You Melt My Heart Marshmallow Valentine

Peppermint Marshmallow Heart With Hot Chocolate Thank you for visiting. This post may contain affiliate links to recommended products at no extra cost to you….

by 
Peppermint Marshmallow Heart With Hot Chocolate

Thank you for visiting. This post may contain affiliate links to recommended products at no extra cost to you. Read our Disclosures and Terms of Use. Don't miss out again, become a  Reader here <--it's FREE. 



Description:
Homemade marshmallows are easy to make, taste WAY BETTER than the ones that come in the bag and are so delicious!  Make 3 styles of marshmallows in one batch.  Once the marshmallows are made, it’s a simple assembly to create these cute valentines.

This is a plan ahead activity, the marshmallows have to sit for 8 hours to set.  With patience, comes peppermint marshmallow perfection.  When your done, it’s time to grab a cup, and cuddle up.

While I was taking photos of my hot chocolate and peppermint heart, I could smell the marshmallow as it melted and had to stop taking pictures and just enjoy.  I ended up not taking any more pictures because I finished the whole cup.
Making the Marshmallows

Servings: Approximately 60 heart marshmallows

Ingredients
Butter for greasing
1/3 C. Powdered Sugar
2 ½ T. Unflavored Gelatin (I used 2 ½ packets)
1 C. Corn Syrup
¼ tp. Salt
1 C. Water
½  tsp. Peppermint Extract
Red Food Coloring
Pink Food Coloring
Sprinkles
¼-½  C Melting Chocolate
Small Heart Cookie Cutter
Step By Step 

1.  Grease the bottom and sides of two 8×8 pans with the butter. Put a tablespoon of powdered sugar in each pan and shake it around so the pan is coated. 

2.  Put ½ C. water in standalone mixer bowl and add the gelatin to soften it.
3.  In a saucepan heat the sugar, corn syrup, salt and ½ c water stirring constantly until sugar is dissolved.  I set my stove to Med-High (the recipe says low but I am impatient).  Heat to boiling and cook until it reached 240°F on a candy thermometer.  It took about 15 minutes.  Remove from heat

4.  The recipe says if you don’t have a thermometer, to test if it is ready, drop a small amount of the mixture into a cup of very cold water and” forms a ball that holds its shape but is pliable.”  I put one ice cube in my water and dropped some mixture in.  It sunk to the bottom and did not form a ball on its own.  I scooped up the mixture and formed a ball with my hands and put it back into the water and it did not dissolve.

5.  Slowly and carefully (because it’s hot and sticky) pour mixture into softened gelatin while beating on low.  Increase speed to high and beat 8-10 minutes.  I turned on a timer, and when I returned it had magically turned white, fluffy, and like marshmallow cream.

6.  Dump ½ of the marshmallow cream into Pan 1 (pink and white). Wet fingers with water, and slide them across the cream to spread and smooth it out. 

7.  Add the peppermint extract to the remaining mixture in the bowl, stir it in, and dump ¾ of the marshmallow cream into Pan 2 (peppermint swirl).  Wet fingers again and smooth out marshmallow cream.  
8.  To make the swirls drop food coloring on the top and pull a knife through them repeatedly until you are satisfied with your swirling. (I was a bit disappointed with my swirls, but they turned out fine once the hearts where cut out.)   
9.  Add 5 drops of pink food coloring to the remaining marshmallow cream in your bowl, stir it in, and dump it on top of Pan 1 (pink and white). Wet fingers again and smooth out marshmallow cream.  
10.  Let the marshmallows stand uncovered at least 8 hours or overnight.  (Mine rested 2 nights because life got in the way of marshmallow making).
    You may also go here to follow marshmallow directions from Betty Crocker

    Decorating the Marshmallows



    Pan 1 (pink and white)

    1.  To make the pink and white sprinkle hearts I put some sprinkles in a bowl to have ready once the marshmallows are cut.  Then, dipped the heart cookie cutter into powdered sugar to avoid sticking, and cut out hearts from ½ the pan. Put each marshmallow into the sprinkle bowl and roll around making sure all the sticky edges get coated with sprinkles.

    2.  To make the pink and white chocolate hearts I put some powdered sugar onto a plate then cut hearts from the rest of the pan remembering to dip by cookie cutter in powdered sugar when it got sticky.  Put each marshmallow into the powdered sugar and roll around making sure all the sticky edges are coated again. 

    3.  I melted ¼ of a cup of melting chocolate in a pyrex dish in the microwave for 1 ½ minutes.  Just watch it while it’s in the microwave because you don’t want to burn it.  Once it’s smooth and melted it’s ready.  I took a spoon and drizzled the chocolate on top of my pink and white powdered sugar hearts.  I think they are so fancy








      Pan 2 (peppermint swirl)

      1.  To make the peppermint swirl hearts dip the cookie cutter in powdered sugar and cut out the hearts.  Put each marshmallow into the powdered sugar and roll around making sure all the sticky edges are coated (for the last time). 








        Making The Valentine


        Supplies
        Treat bags
        Tulle 6” roll or ribbon 
        Hot chocolate packets
        Hole punch
        Gift Tags 


        Step By Step 

        1. Put marshmallows in gift bag. I stuffed my bag with tissue paper to make it look full without using all my marshmallows on one valentine. 
        2. Add hot chocolate packet.
        3. Make a tag.  I found heart confetti that matched my bags, so I simply punched a hole in it and tied it onto the bag with a tulle bow. Tulle is so forgiving, just pretend you are tying your shoe and it will look great!    
        4. Write a message:
          1. You Melt My Heart
          2. You’re Pretty Hot Stuff
          3. Your So Hot Your Cool

        Notes: 
        If you have a lot to make (a classroom full) you could wrap a single marshmallow in cellophane, punch a hole at the top of the hot chocolate where it’s glued closed, and use the tulle to tie it all together.

        I hope you enjoy your Hot Chocolate and Peppermint Marshmallows.  Thanks for visiting!-Katie

        Leave a Reply

        Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *