Here's a fabulous recipe for soft, fluffy, homemade marshmallows. Yes, it does have corn syrup and gelatin in it, but there aren't any preservatives AND it tastes infinitely better than store-bought 'mallows.
Plus, you can make them any flavor you want! They're scrumptious as "plain" vanilla, but you can flavor them with peppermint, coconut, chocolate, cinnamon... anything you can think of!
Here we go:
Combine 3 packages unflavored gelatin with 1/2 cup cold water in a mixer bowl.
In a saucepan, combine 1 1/2 cups sugar, 1 cup light corn syrup, 1/4 tsp salt, and 1/2 cup water. Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves, then raise heat until the syrup reaches 240* F.
Turn the mixer on its lowest speed and slowly add the syrup to the gelatin. Add 1 tbsp vanilla extract (or 1 tsp vanilla & 2 tsp peppermint extract... or whatever flavor you like!). Set mixer speed to high and let it whip for 15 minutes.
Next, dust a glass 8" x 12" pan with confectioners' sugar, pour in the fluffy goodness, and let set overnight. Turn out and slice into cubes. At this point, you could also melt some chocolate chips in a double-boiler, dip the 'mallows in, and let cool - for chocolate-covered marshmallows. Yum!
Share and enjoy!