Homemade Marshmallows

Jeremy has an awesome vintage 70's cookbook with all kinds of crazy recipes.  I've made these homemade marshmallows quite a few times.  

**FYI: This recipe contains corn syrup or glucose, which is an industrial product but is not synonymous with high-fructose corn syrup.  Corn syrup is very helpful in many kinds of home candy making as it helps prevent the super-saturated sucrose (granulated sugar) solution from bunching up and crystallizing by literally getting "in the way" of the sucrose molecules.  (Thank you Alton Brown.)

This recipe takes 5 hours and a candy thermometer.

Ingredients:
water
2 envelopes unflavored (Knox)gelatin
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup**
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 Tbl powdered sugar
1 Tbl corn starch

Directions: Lightly butter a 9x13 pan.

In a small saucepan pour in 2/3 cup water, sprinkle gelatin over the top. Set saucepan over low heat and stir until gelatin dissolves.

Heat sugar, corn syrup, and 1/2 cup hot water in a 2-qt. saucepan. Stir until mixture comes to a boil, then cover and cook 5 min. (Important to remove sugar crystals.) Then set candy thermometer in place. Boil without stirring. Occasionally wash down the sides of the pan with a pasty brush dipped in water to remove crystals.

Right before mixture reaches firm ball stage (248 degrees F.) place gelatin mixture in the bowl of your mixer. (If it has gelled already just slightly reheat it to loosen the gel.)

When the syrup reaches 248 remove from heat and immediately pour syrup in a fine stream into gelatin with the mixer running on high.

Beat constantly until thick and lukewarm (about 20 minutes) then blend in vanilla.

Turn marshmallow mixture into buttered pan, smoothing the top with a spatula. Let stand uncovered in a cool-ish place on a cooling rack until completely cool and set (about 4 hours).

Combine powdered sugar and corn starch and sift over top of cooled marshmallows. Run a spatula around the sides of pan and invert on a cutting board.

Cut marshmallows into squares using a knife dipped in warm water. Immediately roll marshmallows in more sugar/corn starch.

You can allow to set overnight- or eat them right away--enjoy!