Pumpkin Pie Marshmallows

I made Pumpkin Pie Marshmallows to give away last night on Halloween, adapted from this recipe on allrecipes.com.  I live in a very small town, which means no one worries whether there are razor blades in the treats.  Or maybe they do . . . and the kids dumped out their candy and the parents seized my little bundles of confections out of the little zombie's hands and tossed them with a pair of tongs into a hazmat bag.

Whatever.  I just like to have an excuse to make marshmallows and not have to eat them or force them on adults.  It's much easier to force them on children.  I did make a few changes to the recipe on allrecipes.com; I did not dust them in cocoa as I thought that flavor may be unappealing to petite palates, and I did not use plastic wraps, cooking spray, or a stand mixer because I have a tiny kitchen and I don't have space for crap like that.  I added vanilla because I add vanilla to most things.

Pumpkin Pie Marshmallows

 3 - 0.25 oz unflavored gelatin

1/2 cup cold water

2 cups white sugar

2/3 cup light corn syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 cup water

1/2 cup pumpkin puree

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

1/4 teaspoon salt

equal parts cornstarch & confectioner's sugar: 

(enough for dusting & dredging)

1. Dust a pan liberally with equal parts cornstarch and confectioner's sugar; use whatever size pan you like . . . I use a 9" x 9" pan to make big daddy squares.

2. Pour the 1/2 cup of water in a large bowl and sprinkle the gelatin on top; set aside for 10 minutes.

3. Combine the white sugar, corn syrup, vanilla and 1/4 cup water in a saucepan; bring to a boil over medium-high heat and do not stir once it boils.  Heat to 250 F.

4. Combine pumpkin puree through allspice in a small bowl and mix well.

5. When the sugar syrup has reached 250 F add slowly down the side of the bowl containing the gelatin and mix with a hand mixer on low . . . use caution so that you do not cover yourself with blistering sugar syrup burns.  Increase speed and beat the shit out of this for 5 to 10 minutes or until the mixture looks like marshmallow, i.e. stiff, shiny, and white.

6. Mix in the pumpkin mixture; continue to beat the shit out of this until it again resembles marshmallow; another 3 - 5 minutes.

7. Pour the mixture in the prepared pan and wait for 8 - 12 hours, or however many hours happen to pass until you have time to cut the little suckers (I waited 24 hours and nothing bad happened).

8. Sift together equal parts cornstarch and confectioner's sugar into a wide bowl or deep plate.  When the marshmallows are set, cut them into whatever shape you desire and dredge in the cornstarch/confectioner's sugar.

9. Force them on children, co-workers, or whomever but do so asap; marshmallows do not improve with age.  Store them in an airtight container unrefrigerated if necessary.