Yes, you read that correctly. Beer. Marshmallows. Jen at the helm, navigating you through today’s blog post about homemade beer marshmallows, which I made as a gift to the Greenbush crew for last year’s holiday season.

A post on The Kitchn about chocolate-covered beer marshmallows originally inspired me to give these beer-laden squares of fluff a shot–but I turned to my tried and true marshmallow recipe for the real thing, plus the chocolate for dipping. In several previous iterations, this recipe has proven to be the bomb. The texture is close enough to bags of jet puffed marshmallows from the supermarket but a little bit lighter, fluffier and way, way meltier in a cup of coffee or hot chocolate.

Of course, the kicker for this recipe is the beer. I suggest using a stout or porter–something malty, for certain. This round, I made the marshmallows with Apathy, Greenbush’s winter seasonal Oatmeal Stout. You’ll need to let the beer get flat before using it… otherwise… I don’t know; it won’t work correctly. Dipping them in chocolate and sprinkling sea salt on top is optional, but verrry highly recommended. On to the show…

Ingredients

Marshmallows

Approx. 1 cup confectioners’ sugar

3 1/2 envelopes (2 tablespoons plus 2 1/2 teaspoons) unflavored gelatin

1/2 cup cold, flat beer

2 cups granulated sugar

1/2 cup light corn syrup

1/2 cup flat beer heated to approx. about 115°F

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 large egg whites*

1 teaspoon vanilla

*If you’re concerned about egg safety, substitute reconstituted powdered egg whites.

Chocolate-y Goodness

20-24 ounces dark or milk chocolate

2-3 teaspoons canola oil, optional (for thinning the melted chocolate)

Coarse sea salt

Preparation

1. Oil bottom and sides of a 13×9-inch rectangular baking pan and dust bottom and sides with confectioners’ sugar.

2. In bowl of a standing electric mixer or in a large bowl, sprinkle gelatin over cold beer and let stand to soften.

3. In a medium (3-quart is good) heavy saucepan, cook granulated sugar, corn syrup, heated beer, and salt over low heat, stirring with a wooden spoon, until sugar is dissolved. Increase heat to moderate and boil mixture, without stirring, until a candy or digital thermometer registers 240°F., about 12 minutes. Remove pan from heat and pour sugar mixture over gelatin mixture, stirring until gelatin is dissolved.

4. With standing or a hand-held electric mixer, beat mixture on high speed until white, thick, and nearly tripled in volume, about 6 minutes if using standing mixer or about 10 minutes if using hand-held mixer. In a large bowl with cleaned beaters, beat whites (or reconstituted powdered whites) until they just hold stiff peaks. Beat whites and vanilla into sugar mixture until just combined. Pour mixture into baking pan and sift 1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar evenly over top. Chill marshmallow uncovered, until firm, at least 3 hours, and up to 1 day.

5. Run a thin knife around edges of pan and invert onto a large cutting board. Lift pan and loosen one corner of marshmallow and let drop onto cuttingboard. (Here’s where it gets sticky.) With a pizza cutter, cut marshmallow into roughly 1-inch cubes. Sift remaining confectioners’ sugar into a large bowl and add marshmallows in batches, tossing to evenly coat. Brush off excess confectioners’ sugar.

6. Melt chocolate in a double-boiler or in 30-second bursts on HIGH in the microwave, stirring between each burst until the chocolate is melted. If the chocolate seems too thick, whisk in canola oil one teaspoon at a time until the chocolate is thin enough to coat.

7. Coat each marshmallow entirely and set them on a piece of wax paper to dry–use a dinner fork to turn the marshmallow for even coating and removal from chocolate. While the chocolate is still wet, sprinkle the tops of the marshmallows with sea salt.

8. Devour, share (maybe not with your dog… not too much, anyway) and/or keep marshmallows in an airtight container at room temperature for up to two weeks.