marshmallow is sticky sticky sticky! And if you’re me and overfill your piping bag, it’ll leak out the top and get all sticky and gooey over your hands and make everything you touch a sticky mess. Don’t overfill your piping bag!!! And work quickly.
Make sure you oil your molds before you start working. An unflavored baking spray works the best for quick and easy coverage. Marshmallow begins to set quickly and can be harder to shape and make pretty in molds the longer you take. Don’t rush—but move fast if you can.
The good thing about marshmallows is that you’re not baking them and they won’t expand. What you see is what you get. So don’t overfill your molds, but you don’t need to worry about the “2/3 full” muffin tins when you’re making cupcakes, for example. Just pipe to your preferred fullness and move onto the next cavity.
Don’t worry, if you don’t have molds, piping seems like too much effort, or you just prefer squares, you can make delicious churro marshmallows in a 9×13 pan. I’ve included instructions for both!
Don’t forget to coat them in your cinnamon-sugar-marshmallow mixture at the end. Of course, that’s a signature churro move. But it also prevents the very sticky marshmallows from sticking to each other and makes them easier to store!
secrets to success;
- If you choose to use molds to shape your churro marshmallows make sure to spray the molds thoroughly with cooking spray. You don’t want them to stick in the molds. Don’t overfill your piping bag! I promise you, the marshmallow goo is STICKY. Don’t do what I did and make your hands and entire kitchen a mess by overfilling and having the marshmallow overflow the top of your bag.
- Whip whip whip! Use an electric mixer to whip. A stand or a hand mixer will be fine, though I’m partial to my stand mixer so I don’t have to hold the electric beater for roughly 8 minutes.
- You’ll need a candy thermometer to cook the sugar mixture to the right temperature. You can use a traditional analog one, or a digital one. Just make sure it’s accurate. (Fun fact, you can calibrate it by testing temperature of boiling water.)
Check out these other recipes:
- Make these mocha rice krispies treats with churro marshmallows for the chocolate layer! Cinnamon-y goodness goes well with crunchy rice cereal.
- Shortbread cookies with caramel and chocolate make these twix cookies a huge hit! Or try a healthful twix bar.
- Get your chocolate fix with these salted caramel chip chocolate cookies.
churro marshmallows;
Equipment
- stand mixer OR hand mixer
- digital thermometer strongly recommended
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp unflavored gelatin (3 envelopes, 21g)
- 1 tsp butter flavor (imitation butter, butter extract)
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 1 cup cold water (divided)
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1 cup brown sugar
- ½ cup light corn syrup
- ¼ tsp salt
- unflavored cooking spray (to grease the pan; can also use lard, butter, or mild flavored oils like canola oil)
- ⅛ cup cornstarch for dusting
- ⅛ cup powdered sugar for dusting
- 1 Tbsp cinnamon
Instructions
- Spray a 9"x13" pan lightly with unflavored oil to prevent sticking. You can also spray molds to make fun shapes! Silicone molds work best for easy removal.
- Add ½ cup cold water and add 1 tsp butter extract, and 2 tsp vanilla to a stand mixer or large bowl.
- Add 2 Tbsp (3 envelopes, approx 21g) gelatin into the bowl as you whisk lightly to incoporate it so it doesn't clump.
- In a heavy saucepan, add the remaining ½ cup cold water with 1 cup white sugar, 1 cup brown sugar, ½ cup corn syrup, and ¼ tsp salt. Cook over low heat, stirring gently until sugar dissolved.
- Increase heat to medium and boil without stirring until mixture reaches 240°F, about 12 minutes. As soon as it reaches the right temperature remove from the heat.
- Begin whisking the bloomed gelatin on slow speed. Pour the sugar mixture over the gelatin bloom stirring until dissolved evenly. Then add the remaining sugar mixture.
- Beat mixture on high speed until white, thick, and nearly tripled in volume. This should take approximately 6-8 minutes in a stand mixer, and roughly 10 minutes with a hand mixer.
- Working quickly, spread the mixture into the prepared baking pan (or pipe into molds if desired) and smooth with an oiled spatula.
- Allow to stand, uncovered for at least 4 hours up to one day.
- Mix together 1 Tbsp cinnamon with ⅛ cup each cornstarch and powdered sugar. Turn out the marshmallows and using a pastry brush, coat with the sugar mixture. Cut into desired sizes, I like to trim the edges, and then cut into 5 columns, Cut each column into squares, makes roughly 25. Brush each individual marshmallow with the sugar mixture on all sides to prevent sticking.
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February 2, 2024 at 7:36 pm
[…] recipe, you can master any flavor! Try brownie batter mallows for a chocolatey option, or churro marshmallows for a sweet cinnamon take. Or try birthday cake mallows or just stick to your classic vanilla bean […]