I don’t know Christmas without chocolate, orange and peppermint. Those are the flavors of my childhood with our stockings filled with chocolate oranges – a tradition from my dad’s side of the family – and dinners ending with bowls of peppermint stick ice cream – a tradition from my mom’s side of the family.

I have more recipes coming that will share those flavors in the coming days, but I wanted to start with marshmallows because hot chocolate is always happening in my house and these just make it that much more festive. If you have kids, nieces, nephews, or just kids in your life, these are so fun to make with them because they’re kind of like a science experiment with the marshmallow growing from a sugar syrup hitting gelatin.

You can make these without the chocolate, or instead of vanilla, you could add almond extract, kahlua, peppermint extract, or whatever would suit you, your hot chocolate cup or coffee mug!

ingredients

2 tablespoons tapioca flour
1 cup (223 g) water, separated
4 teaspoons (12 g) powdered gelatin
¾ cup (214 g) maple syrup
¼ cup (76 g) honey
1 tablespoon vanilla
¼ teaspoon sea salt
¼ cup (1.5 oz) dark chocolate (70-75%) chips, melted and slightly cooled

Dust an 8×8” square pan with half of the tapioca flour. Set aside.

In the bowl of your stand mixer, add 1/2 cup water before sprinkling the gelatin over it. Let it bloom as you make your sugar syrup.

Combine the rest of the water, maple syrup, honey + sea salt in a medium, heavy bottom pot with a candy thermometer. Heat the mixture over medium heat to a heavy simmer. Continue to cook until it reaches 240F.

With a whisk attachment, turn your mixer on low + very carefully, pour the sugar syrup into the gelatin in a steady stream down the side of the bowl. When the sugar syrup is in, add the vanilla + turn the speed up to medium high. Whip until the mixture triples in volume, about 10 minutes. They’re ready when you lift the whip + it falls back onto itself in billowy ribbons.

Pour 1/3 of the marshmallow into your prepared pan, spreading it with an offset spatula or spatula. Drizzle 1/3 of the melted chocolate onto the marshmallow and swirl. Continue to layer marshmallow + chocolate two more times, ending with chocolate on top. Dust the top with the rest of the tapioca flour. let the marshmallows sit on the counter for 6-8 hours, or overnight, to set.

When ready, slide a knife around the marshmallow to loosen + slide onto a cutting board. Cut the marshmallows into 1” pieces, dusting the sides with tapioca flour as needed. These keep in an airtight container at room temperature for 7-10 days.