Homemade marshmallows are so good and so easy to make, and these Salted Caramel Swirl Marshmallows are even better with a sweet and salty twist!
I remember years ago, long before BoB came to be, watching someone on a food show make marshmallows. I just rolled my eyes and wondered why anyone would want to do that. I didn’t even like marshmallows. But, then I tried a homemade marshmallow and I understood all the fuss.
You see, those bags of mass-produced marshmallows may be handy to use in baking and such, but they’re just not very good on their own. Homemade marshmallows, however, are an entirely different story. They’re soft and sweet and just a joy to eat.
And, they are surprisingly easy to make. I made a couple of batches within a couple of days. Granted, I volunteered Quinn to help me, but they’re completely doable on your own. Just make sure you have everything measured and ready to go.
The first batch I made was straight vanilla. I didn’t want to complicate things right out of the gate. But, then I made these tasty beauties that are swirled with salted caramel. We all know how I love sweet and salty. The salt gets diluted down with all the sweet, but there’s still plenty there.
These are absolutely delicious! They would make lovely holiday gifts for your friends. Maybe even package them with some hot chocolate mix and a couple of mugs. Of course, you can just keep them all for yourself instead. I’ll never tell.
Salted Caramel Swirl Marshmallows
Homemade marshmallows get the sweet and salty treatment with a swirl of salted caramel!
Ingredients
For the coating:
- 3/4 cup (82g) confectioners' sugar
- 1/2 cup (56g) cornstarch
For the marshmallows:
- 1/2 cup store-bought salted caramel*
- 4 & 1/2 teaspoons unflavored powdered gelatin
- 3/4 cup cold water, divided into 1/2 cup and 1/4 cup portions
- 3/4 cup (150g) granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup light corn syrup, divided into 1/4 cup portions
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
To make the coating:
- Sift together confectioners' sugar and cornstarch.
- Set aside.*
To make the marshmallows:*
- Lightly coat an 8-inch square pan with cooking spray. Dust the bottom of the pan with coating.
- Place the caramel in a medium bowl. Set aside.
- Whisk together the gelatin and 1/2 cup cold water in a microwave-safe bowl. Let sit for 5 minutes.
- Combine the sugar, 1/4 cup corn syrup, 1/4 cup water, and salt in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat. Continue boiling, stirring occasionally, until the mixture reaches a temperature of 240°F.
- While sugar mixture is heating, place 1/4 cup corn syrup in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Heat gelatin mixture in microwave for 30 seconds, or until completely melted. Pour into mixer bowl with the corn syrup. Turn the mixer on low.
- When the sugar mixture has reached 240°F, remove it from heat, and carefully and slowly pour it into the mixer bowl while the mixer is still running on low speed. Increase the speed to medium and beat for 5 minutes. Then, beat at medium-high for 5 minutes. Increase to high, add the vanilla, and beat for 2 minutes. The mixture should be opaque white, fluffy, and tripled in volume.
- Scoop about a quarter of the marshmallow batter into the bowl with the caramel. Working quickly, whisk until well blended. Scrape the mixture back into the remaining marshmallow batter. Use a large spatula in a figure-eight motion to fold and swirl the two mixtures.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Spread evenly and smooth the top.
- Generously sift the coating over the top of the marshmallows. Leave the marshmallows in a cool, dry place for 8 hours.
- Use a knife to loosen the marshmallows from the edges of the pan. Flip the pan onto a surface coated with the prepared coating. Cut the marshmallows into pieces. Dip the edges in the coating and pat off the excess.
- After a couple of days, you may need to coat the marshmallows again.
Notes
*I used CC Made Sel Gris Caramel Sauce.
**This amount of coating will be more than plenty for 1 batch of marshmallows. If you plan to make more marshmallows, you can store any extra coating in an airtight container for quite a while.
To make vanilla marshmallows, just skip the caramel swirling steps and spread the mixture into the prepared pan.
Recipe ever so slightly adapted from Marshmallow Madness.
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I was provided with products for my use as well as for a giveaway by Chicago Metallic. All opinions are my own.
52 Comments on “Salted Caramel Swirl Marshmallows”
Heya,
What do you do with the gelatin if you don’t have a microwave?
Ta
Hi, Andy. I would recommend heating it in a small saucepan over low heat until the gelatin is completely dissolved. That will probably take less than a minute.
These look amazing. I have wanted to try making marshmallows for a while and these have definitely inspired me.
Seriously, if you told me years back that I’d make my own marshmallows I would have laughed at you. These marshmallows look insane.
Man! I would love to try one of these right now! They are so pretty too! Great giveaway!
Hey Jennifer! Do you think homemade marshmallows would ship well? I’m thinking about making these to mail to family for the holidays.
Ashley, I think they will. I know I’ve ordered “gourmet” marshmallows previously. Just make sure you coat them really well.
They do ship really well, I send them to friends and family during the holidays.
All I do is make sure I pack the boxes with packing paper and bubble wrap.
That’s good to know, Jennifer!
I have still yet to make homemade marshmallows but I really want to whip up a batch of chocolate ones in the near future. Maybe chocolate marshmallows swirled with salted caramel!
i love marshmallows any way possible….the old fashioned rice krispie treats or a family favorite.
No need to enter me, just wanted to comment on the perfect swirling.
Mine never came out that great!!
I made homemade marshmallows once and it was insane how good they were. This salted caramel would kick their butts though! Amazing!
These look to die for! Definitely going in my Christmas goody bags this year. Thanks for the recipe!
These are stunning! They would absolutely be the perfect holiday gift. (For me.)
Awesome post…those marshmallows look amazing! I love to use marshmallows in s’mores (who doesn’t?) and also in cookies. yum!!
WOW! Those marshmallows look amazing! I am dying
OMG now all I can think of is salted caramel hot chocolate with these marshmallows…I DIE
i’d love to put those on my hot cocoa!
These are so beautiful!
I’m officially inspired for the first time to try making homemade marshmallows. Thank you for this!
Your mallows look fantastic! Bravo!!
Holy moly!! I love salted caramel and I’ve never seen it in marshmallows. I WILL be making this soon. I bet they taste incredible. So creative!
Homemade marshmallows are pretty much my most favorite thing ever! I’ve never thought to add caramel, but I bet they’re even better with it.
I either eat the marshmallows plain or I use them to make marshmallow fondant.
Hi Jennifer,
This recepie looks stunning. I have a couple of questions. Is it possible to substitute corn syrup with liquid glucose? And the temperature indicated for the syrup is 240 degrees F or C? I assume it is Farenheit? Thanks a lot.
Hi, Olga. I’ve never used liquid glucose, so I’m afraid I can’t give you a definitive answer. My guess is that it would likely work. And, yes, that’s 240F.
Hi Jennifer!
I just made these and they came out wonderfully. I was wondering if you mind if I shared your recipe on my blog?
Hi, Elizabeth. Glad you liked them! As I noted, the recipe is essentially the same as one from Marshmallow Madness, so credit should be given there as the original source.
Hello! Do you think this recipe would work with homemade caramel?
I’m sure it would, as long as the consistency is similar to that of most store-bought caramel.
Hello! Sorry to be such a late poster! I live in South America – would I be able to use dulce de leche instead of the caramel? I don’t know what the caramel consistency should be! Thanks a million for such an inspiring recipe!
Hi, Jessie. Yes, that should be fine.
these look soo great! i love handmade marshmallows, but i always think theyre to complicated to make..after reading your recipe im willing to give them ago next week maybe, need to get few ingredients and a thermometer etc!
ive converted most of the ingredients uve listed to grams (im in ireland), however im unsure of how much salted caramel to use?
thanks
Hi, Nichola. That’s a good question! I think the volume of the caramel might be more important than the weight, as that will vary among brands. I would try a volume of 120ml.
hi jennifer thanks for getting back to me!
yeah after converting online a bit, i was thinking 120ml of the caramel also, how would u recommend measuring this as its thick? would it be better using tablespoons?
If you have a liquid/volume measuring cup, then just spoon it into that to measure. Measuring repeatedly with tablespoons will probably give you more than 120ml.
sorry one more question: is it okay to use golden syrup as an alternative to corn syrup?
your recipe calls for 1/2 cup corn syrup though im unsure for this also,
online it says 1 cup of corn syrup is 300g whereas 1 cup of golden syrup is 350g (50g) heavier .. slightly confused!
I’ve not tried that substitution in this recipe, so I can’t give you a definitive answer. The two products are generally interchangeable in recipes without altering the amount, so I think it will technically work fine. You’ll need 1/2 cup of volume not weight, so try 120ml. Just keep in mind that golden syrup has a stronger flavor, so it may affect the finished flavor of the marshmallows.
yeah 120ml sounds right thanks. yeah golden syrup does have a stronger flavour so ill keep that in mind, u can get liquid glucose in the uk so i may use that instead.
ive just came across sugar substitutions-granulated sugar in the uk is just general white sugar. your recipe calls for “granulated sugar”, however i seen online that is says american granulated sugar might be the same as uk caster sugar.
uk caster sugar is finer than uk granulated normal white sugar. can you clarify is uk granulated “normal white sugar” is ok or is it finer caster sugar?
thanks 🙂
I believe that caster sugar is more like our superfine sugar. Granulated sugar is our regular sugar, so I’d guess your general white sugar is what you’d need.
i just attempted these .. unfortunately it didnt go to plan 🙁
i followed all steps, however once i removed the saucepan from the heat, the mixture had turned like a brownish colour (as if it had caramalized), i dont think it was meant to do that? so in the mixing bowl upon mixing, it got lighter than a caramel colour but it NEVER TURNED WHITE! when the salted caramel was added, you could barely tell the difference if that gives u an idea of the marshmallow colour.
the consistency looked fine though.
any ideas?
thanks
It sounds like your sugar may have caramelized. Or if you used golden syrup, perhaps the color of it affected the color of the marshmallows.
Salted caramel what? Is it ice cream topping or what?
Salted caramel sauce is often found with ice cream toppings or baking ingredients.
Why do you specify store-bought caramel sauce? Does home-made sauce not work for some reason?
Hi, Elizabeth. Any kind should work. I just find that I’m not likely to make caramel and then make the marshmallows, too.
After struggling with finding a good marshmallow recipe with wonderful flavor and texture- at last- I found one! These are hands down delicious! I just made a batch to give as Christmas gifts! Thank you for sharing! Best marshmallow recipe!
That’s great to hear, Cathy! You have a very lucky list of gift recipients! 🙂
Can these be frozen?
Sure. Wrap and seal them well, and they should last about 3 months in the freezer.
Hello, I made these today, but when I went to add the sugar syrup, it pretty much hardened immediately onto the whisk and bowl, leaving chunks of sugar stuck everywhere except in the gelatin mixture. Do you have any suggestions on how to prevent that from happening? These look so lovely and I would really like to try making these again!
I’m sorry you had troubles, Jess! Make sure you’re adding the sugar mixture slowly and that the gelatin mixture is still plenty warm.