Liven up your hot cocoa or summer s’mores with these delicious and easy homemade chocolate marshmallows! They’re perfect paleo & full GAPS!
Why make marshmallows?
Whether they’re bobbing in my homemade hot cocoa, or being enjoyed around a summer campfire, homemade marshmallows are one of my favorite treats. Though, to be honest (and probably un-American) I’ve never been a marshmallow fan. I’ve always thought they lacked in any flavor other than processed sugar. Not to mention they’re full of strange and unnecessary ingredients. I mean, just look at the weird ingredients that are usually found in store-bought marshmallows…
Corn syrup, sugar, dextrose, modified cornstarch, water, gelatin, tetrasodium pyrophosphate, artificial flavor, blue 1 food coloring…
Tetrasodium pyrophosphate? What in the heck in the world (as my 8 year-old says)? Blue 1 food coloring? Why??? And all that corn!
Friends, these things do not need to be in marshmallows!
Homemade is always better.
The thought of making homemade marshmallows never crossed my mind until a friend convinced me to give them a try with her for Christmas a few years ago. I had no idea what I was getting into. They were more work that you’d think a little white square of nothing-good-tasting should be, and I wasn’t sure I would like them. Truth be told, after my first bite I was in love! Homemade marshmallows are 100x better than the bags of fluffy stuff from the store!
Real, melt-in-your-mouth goodness. Flavor you can taste. Perfectly squish, and perfectly melty. And best of all, only a few, natural ingredients!
Since then, homemade marshmallows are a camping staple in my home, and they frequently get made during the winter holidays, too. ‘Cause you just can’t beat a cup of cocoa with a delicious homemade marshmallow melting into it!
Easy, homemade chocolate marshmallows.
These easy homemade chocolate marshmallows are a family favorite. Even though we love plain, and my mini cinnamon ones are always a hit, you just can’t top chocolate! Like with pretty much any treat, use honey for the sweetener. Though you do boil it for this recipe, so it don’t end up offering any nutritional value, I just can’t bring myself to use corn syrup or agave.
I like to use Perfect Supplement’s kosher gelatin for all my jellos, gummies, and marshmallows. It’s 100% beef gelatin sourced exclusively from Brazilian pasture-raised cows and is glyphosate-free, hormone-free, and non-GMO. You can’t get better than that!
For my cocoa powder, I love using Azure Standard’s fair-free, organic cocoa. For something with such amazing quality and taste, it’s a super great price, too! And I don’t have to feel badly using it…
In the recipe card I’ve linked to some of the products from my affiliate partners that I like to use. Purchasing through these links won’t cost you anything extra. Thanks!
Easy Homemade Chocolate Marshmallows
Free from grain, gluten, eggs, dairy, and refined sugar.
Ingredients
- 1 cup filtered water
- 1 cup honey
- 3 tablespoons non-GMO, grass-fed gelatin (I use Perfect Supplements kosher gelatin)
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder, plus extra for dusting (I use Azure Standard’s organic, fair-trade cocoa)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon Himalayan salt
Instructions
Layer a 9×13 inch baking dish* with parchment paper and dust with a little sifted cocoa powder. Set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, sprinkle gelatin over 1/2 cup of the water. Let soak and bloom for about 5 minutes.
Pour the honey and remaining water into a medium-sized saucepan. Over medium heat, bring honey to a boil, stirring regularly, until it reaches 240°, or soft ball stage. This usually takes about 10 minutes, so be patient! Once the honey mixture reaches 240, remove from heat and let cool for a minute.
Into the hot honey mixture, sift in cocoa powder, and add the vanilla and salt. Whisk until cocoa powder is melted in.
Turn your mixer on low and slowly drizzle in honey/cocoa mixture into the bloomed gelatin. Once the honey is added, turn mixer as high as you can (I used speed 10 on my KitchenAid) and beat until the mixture becomes pale and glossy and the marshmallow fluff can stand up in peaks when you take the beater out. This should take about 15 minutes.
While the marshmallow is fluffing, grease a 9×13 inch baking dish and line it with parchment paper. Then combine the remaining cocoa with the arrowroot (or just use the remaining cocoa) and dust the parchment with a few teaspoons.
When the marshmallow mixture is done fluffing, pour into the prepared pan, spreading as even as possible with a wet spatula.
Let set on the counter for about 8 hours (I usually do overnight). Note that I live in the south, where it’s usually pretty humid. If you live in a dry climate, you won’t need to set your marshmallows as long.
After they’re set, dust the top of the marshmallows with a little cocoa powder, and remove them from the pan by pulling up on the parchment. Using a sharp knife, slice the marshmallows into squares. (For a little extra fun, you can use cookie cutters!) It might be necessary to dust the knife with the cocoa in between slices, so it doesn’t get too sticky and tear the marshmallows.
Store your homemade chocolate marshmallows on the counter in a covered container.
Notes
This recipe makes about 25-30 homemade chocolate marshmallows, depending on how big you slice them. If you want super jumbo marshmallows, you can also use a smaller pan to give them more hight.
The marshmallows will last for about a week on the kitchen counter (if it’s not too humid!).
For extra dark chocolate marshmallows, check out my recipe over at Intoxicated on Life!
What a great egg-free marshmallow recipe!!! Can’t wait to try it! <3
Yay! I hope you love them as much as we do!
These look awesome! Can you just omit the cocoa powder to make regular marshmallows?
Yep! 🙂
A VEGAN SUBSTITUTE FOR THE “GELATIN” ? MAYBE AGAR ?
I’ve never tried it! Let me know if you get it to work!