Gingerbread Marshmallow Man

I feel like I should have tons of recipes this time of year and I have so little in my stash to blog about!  Like most of us, I make the same staples each year including gingerbread men, fudge, shortbread, etc. that people expect and I throw in a new recipe every now and then.  Also taking up my time, I’ve decided to update my teaching certificate and add Middle School Language Arts while applying my old Elementary Education test to my certificate (I’m already certified for 9-12 drama, speech and English).  In addition, I need to take a college course this Spring.  Thank goodness for online courses!  Sometime next month I hope to make a post of my findings in the current educational books I’m reading which include Paul Tough’s “How Children Succeed” which led me to Dr. Seligman’s “Learned Optimism” which led me to “The Optimistic Child” and further read Dr. Madeline Levine’s “Teach Your Children Well.  Do people still take handwritten notes?  I was doing this and it seems so old school.  But, it feels weird to use a laptop.  I love reading about weird findings in educational and psychological studies.  Makes me wish I had majored in both.

Back to our regularly scheduled program….. This is more of a craft than a recipe I should say.  I found it in the “Family Fun” magazine this month which was woefully inadequate this month.  The kids loved making these and eating them.  It was too much sugar for me, but after working out for 18 months my tolerance for sugar/sweetness has changed.  My 5 year old did great and did everything except cut the corner on the plastic bag and melt the chocolate.  My 2 year old….. well, she just ran around the kitchen shouting, “marshmallow!” and had a wonderful time as well.

This was something fun and creative that a young person could accomplish on their own and that is what matters.  I think you could adapt this to different chocolates, decorate them as teddy bears instead, or a whole host of creative ideas.

Gingerbread Marshmallow Man
yield 4 “men”

8 large marshmallows (regular large – not those super huge roasting ones)
16 mini marshmallows
1/4 cup white chocolate
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. ground ginger (or omit if you don’t like ginger)
bowl of water
4 lollipop sticks

1.  First, get your bodies ready.  Put the marshmallow on its side and drive through the lollipop stick.  Take the second marshmallow and do the same making sure you don’t poke all the way through.  Another cute idea is to first take the lollipop through the flat end and take it out.  This makes a “belly button”.  Second, mix the sugar, cinnamon and ground ginger in a bowl.

2.  Melt the white chocolate slowly and carefully in the microwave.  Snip a small corner off of a ziplock baggie and put in half of the chocolate.  Use this as “glue” to adhere the mini marshmallows as arms and legs.  They stick surprisingly well and set up in about 5 minutes.

3.  Once set, either dip the marshmallow man in some water or spray with a water bottle.  Shake off any excess and put him in the cinnamon/sugar solution.  You will need a spoon for this part.

4.  Take the remaining white chocolate in the bowl and use it in the ziplock baggie to make faces or adhere decorations.  I had to split the chocolate because by the time you get to making the faces, the chocolate in the baggie is already hard and not usable.

Yield 4 gingerbread marshmallow men

“Recipe” from Family Fun magazine