I was inspired to make lavender hot chocolate cookies, but before I could do that I needed to get lavender marshmallows. The easiest way was to just make it myself.
First, I needed to figure out a way to get lavender infused into the marshmallows, but I felt like putting the flowers in the marshmallow would result in an odd texture. Instead, I decided to make a concentrated lavender tea. I used hot water and added 2 tbsp of lavender and let it sit for 10 minutes. Afterwards I strained it and cooled it (if you're short on time just add a couple ice cubes), but it's important that the water is cool/cold.
After the water is infused with lavender, you should take 1/2 cup of it and mix it with all the gelatin. While this is sitting the sugar mixture should be brought to 240F (soft ball stage) and then mixed into the water/gelatin mixture.
Now all that's left is to whip the mixture for 15 minutes until it is fluffy, thick, and sticky. Pictures part way through the mixing (7 minutes and 12 minutes).
It starts to resemble a marshmallow after 6 minutes, but the more you go the thicker and fluffier the batter gets. After all is done, the batter should be very thick, sticky and will look something like this:
After the marshmallows have been made, all that's left is to pour it into a 8x8 or 9x13 pan depending on how thick you want them. It's important to use a sifter to coat the base of the pan or else the marshmallows will not come out. You don't have to sift it, but it's by far the easiest way to get a thin and flat coat of sugar. After you pour all the batter into the tray, smooth it and cover in more powdered sugar.
After 4 hours I flipped the marshmallows out of the pan and cut them up into small cubes.
Recipe
Makes: 50 marshmallows Time: 45 minutes + 3 hours to set
Ingredients
3 packages unflavored gelatin
1 cup water
2 tbsp lavender
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
Purple food coloring (optional)
Powdered sugar for dusting (1 cup)
Directions
First, make lavender tea by steeping 2 tbsp of lavender (add more for a stronger lavender taste) in 1 cup hot water. Once brewed, strain out the lavender and cool the liquid by putting it in the fridge or add ice cubes. Once the water is cold, take the gelatin, add it to a standing mixer and combine it with half a cup of lavender water.
While the gelatin dissolves, prepare the sugar mixture. Combine the remaining half cup lavender water, with the sugar, corn syrup, and salt and put it on medium heat in a medium size pot. Once the sugar is dissolved, turn the heat to high and stir until the mixture reaches 240F (the soft ball stage).
Next, slowly add the sugar mixture to the mixer and beat on low. Once it's all incorporated set the mixer to high and let it beat for 15 minutes. The mixture will thicken and become very sticky. Once the mixture is done, add the vanilla and purple (can use blue and red) food coloring, if desired, to give it a nice lavender color
Lastly, take a 8x8 or 9x13 pan (non metal) and use a sifter to dust powdered sugar on the base of the pan. Then pour all of the marshmallow batter into the pan. It can be slightly difficult and incredibly sticky, but once all the batter is in the pan try and smooth it down and then powder the top with more powdered sugar.
Wait 4 hours, or until the mixture is set, and then flip the marshmallows out of the pan and cut it up or use a cookie cutter to get it into the desired shapes. Dust the remaining edges with powdered sugar and store in an air tight container.
If you want something fun to do with them try my lavender hot chocolate cookie recipe!
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