Marshmallow Peeps

Last week my daughter and her husband celebrated their upcoming anniversary by taking a trip to Cancun.  The plan was for me to have the grandkids for 4 days.  I would then take them to their other grandma's house where they would stay for another 4 days.

 No problem.  I had four kids.  I've got this motherhood thing down.  Piece of cake.

Three kids, ages 7,4 and 2.  Luke, Emi and Cosette.  

Day 1:  Today we are going to make some Easter Marshmallow Peeps.  Won't that be fun?

Emi:  Grandma, I don't ALWAYS have to say please.

Grandma:  I think you do.

Emi:  I will today, but I'm NOT tomorrow

Grandma:  Fair enough.

I can't remember a thing beyond this conversation

Day 2:  Today we are going to make some Easter Marshmallow Peeps.  Won't that be fun?

Luke:  Can we just do crafts?

Emi:  Grandma, you're NOT in charge of what I wear

Grandma:  You're right.  Aunt Tiffany is.  And she say's you can't wear that.

Emi:  Grandma. You are only in charge of me until Aunt Tiffany comes...then she is in charge

Grandma: Deal.

Who takes three kids to Costco?  Answer:  Idiots!

Uncle Ryan comes home from college to play with the kids...BLESS YOU.

After dinner:  Emi starts cleaning the floor with Clorox wipes.
Emi:  Grandma, look and this huge mess Luke made with his food.
Grandma:  Wow!  That is a mess.
Emi:  He (Luke) eats like a beaver...a dam beaver (I'm in trouble)...you know like the beaver's that build a dam. (Whew, saved)

Day 3:  Today we are going to make some Easter Marshmallow Peeps.  There is a boy in our neighborhood who has been sick and in the hospital.  We can take him some Peeps.  Won't that be fun?

Uncle Ryan takes Luke to an arcade.

Emi:  Grandma.  Where's my blankey?  Where's Cosette's blankey?

Grandma:  Oh they're in the wash.  They were getting so dirty.

Emi & Cosette:   (sobbing)  I want my blankey, I want my blankey

Phone rings.  It's Aunt Tiffany.

Tiffany:  Hi mom.  I just scratched someone's car pulling into a parking stall.  What should I do?

Emi & Cosette:  WAAAAAAAAAAA

Dishwasher suddenly starts spewing water all over my wood floor.

Uncle Ryan returns from the arcade.  Luke is crying.

Grandma:  What's wrong with Luke?

Emi & Cosette:  WAAAAAAAAAAAAA.

Uncle Ryan:  I think Luke has an ear infection.

Take "blankey's" out of the drier.  Girls stop crying.  Call Pediatrician.  Take Luke to the doctor.

Ear infection AND bronchitis.

Tiffany comes home from Rexburg, Idaho to see the grandkids...with a boy...a boyfriend?
Prepare 4 different meals. One for Luke, one for Emi, one for Cosette, one for everyone else.

Husband that never reads this blog:  (home from work)  What can I do to help?
Grandma:   Take me out to the backyard and shoot me!

Dishwasher still spewing water.

Tiffany wants to create a treasure hunt for the kids.
Tiffany is taking way too long.  Emi is getting impatient.

Emi:  (yelling up the stairs impatiently)  Tiffany!  What is taking so long?
Tiffany: (sweetly) We're almost done.
Emi:  I am tired of waiting.  You are ruining MY LIFE.  MY PERFECT LIFE!  (she's 4)

11:45 p.m.  Finally everyone is in bed.

Day 4:  Today we are going to pack up ALL of your clothes and toys and go stay with your other Grandma.
Won't that be fun?

One week later:

Today I'm going to make some marshmallow peeps.  Won't that be fun?

Homemade marshmallow is really simple to make.

You will need sugar, light corn syrup, 3 pkg. powdered gelatin, water and salt.

A close up of the gelatin packages.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, add 1/2 cup of the water.  Sprinkle the gelatin over the water.

Let this mixture sit while preparing the syrup.

In a medium size sauce pan, pour in remaining 1/2 cup of water.

Add the sugar.

The corn syrup.

Stir mixture together and place over medium-high heat.

Cover the pan with a lid and simmer for 4 minutes.

Remove the lid.  The mixture will be boiling rapidly.

Attach a candy thermometer to the side of the pan and cook the mixture to 240 degrees.

Using the whisk attachment, turn the mixer on and pour the hot syrup down the sides of the bowl.

Let the mixture to continue to beat for 13-14 minutes.

Meanwhile.

You will need 2 tablespoons of cornstarch and 2 tablespoons of confectioners (powdered) sugar.

Mix the cornstarch and powdered sugar together in a small bowl.

You will need to spray a baking sheet with a non-stick spray.  I used a 12 x 17-inch baking pan.

Sprinkle some of the cornstarch mixture over the non-stick spray.  Be sure to cover the sides of the pan.

Feel the bottom of the bowl.  It should be barely warm.  At this point add the vanilla.  Beat for another minute.

The marshmallow will be very thick.

The marshmallow will ribbon off of the beaters.  It sets up very fast so now you have to work quickly.

I drop a couple of drops of oil into my hands and oil every utensil that touches the marshmallow because it is very sticky.  Oil a rubber spatula to scrape the marshmallow out of the bowl.

I lightly oiled the metal spatula also.

Obviously you can see how quickly the marshmallow set up and you can see that I had a difficult time getting the marshmallow to be smooth on top.  I'm sure your marshmallow will look prettier than mine.

Let set for at least 4 hours or over night.

NOTE:  I used a 12 x 17-inch baking sheet.  I wish I would have used a jelly roll size pan so that the marshmallow would have been thicker...next time.

Wouldn't you know that I just happen to have these cute little cookie cutters.  I purchased them from "Martha  by mail" pre-prison.  I've had them for years.  I'm going to use the bunny and the little chick.

lightly oil your cookie cutters because this stuff sticks to EVERYTHING.

I like to take the marshmallow out of the pan and place on my counter or a cutting board.  It's just a little easier to cut out the shapes.

Now the bunnies.

The marshmallow is no longer sticky, which makes it necessary to lightly brush the tops, sides, and bottoms of the cut outs with with a small amount of water.

Sprinkle the marshmallow cut out with sugar.

Don't forget the sides.

Place the peeps on a wire rack to set.  The sugar will harden a bit onto the marshmallow.  I let these little guys sit for about an hour.

I'm doing pink and lavender bunnies.  I don't know how the red sugar got into the pink sugar??
Oh well.

Let the bunnies set for an hour as well.

The little critters need eyes.  I just used some mini chocolate chips.  I turned on my burner and let the plate get warm.  Then I held the bottom of the chocolate chip on the hot burner to melt it a bit.  It worked the eyes stuck.

I packaged up the little peeps in a small cellophane bag with a little Easter basket grass then tied with with a bow.  Not too bad.  They're kind of cute.

They were very easy to make.  I have no idea why I could not pull this off with 3 darling little angels.  I think parenting is for those in their 20's & 30's.

I did succeed at teaching the kiddies to do some awesome "head banging" in the car to Usher, Flo Rida, Bieber and more...is that bad?

I think this could be a fun Easter activity with your family.  If you're not a looser grandma like me, you could probably have a fun day with your grandkids making Easter Marshmallow Peeps...won't that be fun?

Homemade Marshmallow

·         3 packages unflavored gelatin

·         1 cup ice cold water, divided

·         12 ounces granulated sugar, approximately 1 1/2 cups

·         1 cup light corn syrup

·         1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

·         1 teaspoon vanilla extract

·         2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar

·         2 tablespoons cornstarch

·         Nonstick spray

Directions

Place the gelatin into the bowl of a stand mixer along with 1/2 cup of the water. Have the whisk attachment standing by.

In a small saucepan combine the remaining 1/2 cup water, granulated sugar, corn syrup and salt. Place over medium high heat, cover and allow to cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Uncover, clip a candy thermometer onto the side of the pan and continue to cook until the mixture reaches 240 degrees F, approximately 7 to 8 minutes. Once the mixture reaches this temperature, immediately remove from the heat.

Turn the mixer on low speed and, while running, slowly pour the sugar syrup down the side of the bowl into the gelatin mixture. Once you have added all of the syrup, increase the speed to high. Continue to whip until the mixture becomes very thick and is lukewarm, approximately 12 to 15 minutes. Add the vanilla during the last minute of whipping. While the mixture is whipping prepare the pans as follows.

For regular marshmallows:

Combine the confectioners' sugar and cornstarch in a small bowl. Lightly spray a 13 by 9-inch metal baking pan with nonstick cooking spray. Add the sugar and cornstarch mixture and move around to completely coat the bottom and sides of the pan. Return the remaining mixture to the bowl for later use.

When ready, pour the mixture into the prepared pan, using a lightly oiled spatula for spreading evenly into the pan. Dust the top with enough of the remaining sugar and cornstarch mixture to lightly cover. Reserve the rest for later. Allow the marshmallows to sit uncovered for at least 4 hours and up to overnight.

Turn the marshmallows out onto a cutting board and cut into 1-inch squares using a pizza wheel dusted with the confectioners' sugar mixture. Once cut, lightly dust all sides of each marshmallow with the remaining mixture, using additional if necessary. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 weeks.

For marshmallows Peeps:

Lightly oil small cookie cutters.  Cut shapes out of the marshmallow.  Lightly brush shapes with a few drops of water.  Brush the sides, front, and back.  Roll in colored sanding sugar.  Place shapes onto a wire rack.  Allow to set for at least an hour before handling.

To my Dearest Daughter,

  Next time you decide to go to Cancun in March, I will be happy to watch your children...on the beach...in Cancun...next to you.


To my unmarried sons,
I'm not going to pressure you to get married any more.  I don't think I can handle more than three grandchildren at a time.

Oh, by the way, my dishwasher is completely dead.

Chocolate Mint Brownies

This is my green for St. Patrick's Day.

When my kids were younger, like last year, I would have green pancakes and green milk for breakfast.  I don't remember doing green eggs and ham.  Did I ever do that guys?  You'll have to correct me if I'm wrong. 

I was such a good mom that I made their lunches everyday and on St. Patrick's day I made their sandwiches out of green bread that I had made the day before.   I'd make green sugar cookies and purchase anything  green to go inside the lunch.  This tradition was carried out from elementary school through high school.  

The greenist that I'm getting this year is going to be chocolate mint brownies. Oh my they are rich.  It could have something to do with the amount of butter in this recipe.  Just remember the recipe makes enough brownies to share.  If you eat them all, you will get fat...no doubt.

The good news this year is that the St. Paddy's day party is NOT being held at my house.  Oh happy day.  The boxing, spoon fights, "Feats of Strength", root beer and apple cider guzzling (come on, I live it Utah), along with Phillip's little Irish jig, will all take place somewhere else.   I don't care where, just as long as it isn't at my house.  Yes, the moron's can throw up apple cider in someone else's sink.  And that's all the information I am willing to share.  

On with the brownies.

As I was reviewing my photo's I noticed something in this picture that is not an ingredient.

Whoops!  How did my foot get in there.  Actually I was standing on my counter top to get this shot.  

Duh!  (I laughed)

Ingredients with no foot.

Just pretend that you don't see FIVE sticks (2 1/2 cups) of butter (I like unsalted).   But there really are 5 sticks of butter, sugar, flour, dutch process (a fan) cocoa, eggs (EIGHT), vanilla and a bit of salt.

Prepare a baking sheet, by spraying with a non-stick spray or lightly buttering and flouring the pan.

In a medium-sized sauce pan melt the FIVE sticks (2 1/2 cups) of butter over medium heat.

Meanwhile, In the bowl of an electric mixer add sugar and flour.

Add the cocoa.

and the salt.

Turn the mixer on and mix dry ingredients together.  Set aside.

Once the butter has completely melted, remove from the heat.

Add the melted butter to the dry ingredients.

The mixture will be very thick.

Add the EIGHT eggs.

And vanilla.

Beat just until the eggs are incorporated.  No need to over mix.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan.

Spread evenly.

Place in a preheated 350 degree oven.  Bake for 32-35 minutes.

Remove from oven and allow to cool completely.

For the mint layer you will need - yes - two more sticks (1 cup)  of softened butter, 4 cups confectioners sugar and 2 tablespoons of milk.

You will also need Peppermint extract or peppermint oil (whatever you have will work), and green food color.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, add the softened butter.

Beat just  a bit to smooth out the butter.

Add the four cups of confectioners sugar.

Add the milk.

And the peppermint extract.

Mix ingredients until smooth.

Add a few drops of green food color.  I generally just add two drops because I like my mint layer to be a pale green, but St. Paddy's day I thought I'd kick it up.  Add the amount you would like.

Spread the mint layer onto the cooled brownies.

Spread as evenly as you can. 

Place the brownies into the refrigerator to harden the mint layer.

For the chocolate layer you will need 12 oz. of semi-sweet chocolate chips and 1/2 stick (1/4 cup) of butter.

Have you been counting how much butter is in these babies?

That's a grand total of 7 1/2 sticks (3 3/4 cups) of butter.  Holy cow.

In a microwave safe bowl, add the chocolate chips and butter.

Place in the microwave and cook for 70 seconds.

Remove from microwave and stir until smooth.

Not all semi-sweet chocolate chips are created equal.  I find that Guittard melt very nicely.  IF by chance your chocolate mixtures seems thick and not spreadable, just add two teaspoons of shortening and it should smooth and become spreadable. 

Placing the chocolate back into the microwave and cooking it longer will NOT make it more spreadable.

Spread chocolate over the mint brownies.  I find that it is easier to spread by doing small amounts.  So I spread a small strip of chocolate over the mint layer, then repeat until I have all of the chocolate spread over the mint layer.  Did I explain the well enough??

Just don't dump the warm chocolate in the middle of the mint layer and try to spread it over the entire pan.  It works better to add small amounts.  This way the warm chocolate doesn't melt the mint layer. 

Lift the pan.

I think it probably weighs close to 10 lbs.  What do ya think?

Return to the refrigerator and allow the chocolate layer to harden before cutting into squares.

Actually at this point I have covered the entire pan with aluminum foil and placed in the freezer.  The brownies will freeze great for a couple of weeks.

I generally cut the brownies into 2 x 2-inch squares.  I didn't count, but the recipe makes a good 3 dozen brownies.  I generally start eating them, so I don't get an accurate count.  

Serve with a tall glass of milk.

Chocolate Mint Brownies

4 cups sugar

3 cups flour

2  cups cocoa (dutch process)
1/2 teaspoon salt

5  sticks (2 1/2 cups) unsalted butter, melted 

8 eggs

2 tablespoons vanilla

Grease and flour a 12 x 18-inch baking sheet.  In a large mixing bowl combine sugar, flour and cocoa. Mix ingredients.  Pour in the melted butter and beat just until blended then add eggs and vanilla.  Mix thoroughly. Pour into prepared pan and bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes.  Cool completely.

Mint Layer:

2 sticks (1 cups) butter, softened

4 cups powder sugar

1 tablespoon milk

¼ teaspoon peppermint extract

Few drops of food coloring (pink or green)

Blend all ingredients until smooth and spread over cooled brownies.

Chocolate layer:

12 oz. package semi-sweet chocolate chips

¼ cup butter

Put chocolate chips and butter in a bowl and microwave for 70 seconds. Stir to blend.  Spread over mint layer.  Refrigerate until set. 

***I'm really fond of unsalted butter, but you can use salted if you'd like.  You may want to decrease the amount of salt if you are using salted butter.  Your brownies - your choice.

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If any of my darling children make comments on this post, I will delete them.