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Heart shaped strawberry flavored marshmallows on a plate by Mora Ceramics.

Have your ever tried homemade marshmallows? If not, they are not only easy but beyond anything you’ve ever had from the store! Soft, pillowy, and perfectly dreamy, a good homemade marshmallow is just pure bliss! I’ve made the vanilla ones several times, for both hot cocoa and s’mores. They’re always a hit, don’t worry that recipe will be shared soon. Today I’m sharing my fun “Valentine” version: strawberry heart marshmallows.

For this recipe, I wanted the pink on the marshmallows to be subtle since I was planning on covering the outside with freeze-dried strawberries as well. To get the strawberry flavor, I used Dolce Flav Strawberry Extract.

Dolce Flav Strawberry Extract – 2 Ounce Oil

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Marshmallow basics

While making homemade marshmallows is a technical process, it’s honestly much easier than you think! Here’s a breakdown of the steps:

Bloom the gelatin. Pour cold water over the gelatin in a large mixing bowl and mix it on low for about 30 seconds. This process is called blooming the gelatin. Essentially, you’re softening the gelatin, giving it a head start to easily dissolve into the marshmallow mixture. This ensures a smooth texture.
Making the sugar syrup mixture. To make the sugar syrup, whisk and heat corn syrup, sugar, water, flavoring/extract of choice, a pinch of salt, and in this case the strawberry powder, in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil and let it boil for about 1 minute.
Mix it all together. Use an electric mixer (I use my stand mixer, but if all you have is a hand mixer, use that). Slowly (and carefully!) drizzle the sugar syrup mixture into the mixing bowl with the mixer on low speed. Once all is added, increase to medium-low speed for about 2 minutes. Increase the speed to high, and continue beating until the mixture becomes very fluffy and almost triples in size (about 10 minutes).
Make your marshmallows. Then immediately transfer to a baking dish and let set for 2 hours.

me adding the strawberry sugar syrup to the gelatin.

Strawberry syrup and gelatin mixing. the color is light pink.

the finished marshmallow mixture before it sets. Still in the mixing bowl with the whisk attachment, the color is more white with a very slight pink hue.

Prepping ahead is KEY

One of the keys to success when making these strawberry marshmallows is prepping all of your ingredients and equipment before you begin cooking. The active portion of marshmallow-making moves very quickly so make sure to complete the following steps before you begin:

Line a baking dish with lightly greased parchment paper. Tip: use binder clips to keep the parchment paper down.
Make the marshmallow dusting powder: Use 2 teaspoons of cornstarch and 1 oz (minus 2 teaspoons) of freeze-dried strawberry powder. This is what you’ll use to coat the marshmallows to prevent them from sticking together.
Prepare the freeze-dried strawberries. Grind the freeze-dried strawberries into a powder. For a super smooth texture, I recommend using a coffee grinder. A food processor also works, just note: the powder won’t be as fine.
Have your electric mixer ready to go. Trust me. Once that sugar mixture is ready, it’s ready. I use my stand mixer, but if all you have is a hand mixer, that will work just as well.

One of my girls putting strawberries into a coffee grinder

one of my girls grinding the strawberries into a powder

Let’s make them into hearts!

I’m using this heart-shaped cookie cutter from Thyme and Table to make these cute marshmallows perfect for Valentine’s Day. Of course, use any shape you’d like or just cut them into squares. Just make sure that your cookie cutter or knife is well-oiled to prevent any sticking.

image of the cookie cutter set I bought. The set includes the following shapes: Cloud, Angel Wings, moon, sun, star, unicorn, heart (used for this recipe), and a rainbow with a cloud on the end.

One quick note on the number of marshmallows you’ll get — if you cut your marshmallows into 2×2 inch squares you should get 12 marshmallows. Making the heart marshmallows I got about 20 with a good amount of scrap marshmallows, which honestly, was eaten rather quickly in my house. But of course, numbers will vary based on the size of your squares/hearts and how you cut them out (I always go for minimum “waste”).

This recipe is perfect for kids!

DISCLOSURE: These tips are generalized, and meant to be suggestive. Everything I’m sharing I do with my kids, and they are all different even within my own five. So please take these as suggestions or ideas and if you think your child needs more or less help, then go with what you and your child are comfortable with. Ultimately, you know your kids, do what YOU think is best.

Of course, for safety, some things should be done by adults (the sugar syrup for example should be handled by an adult). But blooming the gelatin, or cutting the marshmallows, can definitely be done by your kids of various ages. I did this project with my 7, 5, and 3 year-olds.

an adult hand placing the cookie cutter to prepare for pushing down.

a little hand pushing down not the cookie cutter and an adult hand helping to push down.

A spoon being used to cover the marshmallow in the strawberry powder.

A spoon being used to continue covering the marshmallow in the strawberry powder.

one of my girls cutting the marshmallows

One of my girls covering a marshmallow with strawberry powder.

Storage

Marshmallows can be stored for up to several weeks at room temperature. They should be well coated in the dusting powder (a mixture of cornstarch and powdered sugar/freeze-dried strawberry powder) and kept in an airtight container.

Ello Duraglass 3.4 Cup, 3 Pack Set

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Can I freeze strawberry marshmallows?

Marshmallows are all about texture. I don’t recommend freezing them. They can take on a bit of a mushier texture as they thaw. But really it all depends on how you’ll use your strawberry marshmallows. If you’re planning to toss them in some hot cocoa or s’mores, a slight change in texture won’t be a huge deal breaker (since they’ll melt anyways) so go ahead and try freezing!

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It’s always wonderful to see loved ones coming together over delicious food.

Please let me know how you like this cake in the comments! Your star ratings with your comment are tremendously helpful, too.

Need ideas for what to serve with your strawberry marshmallow? Try these:

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