Use great-quality products like these Nielsen-Massey Vanillas and Pure Flavors to make perfect homemade marshmallows! One of the things that I enjoy the most about the holidays is the gifts. Sure, that doesn’t sound too surprising, except what I actually enjoy is the gifts that I give to all of my loved ones, making those gifts myself and being creative with them. As I grew up, I realized that this was one of the best ways to put my love for baking and cooking to splendid use. It was something I was really good at, and it brought me lots and lots of joy. My holiday cookie boxes typically contain a variation of chocolate chip cookies (regular chocolate chip cookies or double chocolate chip cookies, or even these s’mores cookies!), shortbread cookies, thumbprint cookies, linzer cookies, chocolate truffles, peanut brittle, and variations of marshmallows! 🙂 Sweet, soft, fluffy pillows of deliciousness that can be flavored in so many different ways, what’s not to love? And since I’m gifting these to my friends and family, it’s really important to me that I use the best ingredients, especially when I make candies and sweets like this. Luckily, making homemade marshmallows is a lot easier than you’d think, and it’s also easy to make sure they taste exceptionally good by choosing great-quality products. Other than the sugar you use, you have to make sure that you use fresh, pure ingredients to get the best flavor in your homemade marshmallows. That’s why I love using Nielsen-Massey Vanillas and Pure Flavors. For these Orange Blossom Marshmallows with Pistachios, I used Nielsen-Massey Orange Blossom Water, Nielsen-Massey Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Extract, and freshly roasted pistachios. It’s the difference between regular marshmallows, and delicious, light, fluffy, springy, gift-worthy, heavenly little treats. You can also check out this fun and impressive almond m’hencha (almond snake) that I made with these products which has a similar flavor profile as well. Since I bake a lot, I always keep a big bottle of Nielsen-Massey Vanilla in my kitchen. All Nielsen-Massey products are all-natural, certified gluten-free, certified Kosher, and allergen-free. I really love their vanillas, and it’s with good reason too. Nielsen-Massey vanillas contain 13.35 ounces of vanilla beans per gallon of 35% alcohol liquid, making sure it’s a pure vanilla extraction in line with FDA classifications. They use a cold extraction process which preserves 300+ of the complex flavor compounds in vanilla, giving each of their vanillas (Madagascar, Tahitian, and Mexican Vanilla) a rich and complex flavor profile. The Nielsen-Massey Orange Blossom Water is made with the blossoms of the bitter orange tree with the use of water distillation. I love orange blossom water and tend to be very picky about which brands I use. And I’m happy to say that Nielsen-Massey Orange Blossom Water is a product that I always keep coming back to. It pairs so beautifully with baked goods and confections because it’s a great match with vanilla, chocolate, almond and even citrus flavors. It also pairs well with pistachios (orange blossom water and pistachios are two ingredients used very frequently in Persian and Turkish cuisine). You can find all the specifics on making regular vanilla marshmallows in this my detailed recipe tutorial on how to make marshmallows. It’s so easy to make perfect marshmallows with or without a sugar thermometer, once you get the inside scoop, and know the specifics. You can use the tips I have shared there to make sure that your syrup doesn’t crystallize. Homemade marshmallows make excellent gifts, especially during the holidays (these chocolate marshmallows and peppermint marshmallows are huge crowd favorites during the holidays!). Plus, these have been made without corn syrup too (though you can make it with corn syrup if you choose). The orange blossom pistachio marshmallows in this recipe use the same base as the vanilla marshmallows in my recipe tutorial post, except I add orange blossom water and chopped roasted pistachios to this recipe. Once the orange blossom marshmallows with pistachios have set, they are cut and dusted with confectioner’s sugar OR they can also be drizzled with some white chocolate for an extra layer of yummy extravagance. Either way, these orange blossom marshmallows (orange blossom pistachio marshmallows) will taste like the best damn marshmallows you’ve had in your life! 🙂 That floral, citrus flavor of orange blossom water, paired with the crunch and nuttiness of the pistachios take these marshmallows to a whole new level. Yes, they are perfect for gift-giving, but I wouldn’t blame you if you decided to keep them all for yourself! 🙂 They are THAT good. Besides, I made a whole new batch just for ourselves, ’cause you know, sharing is overrated sometimes! 😉 Make sure to make homemade treats extra special this holiday season!
