Beer Marshmallows

http://pinterest.com/pin/198299189814792257/

I pinned this recipe a few months ago for the novelty of it. I don't really like beer, but my husband and his family are beer lovers so I thought if I ever got the opportunity I'd make these. I did not make these chocolate covered, because I doubt my ability to temper chocolate. With my sister-in-law's 28th birthday coming up, I decided I finally had an excuse to try my hand at homemade marshmallows!  The beer I chose for this project was called Imperial Coffee Chocolate Stout. This is a dark stout beer with 10% ABV from the New Belgium Brewing Company. My husband's sister actually got him this beer for Christmas and we decided it would be perfect for these marshmallows. 

Imperial Coffee Chocolate Stout

Since I started these the night before, I neglected to take pictures of the mixing stage. It wasn't very exciting, so it's not a big loss, lol. For this recipe, you will also need a candy thermometer. When working with melted sugar, it is very important that you take all safety precautions!

The ingredients are as follows:

Approx. 1 cup confectioners sugar

3 1/2 envelopes (2 tablespoons plus 2 1/2 teaspoons) unflavored gelatin

1/2 cup cold, flat beer

2 cups granulated sugar

1/2 cup light corn syrup

1/2 cup flat beer heated to approx. about 115°F

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 large egg whites*

1 teaspoon vanilla

*If you’re concerned about egg safety, substitute reconstituted powdered egg whites.

I don't know how long it takes beer to get flat, but I gave mine about 3 days. About 1/4 of liquid evaporated in the meantime, giving the beer a much stronger flavor. 

Here are the directions according to the source blog Greenbush Brewing Co:

Preparation

1. Oil bottom and sides of a 13×9-inch rectangular baking pan and dust bottom and sides with confectioners’ sugar. *Erin's Note: These made super thick marshmallows. For thinner marshmallows, I might use a larger and shallower pan or split it between two 9x13 pans. 

2. In bowl of a standing electric mixer or in a large bowl, sprinkle gelatin over cold beer and let stand to soften.

3. In a medium (3-quart is good) heavy saucepan, cook granulated sugar, corn syrup, heated beer, and salt over low heat, stirring with a wooden spoon, until sugar is dissolved. Increase heat to moderate and boil mixture, without stirring, until a candy or digital thermometer registers 240°F., about 12 minutes. Remove pan from heat and pour sugar mixture over gelatin mixture, stirring until gelatin is dissolved.

4. With standing or a hand-held electric mixer, beat mixture on high speed until white, thick, and nearly tripled in volume, about 6 minutes if using standing mixer or about 10 minutes if using hand-held mixer. In a large bowl with cleaned beaters, beat whites (or reconstituted powdered whites) until they just hold stiff peaks. Beat whites and vanilla into sugar mixture until just combined. Pour mixture into baking pan and sift 1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar evenly over top. Chill marshmallow uncovered, until firm, at least 3 hours, and up to 1 day.

5. Run a thin knife around edges of pan and invert onto a large cutting board. Lift pan and loosen one corner of marshmallow and let drop onto cuttingboard. (Here’s where it gets sticky.) With a pizza cutter, cut marshmallow into roughly 1-inch cubes. Sift remaining confectioners’ sugar into a large bowl and add marshmallows in batches, tossing to evenly coat. Brush off excess confectioners’ sugar.

Unfortunately, I did not give these enough time to rest at room temperature so they were quite sticky. I did not bother with the chocolate coating because I do not trust myself to temper chocolate correctly, lol. I do not particularly care for beer, so I wasn't enamored, but my sister-in-law loved them, so YAY!