Trunk or treat!

We attended our church's first trunk or treat. It was a lot of fun. Cadence was a blue butterfly and Steve and I were Entomologists. She loved running around in her outfit and absolutely couldn't get enough of the trunk or treat fun. I made homemade marshmallows dipped in chocolate and sprinkled with cookies and cream bits...yum!

Recipe:
Ingredients
3 packages unflavored gelatin
1 cup ice cold water, divided
12 ounces granulated sugar, approximately 1 1/2 cups
1 cup light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch

Directions
Place the gelatin into the bowl of a stand mixer along with 1/2 cup of the water. Have the whisk attachment standing by.

In a small saucepan combine the remaining 1/2 cup water, granulated sugar, corn syrup and salt. Place over medium high heat, cover and allow to cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Uncover, clip a candy thermometer onto the side of the pan and continue to cook until the mixture reaches 240 degrees F, approximately 7 to 8 minutes. Once the mixture reaches this temperature, immediately remove from the heat.

Turn the mixer on low speed and, while running, slowly pour the sugar syrup down the side of the bowl into the gelatin mixture. Once you have added all of the syrup, increase the speed to high. Continue to whip until the mixture becomes very thick and is lukewarm, approximately 12 to 15 minutes. Add the vanilla during the last minute of whipping. While the mixture is whipping prepare the pans as follows.

For regular marshmallows:
Combine the confectioners' sugar and cornstarch in a small bowl. With a sieve, generously dust an 9 by 13-inch baking dish with the confectioners' sugar and cornstarch mixture. Return the remaining mixture to the bowl for later use.

When ready, pour the mixture into the prepared pan, lightly spray a spatula with non stick spray for spreading evenly into the pan. Dust the top with enough of the remaining sugar and cornstarch mixture to lightly cover. Reserve the rest for later. Allow the marshmallows to sit uncovered for at least 4 hours and up to overnight.

Turn the marshmallows out onto a cutting board and cut into 1-inch squares using a pizza wheel dusted with the confectioners' sugar mixture. Once cut, lightly dust all sides of each marshmallow with the remaining mixture, using additional if necessary.

Melt a good dark chocolate in a glass bowl by microwaving on high for 30 seconds, stirring, then repeating until chocolate is smooth and shiny. Put Marshmallows on lollipop sticks and dip in the chocolate. twirl upside down in the bowl for a few seconds to get rid of the extra chocolate, then sprinkle with cookies and cream bits or sprinkles and lay on a wax paper lined sheet tray. Put int he fridge for 10 minutes or until the chocolate is hardened.