Stacey Makes It

Since I started writing a lot, I haven't had a lot of time to cook, and so I've started defaulting to making all sorts of rice crispy treats because they only take 15-20 minutes to complete.  This is my new favorite recipe for rice crispy treats. Stacey's Minty Chocolate Rice Crispy Treat Ingredients: 1/3c peppermint candies, crushed (I used candy canes) 2 tbs butter, organic 2c marshmallows, plain 1-2c chocolate mint marshmallows (if you can't find these, just substitute regular marshmallows)  4c cereal (I use a mix of rice crispies and corn flakes from TJ's) 1/2c-1c chocolate chips (I used a mix of milk and semisweet, but you can use whatever you like) 5-6 drops peppermint oil 4-qt. pot 11 cup pyrex baking dish, or an 8x8" baking dish, oiled I even took process pictures for you - I haven't taken these in a long time.  So, I found these marshmallows and I felt like using them in something where they became melted and unrecogniza...

I love mint, chocolate, and marshmallows so I decided to mash these all together for Father's Day and give it to my Dad.  I just used my Half Batch Marshmallow recipe , but I took out the vanilla and added 1 ounce of Creme de Menthe liqueur and a tiny bit (like a pinch) of blue powdered food coloring at about the halfway point during the aerating. The resulting slab was only slightly blue green, but once the chocolate was on it, the marshmallow seemed a bit more colorful for some reason. I put a layer of Guittard milk chocolate on one side, instead of cutting them and rolling them in the cornstarch/powdered sugar mixture, to make them easier to dip. Once the chocolate set, I turned the slab over onto the chocolate side and cut squares out for dipping. Then all the happy little cubes went for a swim, one by one into tempered milk chocolate  and I fished them out with my dipping fork. Once the coating set, I drizzled a little bit more chocolate on them for a nice...

Marshmallows have a special place in my heart because my boyfriend and I made these together on our third date.  He's a chemist and I remember commenting on how precise he was with measuring everything.  Nothing sexier than a guy who can cook... and who wants to help make candy. :) Unfortunately, he's on a business trip this week, so I made a half batch by myself from my favorite book, Chocolates & Confections .   And in doing a search I see they have an At Home version !!! Wow.  If only they had this when I started trying to make candy in 2008.  Oh well, the harder path only makes you stronger... right? Anywho... Stacey's Half Batch Vanilla Marshmallow Ingredients : 0.8 oz gelatin (powdered) 4 oz water (for hydration) 12 oz sugar, organic 6 oz glucose syrup 2 oz local honey 2 oz invert sugar 3 oz water 2 tsp vanilla bean paste Parchment paper 9"x9" cake pan Canola oil, organic 1:1 ratio powdered sugar to cornstarch I've found tha...