Peanut Butter Caramel Marshmallows
Peanut butter is added to a caramel sauce to add a saltier dimension to each lick. The sauce can be used as a topping for a multitude of breakfast and dessert items. It can also be swirled into a homemade marshmallow base transforming your favorite hot cocoa to a totally exceptional treat.
Homemade marshmallows are wonderful on their own but these have the added bonus of a caramel sauce swirled in to the mallow itself. There’s peanut butter in the caramel too – adds a wonderful salty touch!
Do you watch the great british bake off? Of course you do! You, like me, are here because you love baking and bakers LOVE this show because it is inspiring and wholesome and gives us the best ideas in our own kitchens.
While we were watching the 2017 season, one of the contestants was talking about making peanut butter caramel and I about fell off my sofa. I mean… caramel is ‘okay’ but adding something salty and delicious to it got me all giddy with excitement. And guys I couldn’t find any recipes on the web, but I just said, let me just try it. Basically, I just added the right amount of peanut butter to my go-to salted caramel sauce recipe – took a few tries to get the right ratio – and it was delicious. The obvious question then is, what can I do with it? So, so much.
You can use it as a topping for pancakes, french toast or pies or sandwich it between two cookies. You can drizzle it on cakes and ice cream. You can make little peanut butter caramels with it. Use it as a filling between cake layers. Use it instead of regular caramel in a chocolate tart (I did it in this recipe and the result was amazing!) OR you can swirl it into a marshmallow recipe and turn your hot drink into something absolutely extraordinary. Happy peanut butter caramel-making and marshmallowing!
Peanut Butter Caramel Marshmallows
Ingredients
Peanut Butter Caramel Sauce
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/2 cup heavy cream warmed in microwave to just above room temperature
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1/8 cup peanut butter
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
Peanut Butter Caramel Marshmallows
- 1/3 cup water
- 2 packets gelatin
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup water
- 8 oz brown sugar
- 3.3 oz honey or organic corn syrup
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 2 teaspoons unsalted butter
- peanut butter caramel from above
Method
To make the peanut butter caramel:
- In a deep sauce pan (there will be boiling up) stir the sugar and water just to mix. Turn heat to medium high and do not stir for about 10 minutes, keeping watch on the color as it turns from amber to darker but don’t let it burn. You can choose when to take the caramel off: a lighter hue will be sweeter, darker will have a deeper caramel taste and be less sweet. I like to leave mine a minute or two after I see amber because I like my sea salt to stand out when I’m done. Once you’ve reached the color you’ll “stop” it from cooking by adding the cream - do so carefully. I turn my heat all the way down and add it by whisking while adding with a large whisk because it boils up quite a bit. Once calm and incorporated, add your butter, peanut butter and salt and stir to combine. However you are going to use it, you’ll want it a bit cooler than it is right off the heat so allow to cool at room temperature if using soon or store in an air-tight container in the fridge for later use.
To make the marshmallows:
- In a heatproof bowl, combine the vanilla and water. Add the gelatin and whisk or use a fork to combine it well into the water. Set aside.
- In a deep saucepan, mix together the sugar, salt, water and honey. Turn heat to medium, attach a candy thermometer and swirl gently until the sugar is melted. Do not stir it after. Let cook for about 10 minutes, until the temperature registers 250. Remove from heat and transfer to bowl of stand-mixer. Let the sugar cool until temperature is about 210, and while it is cooling melt the butter and warm the gelatin mixture in the microwave. Add the gelatin and begin whisking on medium and then on high.
- A few things to do while this is whipping: melt the butter and spray a loaf pan and a spatula with a thin layer of canola oil. If your caramel is not warm enough to pour, warm it in the microwave - you don’t want it too hot but you do want it pourable.
- Once you are at 9 minutes, the mixture should look very white, thick and fluffy. Add the butter and whip until combined (the butter makes it pull away from the sides but it comes back together a minute later) for one more minute. Stop the mixer and add the peanut butter caramel and mix for 30 seconds or less - just until you see streaks of the caramel rippling through the marshmallow.
- Pour the mallow fluff into the loaf pan, scraping sides of bowl with the oiled spatula and smooth over the top. Cover with an oiled sheet of foil and set in fridge for 2 hours.
- Prepare a workspace by sifting over a counter some organic powdered sugar and oiling a knife. Once the marshmallow is set you can begin cutting. Cover all sides of the marshmallow in powdered sugar. Store in an airtight container. The mallows will last 3 weeks!
Notes
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Question: when I made this, leaving the sugar and water to do their thing for 11 minutes ( I like darker amber ), I added the cream and all…it looks completely liquid….. is this normal? I’ve made caramels before and don’t recall it being this liquid. Am I on the right track?
It should be fine I think, since this is a sauce it’s quite thin when hot and will thicken up as it cools.
Hi
I was wondering if these can be made without the peanut butter by simply omitting it?
I have a friend with a nut allergy but would like to make these as gifts and the idea of a caramel marshmallow sounds too amazing to pass up! Thanks!
I think it’ll be fine, I might reduce the heavy cream by about two tablespoons so that it won’t be thin. But it should work!
These things are incredible!! Homemade marshmallows are pillowy fluffy clouds of joy to begin with, then you go and add peanut butter caramel? Amazing. 10 out of 10. I haven’t tried them in hot cocoa yet, but I imagine it would delicious. This experience has made me want to try all the mallow flavors.
Hello, I’m back again to let everyone know to go ahead and make a double batch of the caramel… You can swirl one portion into the marshmallows and the other portion you can just drink straight or eat with a spoon ?
Not clear on pan to use. Loaf, square?
Jill, it says loaf pan in the instructions. For thinner mallows, use a square pan.
I just made these and they’re amazing. They have a great (not overpowering) peanut butter flavor and they melt in your mouth!
Tiffany, that’s awesome! So nice to hear you enjoyed these!
HELLO READERS I am here to tell you that you absolutely need to make these marshmallows!! I’ve made these, plus Sam’s Apple Cider marshmallows and her Brown Sugar Chocolate Swirl marshmallows (they are all amazing) and these are my favorites. Peanut butter caramel?! Omg. I made it first and then kept trying spoonfuls and had to stop myself and make the mallows or there was soon going to not be enough left to swirl into them. Even without the mallows, I can see myself making this peanut butter caramel and gifting it. Plus, the marshmallows themselves have amazing texture and Sam’s recipes for mallows are the best you’ll find. ?
Make them – you’ll love these.
Hayley you are my marshmallow hero! Honestly with you baking and loving them so much it’s got me thinking I need to add another recipe sometime soon. The ideas are flowing! Thank you so much for this wonderful comment =D