Sweets

Honey Marshmallows

Leanne Valenti

by Leanne Valenti

Valentiful, Bento Picnic

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Valentiful
Cooked and tested by the Valentiful team

One of my besties had a baby at the end of 2024. We share a love of food, so I knew I wanted to gift her something delicious and homemade to celebrate her transition into motherhood.


From-scratch marshmallows—made with marshmallow root tea—felt like the perfect gift, since marshmallow root is known to support lactation. After a few trial runs, I finally landed on a version that was pure magic.


Here’s the winning recipe—one I’ll definitely be making again. Leave me a comment if you want my recipe for soft-baked einkorn graham crackers too!

Tastes
Colors
Techniques
DietaryGluten-Free · Vegan · Soy-Free · Nut-Free · Allium-Free · Sesame-Free
Yield1 9" x 13" Tray of Marshmallows (750 grams)
Serves12 (Two 1½” x 2” x 1“ marshmallows — generously sized, fancy café-style)
TimeActive 1h 20m · Inactive 12h · Total 13h 20m

Ingredients

1 pint Water
13 g Root Drieddried
1¼ cups Marshmallow Root Tea (see recipe above) or Waterdivided
175 g Honey
4 Egg Whiteswhite only
Neutral Oili.e. avocado oil

Sourcing Tips

You can find marshmallow root at Earth Commons — an apothecary I love in East Austin.


Choose local honey to support nearby pollinators.

Instructions

••
Steep dried marshmallow root in hot water for 10-15 minutes. Or alternatively, make cold brew tea by combining the dried marshmallow root with cool water and infusing overnight in the refrigerator.
Gather ingredients and all of the equipment needed for the recipe, including the following - stand mixer, candy thermometer, tall stock pot, 9" x 13" baking dish, silicon spatula, sieve, and parchment paper.
In a small bowl, combine 1/2 cup of water (or Marshmallow Root Tea) with gelatin and whisk together well.
Place sugar, honey, salt, and 3/4 cup Marshmallow Root Tea (or water) in a TALL stock pot over medium heat with a candy thermometer.
Chef Tip: The syrup will naturally bubble up as they cook, so make sure you choose a stock pot that is plenty tall so it doesn't boil over into a sticky hot mess. Keep a close watch so that you can reduce the heat if it does bubble up too high.
You can give it an initial stir but do not continuously stir.
Chef Tip: Stirring encourages crystal formation and cause marshmallows to be grainy.
Once the thermometer reads 250 °F remove the pot from the heat and stir in the gelatin mixture.
Chef Tip: Be VERY careful not to touch the mixture as it is super hot.
Place egg whites in the bowl of the stand mixer with whisk attachment, or large mixing bowl with hand beater. Turn on the stand mixer, and whisk egg whites until soft peaks form, about one minute.
Once soft peaks form, turn the mixer up to high speed and slowly start to add the gelatin-syrup mixture in a steady stream down the side of the mixing bowl while the whisk is running. Continue until all of the mixture is added into the whites.
Continue to let the mixer beat the marshmallow mixer on high speed, for about 10-15 minutes or until the edge of the bowl is no longer hot.
While the mixer is still going, line a 9x13 baking pan with parchment paper and cover it a neutral oil.
Mix together tapioca flour (or cornstarch) and powdered sugar, and use about half of it to coat the oiled parchment, reserving the rest for the top of the marshmallows.
Once side of the mixing bowl has cooled down, transfer the marshmallow mixture to the prepared pan and spread it out with a spatula to make it even.
Chef Tip: Do this fairly quickly before the gelatin firms up.
Use a sieve to shake the powdered sugar mixture onto the top of the marshmallows. Reserve extra powdered sugar mixture for the next day.
Let marshmallows set at room temperature to cure for 12-24 hours.
With a long knife, cut the cured marshmallows into large squares. Roll them in additional powdered sugar mixture to keep them from sticking to each other.
Store at room temperature in an airtight container for up to a week, or freeze and thaw marshmallows as needed.
Finished cooking?