These Orange Marshmallows may not be your typical marshmallow. Made with fresh orange juice & zest. They’re soft and melt in your mouth. Pleasantly surprising!
As promised, I am posting the orange marshmallow recipe today. 😉
I know I just posted chocolate marshmallow last week, you may say, “Man, other marshmallow recipe?” These two marshmallows taste very different. People who love chocolate will enjoy the chocolate marshmallows more, but people who like citrus will appreciate the orange ones.
When you think of marshmallow, orange probably isn’t the flavor you associated with. These marshmallows will sure surprise you. They do not contain any artificial flavors. They are made with freshly squeezed orange juice and orange zest. They smell like orange and taste like orange. Little sweet and little tart, but in marshmallow form. They are fluffy and light. If you haven’t tried homemade marshmallow before, you are missing out. Homemade ones are extra soft and fluffy. They are like clouds that melt in your mouth. Nommmm…. Want some yet?
Other than these two marshmallows, I also made Bryan’s favorite chocolate chip cookies, the best simple lemon cookies for this cookie season. I ended up making more than 300 treats. Most were given to Bryan’s coworkers. Some were for our families, friends, and neighbors. And yes, some were in our tummies! 😀
Orange Marshmallows
Ingredients
- ½ cup corn starch (for dusting)
- ½ cup powdered sugar (for dusting)
- zest from 1 large orange
- ¾ cup freshly squeezed orange juice (about 2 oranges)
- ¼ cup cold water
- 3 packets (0.25-ounce per packet) unflavored gelatin
- 12 ounces sugar
- 1 cup light corn syrup
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¾ teaspoon vanilla extract
- orange food coloring (optional)
- nonstick cooking spray
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together ½ cup corn starch and ½ cup powdered sugar.
- Prepare a 9 x 13-inch baking pan, lightly grease with nonstick cooking spray. Use a paper towel to wipe off extra oil. Dust the pan very generously with the powdered sugar mixture to cover. Set aside.
- Place the orange zest in a small bowl and cover with plastic wrap.
- In a measuring cup, combine the orange juice and water.
- In a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, place the gelatin and half of the orange juice mixture. Mix everything slightly with a fork. Set aside and let the gelatin bloom.
- In a small saucepan, combine the leftover orange juice mixture, sugar, corn syrup, and salt. Cook over medium-high heat with lid on for 2 minutes. Remove the lid. Attach a candy thermometer onto the side of the pan. Turn the heat to medium and continue to cook until the sugar mixture has reached 240˚F, about 7 – 8 minutes. Remove from heat immediately.
- Mix the gelatin mixture quickly. With the mixer on low speed, slowly pour the sugar mixture down the side of the bowl into the gelatin mixture. Once all sugar mixture has been added, increase the mixer to high speed. Whip until the mixture turns very thick and is lukewarm, about 12 – 15 minutes. After 10 minutes, add the orange zest and vanilla extract. If using food coloring, add at the last 2 minutes of whipping.
- When the marshmallow mixture is ready, quickly transfer to the prepared pan with a spatula. Spread the mixture evenly. Dust with more powdered sugar mixture to cover. Save the rest of the powdered sugar mixture.
- Let the marshmallows to rest at room temperature uncover for at least 6 hours, best for overnight.
- Prepare a cutting board lightly cover with powdered sugar mixture. Run a thin knife around the edges between the marshmallow and the pan. Turn the marshmallows out onto the cutting board. Lightly grease a large sharp knife with nonstick cooking spray. Wipe off extra oil. Cover the knife with the powdered sugar mixture. Cut down firmly into the marshmallow and make 1-inch squares or desired shapes. Cover all sides of the marshmallow squares with more powdered sugar mixture until not sticky.
Notes
- Be very generous with the powdered sugar mixture. It is better to have more than less. It was painful to see the marshmallows being stuck to the pan.
- I used very little food coloring. It is up to you how you want these marshmallows look like. Just be careful with how much food coloring you add. A little will go a long way.
- For storage, keep the marshmallows in an airtight container for up to 3 weeks.
Oooo, Lockness! Are you a chocolate-orange enthusiast? (I love that flavor combo!) If you are, wouldn’t these be AMAZING in a cup of hot cocoa?! I know everyone is into chocolate-peppermint right now, but chocolate-orange is a year round combo that these marshmallows would be perfect for. 🙂 You have done A LOT of baking/candy making! I hope you have a happy and sweet Christmas!
I am! Chocolate and orange are a wonderful match! I don’t like peppermint, so chocolate-peppermint combo will never work for me. Chocolate-orange definitely is the winner! What a good idea to put these marshmallows in hot chocolate! I almost forgot marshmallows and hot chocolate always go together. 😉 Sooooo comforting!
Haha, right? Lots of baking! But I’m happy to say that 90% of the treats have been given out. Bryan and I are enjoying the rest this weekend. 😀
I couldn’t agree with you more. Homemade marshmallows are waaaaaay better than store bought. And they are so much fun to make once you get the hang of it.
As soon as I saw these beauties I thought they would be amazing dipped in a little dark chocolate with some orange zest sprinkled on top. . .that way you get the incredible combination of citrus & chocolate for those that don’t want to choose between the two. Or what about sprinkling in some cinnamon??. . .Oh. . .now you have me wanting to whip up a batch of marshmallows. 😉
I am sure no one will go back to store-bought marshmallows once you can make your own. Love the idea of dipping them in chocolate! One bite to get both the chocolate and orange. It really would be perfect! Have fun making them and enjoy!
This is amazing! I love homemade marshmallows (just posted a peppermint brownie s’more with homemade mallows). But I haven’t seen an orange homemade marshmallow. I have to try this ASAP!
Wow, brownie s’more with homemade marshmallows? That sound incredible! I will go to your site and check it out. These orange ones are sure different and tasty. Let me know if you try them.
Lockness, these look and sound incredible! Keith and I have been dying to make our own homemade marshmallows; I love the flavor twist you suggest. Maybe the break for the holidays will be the perfect time…
Thank you Jackie! Marshmallows are a lot easier to make than you think. You will really enjoy these. Hope you will give this a try. 😉
I used to dislike marshmallows and then I realized I enjoyed them melted/torched…then I realized they are much better homemade. I have wanted to try my hand at it but haven’t had the nerve. You are totally inspiring me!
These look so great and the ability to make a unique flavor is definitely another motivation. I wish I had these to put into the Barcelona hot chocolate I plan to make on x’mas day (it’s got coffee/hot chocolate and orange in it!)!
Yes, homemade ones are very different from store-bought. Much better. Once you get the hang of making marshmallows, you can really turn them into any flavors you want.
I would really love a cup of your hot chocolate and some of my marshmallows on top. Warm and cozy!
Yum! The orange marshmallows look and sound so tasty! I’ve never made marshmallows from scratch before and this recipe sounds like an excellent start! Thanks.
It is one of those thing you think is very hard. But instead, marshmallows are very easy to make. They can be easily alter and change up to a flavor you like. Hope you will try these some day!
I’ve never made marshmallows before, but I’ve always wanted to. These look so pretty that you’ve convinced me to give it a go. 🙂
I absolutely love orange and was so excited to try this recipe out. The orange flavor didnt come through as I would have liked it to. The cooked orange juice had a very strong taste which was not my favorite, almost felt like the orange juice had caramelized. Was that the flavor you were going with?
Hi Suhasini, I’m sorry to hear that the marshmallow didn’t come out as you like. The marshmallow didn’t have a caramelized taste when I made them. If you are not a fan of cooked orange juice, you can substitute with water. Then maybe add extra orange zest. I haven’t tried this, but it should work. Hope this helps.
Hi Lockness! These look great! I have made homemade marshmallows before and they are lovely and soft as opposed to the store ones.
I want to add these to a Smore’s bar, wondering if you think they are firm enough to hold up to being roasted on an open fire on a stick. If not, do you think I could add more gelatin or reduce the liquid (juice) to get something firmer?
Hi there, if you’re using this recipe, these orange marshmallows are on the softer side. I think your idea about reducing the juice should work. I will reduce to 1/2 cup. The marshmallows should be firm enough to remain on sticks.
Thanks for the suggestion Lokness. Going to try to make them tomorrow.
Yum! Just made these last night for Easter dinner today. We make toasted coconut marshmallows every year at Christmas and my family loves them. At Easter, We usually make a desert called “orange mist” which is a whipped cream, orange juice, zest, gelatin, chilled dessert. When I came across these, I thought it would be perfect – “orange mist marshmallows.” I am so excited to share them with my family. I used a mini muffin tin and piped the marshmallow in and pulled up a little bead at the top so they kind of look like peeps. I couldn’t find any sanding sugar to go on them, but the powdered sugar is still pretty. They taste amazing!
One note: I believe you have a 1/2 cup of water on the ingredients that isn’t used. I couldn’t find where water was used after the 1/4 cup that is added to the OJ. Since if made marshmallows before, I just left it out.
Thank you very much Erin. So happy to hear that! The little peeps must look adorable. Also, thank you for pointing out the mistake. You’re right. That “1/2 cup of water” shouldn’t be in the recipe. I have removed that now. Really appreciate that!