Mint Chocolate Marshmallow Kisses And Christmas Trees

My Aunt Libba loves Mint Chocolate treats. Her name is Elizabeth, but most of her family members call her “Libba,” a nickname my mom gave her because she couldn’t properly say Elizabeth when she was little. My Aunt Libba is such a kind woman, with a big wonderful laugh and an even bigger heart. So this recipe is dedicated to her.

Ever since I made marshmallows for the first time at Thanksgiving, I’ve been itching to make them again. I think I waited so long to make marshmallows because I secretly knew I would become addicted. So I have been thinking of making mint chocolate marshmallows for Christmas, but I wanted to test them out this weekend. I had envisioned making all of them into Christmas trees, but what I discovered was that it was hard to get the marshmallows soft enough to pipe, but firm enough to stand tall into trees. My trees look like they’ve had a few too many Christmas cocktails! However, I made lots of small kisses, and drizzled melted chocolate on top of them, and honestly those are the yummiest ones, so I think that I will probably make those for my family at Christmas.

I tinted these marshmallows a light green by using fresh spinach juice. I thought about buying the natural food coloring kit, but it is kinda pricey, and I thought that freshly juiced spinach would probably do the trick, and I always have fresh spinach around. I have a very inexpensive juicer that I use a couple of times a week to make a green juice. So I threw a few big handfuls of organic spinach into the juicer and got about 3 tablespoons of fresh spinach juice to use to color my marshmallows. Cool, huh?

If you don’t have a juicer, I suspect that you could throw in a few handfuls of spinach into a blender with a couple of tablespoons of water and get fresh spinach juice that way. It would have more pulp in it than mine did, but honestly, that might be really pretty green flecks in the marshmallows. Spinach is mild enough that it won’t affect the flavor because of the mint.

I used a jumbo open star tip to pipe these kisses and trees.

Mint Chocolate Marshmallow Kisses and Christmas Trees

Slightly adapted from The Urban Poser – for more detailed tips on making marshmallows visit her recipe

Ingredients

• 1 cup of filtered water
• 2 1/2 Tablespoons grass-fed gelatin
• 2 1/2 Tablespoons grass-fed gelatin
• 1/2 cup of milk, organic honey
• 1/2 cup of organic Grade B maple syrup
• 1/2 teaspoon of organic vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon of organic peppermint extract
• 3 tablespoons of fresh spinach juice (or you could use food coloring)
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 cup of soy-free, dairy-free dark chocolate chips
• 1 tablespoon of organic coconut oil

In the bowl of a stand mixer, sprinkle gelatin over a 1/2 cup of water.

On medium to medium-high heat, bring syrup and remaining 1/2 cup of water to a boil until it reaches 240-242 degrees (softball stage) in a saucepan. Use a candy thermometer to monitor the temperature. This will take approximately 15 minutes. Remove from heat immediately and proceed to step 3.

Working quickly, with the mixer on medium with the whisk attachment, pour honey-syrup in a steady stream combining with the softened gelatin. Pour slowly, avoiding beaters.

Turn mixer on high for 10-15 minutes until fluffy and marshmallowy. Add the vanilla, peppermint, salt, and fresh spinach juice or green food coloring.

Spoon into a piping bag with a jumbo open star tip, and pipe onto parchment paper into either kisses or Christmas Trees. Allow to set and dry for a few hours before topping with chocolate.

When the marshmallows have set, melt together the chocolate chips and coconut oil and allow to cool slightly so it is not hot. Carefully spoon on top of the marshmallows. Allow to sit and cool for a few hours, or overnight for best results.