I love giving homemade food gifts and I don’t think it gets any better than homemade Kahlúa Marshmallows. Well, maybe if you put them in a DIY Kahlúa Gift Basket. Here’s how you can make and give this delicious gift for Christmas or anytime.
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While I think one of the best gifts is just a simple bottle of Kahlúa liqueur, I decided that we could go one step further and put it into a gift basket with some other items that go well with Kahlúa. But why stop there? I think my gift basket needs something extra fun — something that I know no one else will give this person. I’m rather obsessed with making marshmallows, so the answer was a simple: Kahlúa Marshmallows! They really aren’t all that hard to make, and they can be enjoyed a couple different ways — snacking on them right out of the bag, or popping them into one of your favorite hot beverages – with Kahlúa added, of course.
Ingredients Needed for Kahlúa Marshmallows:
- Kahlua Liqueur (Any Flavor – 1/2 & 1/4 Cup)
- Unflavored Gelatin (3 1oz Packets)
- Granulated Sugar (1 1/2 Cups)
- Light Corn Syrup (1 Cup)
- Water (1/4 Cup)
- Salt (1/8 Teaspoon)
- Egg Whites (2)
- Powdered Sugar (3/4 Cup)
- Cornstarch (1/2 Cup)
Cooking Equipment Needed for Kahlúa Marshmallows:
- 8×8 Baking Pan
- Cooking Spray
- Stand Mixer
- Small Saucepan
- Whisk
- Candy Thermometer
- Rubber Spatula
- Small Mixing Bowl
- Mesh Strainer
- Storage Container
Let’s get started, shall we? For my Kahlúa marshmallows, I used Kahlúa Peppermint Mocha because 1) it’s amazing, and 2) it’s one of the most festive flavors. But you can use any of the Kahlúa varieties you enjoy.
The start of your marshmallows is sprinkling 3 packets of gelatin over 1/2 cup of Kahlúa in the bowl of a stand mixer. I give the bowl a very gentle swirl to make sure all the gelatin comes in contact with the Kahlúa. This will begin to soften the gelatin, and like all the steps, is very important.
While the gelatin is softening, you will create your hot syrup on the stove. This will require an accurate candy thermometer. The mixture contains sugar, more Kahlúa, and several other ingredients. The mixture is cooked until it reaches 240 degrees F and then removed immediately from the heat. Turn on your stand mixer on the lowest speed and drizzle the hot syrup mixture into the softened gelatin mixture.
The speed is increased to high and the mixture is beaten for about 13 minutes — eventually the mixture will begin to whiten. While it’s beating, you will beat 2 egg whites in a separate bowl until stiff peaks form. This is folded into the thick marshmallow mixture after it’s done beating.
The marshmallow mixture is poured into a greased 8×8” baking dish with the help of a rubber spatula. Don’t worry if you don’t get every last bit out of the bowl. Once you get most of it out, it can be difficult to get a clean wipe of the bowl and you don’t want to fuss with it. Smooth out the top of your marshmallow if needed and let it set for about 6 hours or overnight (which is what I prefer). When it’s ready, the top shouldn’t be very tacky, plus it should pull away from the edges if you pull it from the side with your fingertip.
Turn the marshmallows out onto a clean surface that has been sprinkled with a powered sugar/cornstarch mixture.
Cut your marshmallows into any shape you like. I usually cut them into squares.
Package your marshmallows up in a cute bag or any other way you like.
Since we like Kahlúa in both coffee and non-coffee drinks, we put coffee beans and hot chocolate in our gift basket. You can whatever you’d like. I also added some basket filler to the bottom of the basket before adding everything else in, to lift up some of the items, plus to give it some cushioning. Voila! You have a DIY Kahlúa Gift Basket complete with homemade Kahlúa marshmallows. Life doesn’t get better than that, my friends.
Here is the complete Kahlúa Marshmallows — you are able to print, or you can save to your ZipList. You can also pin this post on Pinterest to save it until you are ready for it. If you want to be even more amazing with your gift, you could even include a quick recipe for Kahlúa Hot Chocolate for your gift recipient. I’ve listed the recipe below too.
Print
Kahlúa Marshmallows
Description
I love giving homemade food gifts and I don’t think it gets any better than homemade Kahlúa Marshmallows. Well, maybe if you put them in a DIY Kahlúa Gift Basket. Here’s how you can make and give this delicious gift for Christmas or anytime.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup Kahlúa Liqueur (any flavor)
- 3 one ounce envelopes unflavored gelatin (1/4 each)
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 cup light corn syrup
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/4 cup Kahlúa Liqueur (any flavor)
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 2 egg whites
Marshmallow Coating
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 cup cornstarch
Instructions
- Spray an 8×8″ baking pan with cooking spray and set aside.
- Pour 1/2 cup Kahlúa Liqueur into the bowl of your stand mixer. Sprinkle top with each envelope of gelatin. Give a gentle swirl to the bowl, if necessary, to make sure all of the gelatin comes into contact with the Kahlúa.
- In a small saucepan, combine the sugar, corn syrup, water, 1/4 cup Kahlúa Liqueur, and the salt. Over medium heat, stir mixture slowly (avoid splashing mixture on insides of saucepan) until dissolved. When mixture is just beginning to boil, stop stirring. Clip candy thermometer inside the pan and heat until the mixture is 240 degrees F and no higher.
- Remove from heat immediately, turn stand mixture on the slowest speed and begin drizzling the hot syrup mixture into the bowl of softened gelatin. When all the syrup has been added and is combined with the gelatin, turn the stand mixture on high and set your time for 13 minutes. Mixture should be very thick when finished.
- While mixture is beating, in a separate bowl, beat 2 eggs whites until stiff peaks form. With stand mixture on the slowest speed, gently mix egg whites into the marshmallow mixture until all incorporated. Don’t over mix!
- Pour marshmallow mixture into prepared pan, using a rubber spatula to help scrape it out of the bowl and smooth the top of the marshmallows. Get as much as you can, but don’t worry about getting every last bit. Let your marshmallows set for about 6 hours or overnight. When they are ready, they should not be tacky on the top and should pull away from the side if you gently pull it away with your finger.
- Meanwhile, in a small bowl, create your marshmallow coating by mixing the powered sugar and cornstarch. Set aside until needed.
- Dust a clean surface with some of your marshmallow coating. Turn your marshmallow out onto the dusted surface. Dust top with more of the coating and cut into pieces, keeping knife clean and coated with the coating as necessary to prevent sticking.
- Place cut marshmallows into the coating and lift them out with a mesh strainer. Tap off all excess coating and place on a plate or in a storage container.
- Category: Candy
- Cuisine: American
Kahlúa Marshmallows
Description
I love giving homemade food gifts and I don’t think it gets any better than homemade Kahlúa Marshmallows. Well, maybe if you put them in a DIY Kahlúa Gift Basket. Here’s how you can make and give this delicious gift for Christmas or anytime.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup Kahlúa Liqueur (any flavor)
- 3 one ounce envelopes unflavored gelatin (1/4 each)
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 cup light corn syrup
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/4 cup Kahlúa Liqueur (any flavor)
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 2 egg whites
Marshmallow Coating
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 cup cornstarch
Instructions
- Spray an 8×8″ baking pan with cooking spray and set aside.
- Pour 1/2 cup Kahlúa Liqueur into the bowl of your stand mixer. Sprinkle top with each envelope of gelatin. Give a gentle swirl to the bowl, if necessary, to make sure all of the gelatin comes into contact with the Kahlúa.
- In a small saucepan, combine the sugar, corn syrup, water, 1/4 cup Kahlúa Liqueur, and the salt. Over medium heat, stir mixture slowly (avoid splashing mixture on insides of saucepan) until dissolved. When mixture is just beginning to boil, stop stirring. Clip candy thermometer inside the pan and heat until the mixture is 240 degrees F and no higher.
- Remove from heat immediately, turn stand mixture on the slowest speed and begin drizzling the hot syrup mixture into the bowl of softened gelatin. When all the syrup has been added and is combined with the gelatin, turn the stand mixture on high and set your time for 13 minutes. Mixture should be very thick when finished.
- While mixture is beating, in a separate bowl, beat 2 eggs whites until stiff peaks form. With stand mixture on the slowest speed, gently mix egg whites into the marshmallow mixture until all incorporated. Don’t over mix!
- Pour marshmallow mixture into prepared pan, using a rubber spatula to help scrape it out of the bowl and smooth the top of the marshmallows. Get as much as you can, but don’t worry about getting every last bit. Let your marshmallows set for about 6 hours or overnight. When they are ready, they should not be tacky on the top and should pull away from the side if you gently pull it away with your finger.
- Meanwhile, in a small bowl, create your marshmallow coating by mixing the powered sugar and cornstarch. Set aside until needed.
- Dust a clean surface with some of your marshmallow coating. Turn your marshmallow out onto the dusted surface. Dust top with more of the coating and cut into pieces, keeping knife clean and coated with the coating as necessary to prevent sticking.
- Place cut marshmallows into the coating and lift them out with a mesh strainer. Tap off all excess coating and place on a plate or in a storage container.
- Category: Candy
- Cuisine: American
Want more holiday recipes and ideas? Be sure to follow Kahlúa on Facebook and Pinterest.
To get inspiration for more great recipes and entertaining ideas with Kahlúa and for a chance to win the ultimate holiday party, please visit www.kahluaholiday.com.
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Kahlúa. The opinions and text are all mine.
Julie says
Your recipe says for the Marshmallow Coating to use “3/4 cup powdered sugar” and “1/2 cornstarch” — is that 1/2 cup or 1/2 teaspoon? I assume 1/2 cup but just wanted to double check. Thanks!
brandie says
Hi Julie,
Sorry about that…it would be 1/2 cup cornstarch. Thanks for asking for clarification and for visiting!