Published: · Modified: by Claire
Jump to Recipe·Print Recipe·★★★★★4.9 from 9 reviews
Take your hot chocolate up a notch with these adorable polar bear marshmallows! With this simple marshmallow recipe, you'll be turning out jaw-droppingly cute marshmallows in no time.
Is there anything better on a cold winter day than cuddling up under a cozy blanket with a steaming hot cup of liquid chocolate? That's a tall order to beat, I know.
But yes, actually, there is. And it involves said cup of delicious chocolaty goodness filled with mind-meltingly adorable marshmallows.
And this is exactly the realization I came to when I stumbled across these cat marshmallows online. Need, want, TAKE MY MONEY NOW.
Unfortunately the Japanese site that sells these adorable little puffs of marshmallowy goodness no longer seems to be up and running. What's a girl to do?
A girl makes her own adorable marshmallows with a polar bear twist. And so can you!
Making this marshmallow recipe
First, make your marshmallow. You’ll need to prepare your gelatin, make a sugar syrup, and whip up some egg whites. Add your gelatin to your syrup, combine with your egg whites, and whip until fluffy.
Second, spoon your marshmallow mixture into two piping bags (with most of the marshmallow in one bag). Clip a large hole in the piping bag with the most marshmallow and, working quickly, begin piping big dollops for the faces and two small dollops for the feet on the bottom of each face.
Pipe all of the faces and feet before going back with a damp finger and flattening down any points. Clip a small hole in the second piping bag and pipe the muzzles and ears.
Again, pipe all the ears and muzzles before going back through with a damp finger and pressing down any points.
Third, wait for the marshmallows to dry (preferably over night, but at least 8 hours).
Finally, coat in the marshmallows in powdered sugar and decorate with a black food marker pen and pink powdered food coloring.
How to make perfect marshmallows
Is this your first time trying your hand at a homemade marshmallow recipe? No worries! Here are some quick tips to help you make them perfectly the first time around:
- Hand piped marshmallows are all about consistency. You’ll want to whip your marshmallow until light and fluffy but still very malleable. You’ve nailed your consistency if you can pick up a spoonful of your freshly whipped marshmallow, drop it back into the bowl, and it reabsorbs in about 20 seconds.
- Once your marshmallow is the right consistency, put it in a piping bag and pipe immediately. Marshmallow will slowly firm up, even in a warm room, so you’ll want to pipe your marshmallow immediately.
- If your marshmallow gets too firm to work with, no worries. You can get it back to the right consistency by microwaving it using 5 second increments.
- Grease AND dust your parchment paper with powdered sugar to make peeling off those marshmallows a breeze.
- If your marshmallows have points from the piping, you can gently press them into place with a damp finger. Make sure to do this as soon after piping as possible for best results.
- After drying overnight, the tops of your marshmallows will still be slightly sticky. Roll them in powdered sugar until they’re no longer sticky, and then brush them off so the powdered sugar doesn’t gum up your food marker.
- Storage: homemade marshmallows will keep for about a month when stored in an airtight container in a cool place.
Did you make this recipe? I’d love to hear how it went in the comments below. Better still, snap a photo and tag it on Instagram with #thesimplesweetlife. I love seeing your creations!
Recipe
The Cutest Marshmallows EVER.
Take your hot chocolate up a notch with these adorable polar bear marshmallows! With this simple marshmallow recipe, you'll be turning out jaw-droppingly cute marshmallows in no time.
- Author: The Simple, Sweet Life
- Prep Time: 9 hours
- Total Time: 9 hours
- Yield: About 40 marshmallows 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
Scale
- ¼ cup light corn syrup
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup water + 2 tbsp.
- 2 egg whites
- 1 tbsp. gelatin powder
- ½ tsp. vanilla extract
- Powdered sugar (for dusting)
- A black food marker
- Pink powdered food coloring
- A clean, food-only brush
- 2 piping bags
Instructions
- In a small bowl stir together the gelatin and 2 tablespoons of (ice cold) water. Set aside so the gelatin can absorb the water.
- In a small saucepan whisk together the corn syrup, granulated sugar, and ¼ cup water. Bring to a boil and allow to cook until a candy thermometer registers 235F/113C.
- In the meantime, beat your egg whites until they hold soft peaks.
- Once the sugar mixture reaches the right temperature, whisk in the gelatin (be careful with your hands because it's likely to release hot steam when you do this) and stir to dissolve.
- Slowly add the hot mixture and vanilla extract to the egg whites and whip until stiff (about 8-10 minutes).
- Cover a couple of baking sheets with parchment paper and dust generously with sifted powdered sugar.
- Spoon the marshmallow mixture into two piping bags putting most of the marshmallow into one (this will be for piping the faces) and a couple of spoonfuls into the other (this will be for piping the ears and muzzle).
- Clip a large hole in the piping bag with the most marshmallow and, working quickly (the marshmallow will start to stiffen pretty fast), begin piping big dollops for the faces and two small dollops for the feet on the bottom of each face.
- Pipe all of the faces and feet before going back with a damp finger and flattening down any points.
- Clip a small hole in the second piping bag and pipe the muzzles and ears. Again, pipe all the ears and muzzles before going back through with a damp finger and pressing down any points.
- Allow the marshmallows to dry overnight (or at least 8 hours) before dusting them with a little sifted powdered sugar.
- To create the faces, use a black food pen to create the eyes and toes on the paws, and a brush with pink powdered food coloring for the ears and cheeks.
- Allow the food coloring to dry before packaging.
Notes
- Hand piped marshmallows are all about consistency. You’ll want to whip your marshmallow until light and fluffy but still very malleable. You’ve nailed your consistency if you can pick up a spoonful of your freshly whipped marshmallow, drop it back into the bowl, and it reabsorbs in about 20 seconds.
- Once your marshmallow is the right consistency, put it in a piping bag and pipe immediately. Marshmallow will slowly firm up, even in a warm room, so you’ll want to pipe your marshmallow immediately.
- If your marshmallow gets too firm to work with, no worries. You can get it back to the right consistency by microwaving it using 5 second increments.
- Grease AND dust your parchment paper with powdered sugar to make peeling off those marshmallows a breeze.
- If your marshmallows have points from the piping, you can gently press them into place with a damp finger. Make sure to do this as soon after piping as possible for best results.
- After drying overnight, the tops of your marshmallows will still be slightly sticky. Roll them in powdered sugar until they’re no longer sticky, and then brush them off so the powdered sugar doesn’t gum up your food marker.
- Storage: homemade marshmallows will keep for about a month when stored in an airtight container in a cool place.
Marshmallow recipe adapted from Buttercream Blondie
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1
- Calories: 21
- Sugar: 4.3g
- Sodium: 2mg
- Fat: 0g
- Saturated Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 5.2g
- Fiber: 0g
- Protein: .3g
- Cholesterol: 0mg
Keywords: marshmallow recipe, how to make marshmallows, easy marshmallow tutorial
Did you make this recipe? You might also like...
- Ghost marshmallows
- Peppermint marshmallows
- Hot chocolate doughnuts
Update Notes: This post was originally published in January of 2016 but was republished with step by step photos and tips in January of 2019.
More Dessert Recipes
- Hot Chocolate Cupcakes with Marshmallow Buttercream
- The Best Norwegian Christmas Cookies (Julekaker)
- Kokosmakroner (Norwegian Coconut Macaroons)
- Orange Cranberry Cake
Reader Interactions
Comments
Sue says
These are so cute...! I want one in my hot chocolate 🙂
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The Simple, Sweet Life says
You'll have to whip some up (or wait for us to be in the area and I'll do it for you 😉 )!
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AiPing | Curious Nut says
Omg... these are indeed the cutest lil things. 🙂
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The Simple, Sweet Life says
What a sweet comment! Thank you! 😀
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Penny Wolf says
I make homemade marshmallows too but never any as cute as these. These are just as cute as the kittens by the way 🙂
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The Simple, Sweet Life says
Awww thank you! 😀
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grace says
you can't seriously expect me to destroy such an adorable creation in a mug of molten hot chocolate! they don't deserve such a fate! but what a delicious end it would be... 🙂
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The Simple, Sweet Life says
The deliciousness almost outweighs the cuteness of the predicament! 😉
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Pamela @ Brooklyn Farm Girl says
Honestly, I'm in love. Going to share these with every single person I meet today!
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The Simple, Sweet Life says
Awww you're too sweet Pamela! Thank you! 😀
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Sarah @ Sarah's Bake Studio says
These are so ridiculously cute! I think they are cuter than the cats and I <3 cats! I am definitely going to try making these; I adore cute!!
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The Simple, Sweet Life says
Thank you Sarah! 😀
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Jeff B says
YUM - my nieces would love these, thanks Claire!
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The Simple, Sweet Life says
So glad you like them Jeff! 😀
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TwoPlusCute says
I came from lovely link party and these are the loveliest little bears EVER! 😀
I pin this.Reply
The Simple, Sweet Life says
Thanks so much for stopping by and sharing these! 😀
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Paola @ Do It With Heart says
So cute! I wouldn't be able to eat them...
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The Simple, Sweet Life says
They're just about as tasty as they are cute, so it's quite the predicament. 😉
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Black Lamb Photography says
Those are the cutest things I've seen all day. I want a marshmallow bear in my hot cocoa..
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The Simple, Sweet Life says
Awww thank you! And I'm pretty sure all hot cocoas deserve adorable marshmallow bears. 😉
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Kati says
Amazing! I am so impressed with your bears. My kids are going to love them. Pinned!
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The Simple, Sweet Life says
Thanks Kati! So glad you like them! 😀
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Anuschka says
Yes they are the cutest! So we tried them today! You could have warned us HOW difficult it is :-)))) oh my dear! Once the kids pressed down the points of the head with their wet fingers the muzzle didn't stick to the head any more....and it gets hard soooo quick :-/ i definetly need some practice! We decided to do next a cut out version 😉 we have miffy..... BUT thank you for getting us into it! We'll try again!
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The Simple, Sweet Life says
So glad you tried these little guys out! They do take a little practice to get right, but when you can eat your mistakes, at least you don't have too much to lose. 😉 As far as the muzzles falling off, you definitely want to make sure your fingers are wet but not dripping. You want just enough water between you and the marshmallow, but not so much so that it drips down the side and starts separating the marshmallow from itself. As for hardening, it shouldn't harden very quickly. Did you make sure to add all the corn syrup called for in the recipe? Corn syrup free marshmallow recipes harden much faster and are harder once they dry so it's very important for this recipe to make sure you use all the corn syrup. Hope that helps for your next attempt! 🙂
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Edenpassante says
This is the cutest idea ever! Love these so much!
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The Simple, Sweet Life says
Thank you Eden! 😀 I'm so glad you liked them!
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ali says
cam I buy marshmallows melt them ans make the form using the mold?
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The Simple, Sweet Life says
Hi Ali! Great question! My experience has been that melted marshmallow isn't as easy to work with as freshly made marshmallow, namely that it's really difficult to get the right consistency without just getting a runny mess. I've only ever tried to pipe it, so I can't speak to how it would work with a mold. If you do end up trying it, I'd love to hear how it works out! 🙂
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kimchichick says
Oh my goodness! These really are the cutest marshmellows ever! Almost too cute to eat! I've never seen a food pen or thought to use powdered food coloring before. How genius. Love these little bears! Thanks for sharing
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The Simple, Sweet Life says
Awww thank you Julie! And I promise they're only ALMOST too sweet. 😉
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Erin says
I think this is the cutest thing I've ever seen!
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The Simple, Sweet Life says
You're too sweet Erin! 😀
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michelleferrand says
SOOOOOO CUTE! I've made marshmallows before, but honestly have never even thought of making them into cute shapes like this! Lovely job!
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The Simple, Sweet Life says
Thank you Michelle! They're a little extra work but sooooooo worth it! 😀
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Courtney | Fork to Belly says
OMG HOW DID I MISS THESE. I was literally searching Pinterest for adorable marshmallows and this is exactly what I was looking for!!! Totally trying these.
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The Simple, Sweet Life says
Glad I could help you out in the adorable marshmallow department Courtney! 😉
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diyadulation says
These are some of the most adorable things I've seen! Omgosh, I love them! Thanks so much for the awesome idea!
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The Simple, Sweet Life says
I'm so glad you think so! 😀
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Jennie says
Oh my goodness, these really ARE the cutest marshmallows ever. And I hear you about your inner thermostat getting messed up. Years ago, I lived in Ohio and I'll never forget the day it was in the 20s and we all were outside having a picnic because it was so nice and "warm". Wow. Hope you have a great day!
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The Simple, Sweet Life says
It's so weird how that happens, right?! Glad to hear I'm not the only one! 🙂
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Edelyn says
These are just too cute! I'm into all things kawaii from Japan so I'm happy that you shared this. I made them last night, twice. (first time) They didn't fluff up like yours and there's air bubbles. The tiny air bubbles might be from the over beaten egg whites? Anyway they are still cute after I put their face on. I just wished that they look more like a fluffy marshmallow rather than a flat melted one.
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Sherri says
These marshmallows are insanely adorable! I have never made my own marshmallows before but it looks like a lot of fun! Thanks for all the great tips to do so too! 🙂
★★★★★
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Sue says
I LOVE THESE!!! And your photos are amazing 🙂 Who wouldn't feel special getting these in their hot chocolate??
★★★★★
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Veena Azmanov says
These are definitely the cutest marshmallows ever!! I love how you painted the paws too. My kids would have fun with this. I have not made marshmallows in forever. Can't wait to try this.
★★★★★
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Aleta says
Ahhhhh cuteness overload!!! Not only do I want to make my own marshmallows, but not definitely want to shape them into adorable little polar bears! My girls would freak out.
★★★★★
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Analida Braeger says
Ah these remind me of photos my daughter would send me from Asia. Everything was so beautiful, attentive to detail. Your steps make these cute marsh-mellows wayy less intimidating. Thanks for sharing.
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Jessica Robinson says
Such a great idea of homemade marshmallows to float in your cup of hot chocolate! These little bears are beyond adorable!
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Nicoletta says
I've just come back from Tokyo and there I had a beautiful cappuccino with Hello Kitty 3D. The most adorable thing! These are also super cute and adorable. Something I'd never be able to make myself, but love how they look.
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Marisa Franca says
Those marshmallow bears are so cute!! I would want to preserve them just for their adorable level. If I still had little ones at home I'd be making them ASAP. But I do have grandsons who would find them gobbible. I'm anxious to try these out.
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Anne Lawton says
These little marshmallows are adorable! I bet they taste good too - homemade is always better
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Donna says
Oh my goodness these are the most adorable marshmallows I have ever come across! My kids are going to love these 🙂 Never thought to make my own, but they sound so easy, how could I not?
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Leslie Haasch says
You absolutely could not be more right with the name of these - they really are THE cutest marshmallows I've ever seen!
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Krista Price says
I never realized before now how simple it is to make marshmallows. This is a game changer. And gosh how cute are those bears?! SO CUTE!
★★★★★
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Stacy says
The instructions need to be adjusted for the X3 if making . 10 min wont form anything if your making a very large batch . Bout 30 min is what you need if not a bit more . I honestly thought this was gonna fail, and it isn’t 100% but it will work . I would not try to double or triple this recipe , I would just do it in 3 batches . This seems to be the best thing to do . Lessons learned .
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Crystal says
Worked out great! My two year old loved making these.
Do you think this recipe would work if I made these in larger body forms, as if an animal is sitting up?
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