Candy Cane Peppermint Pillows (marshmallows)

Tiny little fluffy bites of peppermint goodness. 

You can let them swirl around in your mocha, bob hazily in your cocoa or nibble the corners until they are gone. 

In bite size pieces they become addictive candy bites that melt in your mouth and allow the mind to drift. They seem so perfect right now as the weather around the country seems to have its own idea of frozen rain and ice storms.  And as beautiful as it all looked, with silent streets and ice coating the tree branches, the craziness of the airports closing and the chance I might not make it home for Ontario for Christmas made the stress of the holidays increase ever so slightly. 

Thankfully, I know have these lovely little pillows of goodness that just let the rest of the world melt away until until you're ready to deal with it all again.

Enjoy these little delights.

Candy Cane Marshmallow Recipe:

Bloom: 
2/3 cup of cold water
1 tbsp of peppermint extract 
4 packages of gelatine (4 tbsp)  
Syrup:
1 1/2 cup of sugar
1 cup of white corn syrup
3/4 cup of water

Equipment:
stand mixer
candy thermometer
metal or glass pan (8 x 13) 
spray for greasing the pan
red food colouring, or gel (i used Americolor super red)
cornstarch and powdered sugar or icing sugar for dusting

Follow the instructions from my Pumpkin Pie Marshmallow post or see them listed again below.

Making the Marshmallows:

1) Lightly grease pan ( i prefer a pyrex glass pan) with spray -  I like to wipe down the pan lightly with a paper towel to wipe off any pooling and spread the grease evenly to coat the pan.

2) Start with the Pumpkin Layer - add ingredients to large stand mixer bowl and sprinkle gelatine over top. Set aside.

3) In a large 4 quart pan, add Syrup ingredients and stir over medium heat until all the sugar has dissolved.  Place candy thermometer in pan and turn up the heat to high. Let it bubble until the liquid reaches 240 degrees or the soft candy stage. Remove from heat.

4) Place a splash guard on the mixer and turn on low, stirring the bloom together. Slowly pour in the syrup mixture and mix on 3 or 4 until mixed and you can increase the speed without too much splashing.

5) Increase the speed to 6 or 7. At this point you should be able to remove the guard and allow the stand mixer to do its thing and beat the air into the candy. This should take about 12 minutes. 

6) The mixture will start to resemble gooey marshmallow fluff. After about 12 minutes, it should be thick but still run. At this point we can add a 3-4 drops of the red food colouring and mix for another 30 seconds or so, allowing the red to swirl through the marshmallows.
7) Using a greased spatula, pour out the marshmallow layer into the greased pan. Set aside. Cover with aluminum foil lightly so nothing can drop into the marshmallow and set aside for 8 hours. Cut to desired size with a lightly greased knife.

Super Easy Christmas Rum Balls

With all of the baking going on for friend's baby showers, and their little one's birthdays, it has been busy days around the house. I wanted to post a holiday treat that i've quickly put together for this 2013 holidays. 

Funnily enough this recipe is actually adapted from The Gasparilla Cookbook, one that has been passed down to me and was printed in 1961. I'm guessing it doesn't matter what year it is, or what time of year it is, having an easy to do recipe is always good to have around.

Originally called Christmas Bourbon balls, they called for 2.5 cups of vanilla wafers. I have come across a few rum ball recipes using old brownies or cake and thought I could use my the extra cake I had baked for one of the birthdays. (when making a layer cake, it's always good to have a few extra layers on hand...just ..in...case).

Any-who, I chose to make the adjustment and below is the recipe for these super easy Christmas rum balls. 

Christmas Rum Balls (adapted from Gasparilla Cookbook, recipe by Mrs. A.L. Brady)

Ingredients: 
2 1/2 cups of crumbled vanilla cake (a box of good ol' Betty Crocker or Duncan Hines will do the trick)
1 package of dark chocolate chips
2 tbsp of white corn syrup
1/2 cup of rum (i used a spiced rum)
1 cup of chopped nuts (i used half walnuts, half almonds)
1/2 cup of powdered sugar
1/4 cup of chocolate vermicelli*, sprinkles, non perils**, or jimmies

1) Make the cake as directed on the box. Or, if using your own recipe, crumble up 2.5 cups worth, which was roughly two 9 inch rounds.
2) Melt chocolate over warm water in a bowl, or in a microwave on low heat. 
3) Add corn syrup to melted chocolate and mix. 
4) Add rum, mix thoroughly. Depending on how warm your chocolate is, it may seize with the addition of the rum. If so, don't worry, pour the mixture into the cake crumbs and mix it all together. 
5) Let the chocolate rum mixture cool. You now have the choice of making these rum balls immediately or waiting for them to soak up that goodness. If making ahead, store these in the refrigerator or in a cold dark place for a week before moving on to step 6.
6) When ready, scoop the mixture into small balls. I prefer mine roughly an inch round or slightly smaller and roll in vermicelli in a small bowl. 
7) Chill and serve, or enjoy immediately.

*Vermicelli sprinkles are thinner in size then jimmies and tend to stick to the rum balls a little better than the jimmies. Both will work and you will find if your hands are slightly warm, it will melt the chocolate a bit and the sprinkles will stick a bit better.
** A little trick i learned with the non perils. As they have a habit of bouncing out of the bowl faster than you can fill, use the cap of the sprinkle jar against the sprinkle jar to pour several in and then slowly pour them out of the cap into the bowl. You will hold onto a lot more non perils that way!

Rum balls are the perfect chocolatey festive treat for the few weeks around Christmas to help us wind down and enjoy the fun. Hope this treat ends up on your baking list this holiday season!