I had grand ambitions of baking a fancy madeira wine cake for each of my neighbors this year… guess how far I’ve gotten.
I think, instead, I’m going to make a batch or two of these over-sized chocolate marshmallows with the kids and gift a few to each neighbor. I love Janssen’s idea of putting them on a stick and adding them to a decorative bag filled with hot cocoa mix in the bottom!
If you’re looking for a quick, easy, and impressive holiday treat, might I suggest these marshmallows?
They’re a surprisingly gratifying project, and useful in all manner of ways. You can drop them in a cup of hot cocoa to make it instantly special, you can add them to a holiday treat plate for some fun variety, or package them up individually. Also, they are simple for kids to help with and I’ve never met a child who doesn’t like marshmallows (at least none that live in my house).
By the way, I got these extra-large marshmallows at Wal-mart (they are 2+ inches tall), but if you can only find regular large marshmallows, those will work just fine too.
To make, you will need:
- A bag of giant marshmallows
- Dipping chocolate or almond bark
- Crushed candy canes, graham cracker crumbs, sprinkles, and other toppings
- Candy sticks (optional)
Melt your dipping chocolates and stir until smooth. Dip your marshmallows in about 1/4 of the way, then shake off the excess chocolate.
Shake your toppings over the top of the dipped marshmallows, then set on a rack to dry (or stick them in the fridge to harden faster). I find that shaking the toppings over the chocolate (rather than dipping the marshmallow into the toppings) gives you more even coverage and keeps the excess toppings from getting all chocolate-y.
If you’re using them to go along with our hot chocolate bar and spiced eggnog whipped cream, set them all out side-by-side for a pretty and festive display.
Or, add two or three to a treat plate for a teacher or neighbor gift.
Or, my favorite, insert a candy stick in the non-dipped end, put it in a small cellophane bag and tie it off with a ribbon. It’s the cutest party favor and you can add a packet of hot chocolate (or pour some cocoa mix in the bottom of the bag) for an instant gift!
Janssen