The step you should never skip when baking with marshmallows
Marshmallows add a sticky or fluffy texture to desserts, but they burn or disappear easily in the oven, so it's best to freeze them beforehand.
Made from sugar, an emulsifier like gelatin, and flavoring, marshmallows add texture to cookies and desserts. They're in s'mores, rocky road ice cream, and ambrosia salad. You can buy them in many sizes, colors, and flavors, or make them at home with just three ingredients.
Baking them has its tricks. If you've ever grilled them for s'mores, you know how easy it is to turn them into burnt, bitter morsels. When baking cookies or brownies, there's no open flame, but overheating them still ruins the flavor and texture: the result is sticky and crumbly, instead of light and fluffy.
Many bakers have opened the oven to find their marshmallows have vanished, leaving gaps. A simple solution is to freeze them before adding them to the dough, as this hardens the surface and prevents them from melting as quickly. When making teardrop or bar cookies, return the dough to the freezer for a few minutes so they go into the oven completely cold.
Another option is to add them later: if you place them on the cookies near the end of baking, they'll melt perfectly. You can also use vegan marshmallows, which tend to melt more slowly, or freeze-dried marshmallows, like the ones in hot chocolate packets and Lucky Charms cereal.
If marshmallows disappear, there's a dessert for that too: disappearing marshmallow fritters. They consist of a large, butter-soaked marshmallow wrapped in puff pastry. When they come out of the oven, the marshmallow has melted, leaving a sweet, sticky hollow, both a magical spectacle and a delicious dessert.
