This post originally appeared on my food allergy blog in 2011.
These babies are a lot of work, but totally worth it for a spectacular Fourth of July celebration! Everything is made from scratch, except the chocolate, which is just melted chocolate chips. If you want to make these, plan on making the marshmallows first (giving them adequate time to set), then the graham cracker stars, and then assembling them.
I found the marshmallow recipe on Food.com, and made it pretty much as it described. I like that it’s also corn-free, which I think is healthier, and also great for those with corn allergies/sensitivities.
Corn-Free Marshmallows
Ingredients
- 2 TBSP gelatin
- 1 cup cold water, divided
- 2 cups sugar (I used raw)
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 tsp vanilla
- powdered sugar or colored blue sugar
- Pour 1/2 cup water in a small bowl, and sprinkle with gelatin. Set aside.
- In a large saucepan, stir together sugar and remaining 1/2 cup water. Cook over medium heat until dissolved, stirring constantly. When sugar is dissolved, add gelatin and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally to keep it from sticking to the bottom. Remove from the heat, and pour into the bowl of a stand mixer; allow to cool to room temperature.
- Stir in salt and vanilla, then beat on high speed with the whisk attachment until fluffy and doubled in volume, about 10 minutes or so.
- Sprinkle sifted powdered sugar over the bottom of a 9×13 pan and pour marshmallow mixer into it, smoothing the top. Allow to set until you can touch the surface with your finger and it doesn’t stick.
- Using a greased spatula to help release it from the pan, turn marshmallow onto a surface sprinkled with either more sifted powdered sugar or colored blue (or red) sugar. Cut out stars with a metal star-shaped cookie cutter, dipping it into a bowl of hot water in between each cut. Roll each star in your sugar of choice until all surfaces are covered.
For the graham cracker stars, I simply used my allergen-free graham cracker recipe and rolled and cut it into star shapes instead of squares. If you don’t need an allergen-free recipe, try this graham cracker recipe from Smitten Kitchen.
Allergen-Free Graham Crackers
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cups sorghum flour mix
- 1/2 cup turbinado (raw) sugar
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 7 TBSP coconut oil
- 3 TBSP cold water
- 3 TBSP honey
- 1 tsp vanilla
Instructions
- Whisk together dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Add coconut oil and blend with pastry blender until mixture is crumbly.
- Add remaining ingredients and stir until dough can be manipulated into a soft ball, adding cold water 1 TBSP at a time if necessary.
- Cover dough and refrigerate one hour.
- Roll out half of the dough into a large rectangle between two plastic zippered bags (Rip the bags down the sides to form long sheets of plastic. This is sturdier than wax paper or plastic wrap). Leave it pretty thick, around 1/4″ or so. Peel off the top bag, and use a star-shaped cookie cutter to cut out stars. Continue until dough is gone.
- Place the stars on lightly greased cooking sheets and bake in a 325F oven for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the pan to cool on a wire rack.
Chocolate
1/2 cup safe chocolate chips
Melt the chocolate chips at in the microwave at 50% or 60% power, stirring every 15 or 20 seconds. Use immediately.
To Assemble:
Use a knife to spread a small amount (about 1 tsp or less) onto the surface of a graham cracker star. Immediately top with a marshmallow. Leave as is, or spread chocolate on another graham cracker star and place it on top of the marshmallow to form a complete sandwich. Allow to cool until the chocolate is set.
