Homemade marshmallow fluff

I love, love, love marshmallow. Too much. It’s the reason I don’t make rice krispie bars very often; the rest of the family doesn’t eat many … and then I eat the rest of the pan! Someone in this household has even been known to eat directly from store-bought jars of marshmallow fluff, or to steal a marshmallow now and then (although I’ve had help from Little Chick there).

Papa has made homemade marshmallow squares in the past but my favorite is the fluff, a.k.a. marshmallow creme. It’s really not that difficult, especially if you have a stand mixer. You whip some egg whites and add some boiled sugar / corn syrup mixture to it to cook the egg whites and to make it super-sweet and sticky!

Now, I’m not a huge fan of corn syrup (the whole HFCS debate) so I did try to make this recipe with honey once, but I didn’t care for it. Our local honey may have been a bit strong on flavor, but it came out really strong in the recipe! If anyone can find me a good honey-based recipe, I’ll be eternally grateful.  Not to mention the fact that we’re out of honey; we have to wait for our local bees to start producing.  Yields are low due to weather and rain and honey is hard to find this year!

In the meantime, I would recommend giving this recipe a try. If I have leftovers (ahem), it stores nicely in wide-mouth canning jars.

Next week, I’ll show you a great recipe on how to use this delightful stuff!

Print Recipe

Homemade marshmallow fluff

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup light corn syrup
• 1/4 cup water
• pinch of salt
• 2 egg whites room temperature
• 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Instructions

• Combine the sugar, corn syrup, water and salt in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil. Stirring occasionally, continue boiling until the mixture reaches 240° F on a candy thermometer.
• While the sugar mixture is boiling, add the egg whites and cream of tartar to a stand mixer bowl fitted with a whisk attachment. Whip on medium-high speed until soft peaks form. The egg whites should be ready and waiting when the sugar mixture reaches 240 degrees F. Turn off the mixer once the egg whites are ready.
• Turn the mixer speed to low and very slowly drizzle the boiled syrup down the side of the mixer bowl. Once all of the syrup has been added, increase the speed to medium-high and beat until stiff, glossy peaks form. The mixture should have cooled substantially; this may take around 7 to 9 minutes. Add the vanilla extract during the last minute or two.
• Use immediately, or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.