These easy Halloween ghost marshmallows are super cute and just as delicious! Fluffy, soft, and full of pure vanilla flavor, these homemade mini ghost marshmallows taste nothing like the store-bought kind -- and they take just about 25 minutes to make, plus a few more minutes to pipe into their ghoulish little shapes.
This is a no-corn syrup homemade marshmallow recipe, but you can substitute light corn syrup if you like. Plus, I share instructions for using sheet gelatin OR powdered gelatin!
Make a hot mug of Spooky Homemade Hot Cocoa and get your graham crackers ready (spooky s'mores anybody?) because these ghoulish ghosts are as delicious as they are cute! And they also make a great Halloween cheesecake topper!
Jump to:
- Why You'll Love Halloween Ghost Marshmallows
- Halloween Ghost Marshmallow Ingredients
- How to Make Easy Ghost Marshmallows
- How To Make Easy Homemade Ghost Marshmallows Step-By-Step Recipe Photos
- How to Flavor Homemade Marshmallows
- How to Store Homemade Marshmallows
- How to Troubleshoot Making Homemade Marshmallows
- More Easy Halloween Recipes
- Let's get started!
- 📖 Recipe
Why You'll Love Halloween Ghost Marshmallows
- They're easy and quick to make in 25 minutes
- They taste way better than any store-bought marshmallows
- This is a no-corn syrup marshmallow recipe (although you can sub light corn syrup)
- Kids and adults love them (I mean, look at them!)
- You can make them using powdered gelatin OR sheet gelatin
- Soft and pillowy and full of pure vanilla flavor
- Fun and easy to decorate
- Makes a great Halloween hot cocoa topper
- Makes the best homemade Indoor Spooky S'mores
- Excellent ice cream sundae topper instead of whipped cream
Halloween Ghost Marshmallow Ingredients
You really only need 5 ingredients to make homemade marshmallows (plus a little cornstarch and powdered sugar to dust them with).
Using a pinch of salt is optional, of course, but it adds the perfect balance to the sweetness and helps bring out the pure vanilla flavor.
I prefer to use Lyle's Golden Syrup to make the marshmallows, but you can definitely use light corn syrup in this recipe instead.
- powdered gelatin or sheet gelatin (120-130 bloom strength)
- granulated sugar
- Lyle's Golden Syrup *sub light corn syrup
- egg whites
- vanilla extract
- pinch of salt
- corn starch
- powdered sugar
How to Make Easy Ghost Marshmallows
If you're more of a visual learner, scroll down to see the detailed step-by-step marshmallow-making recipe photos. Or if you're looking for a good homemade Peeps recipe, click over here to see that post.
- Prepare the work surface for piping the marshmallows.
- Bloom the gelatin:
- For Powdered Gelatin. In a small bowl, sprinkle the powdered gelatin over the water to soften and absorb the liquid.
- For Sheet Gelatin. Add the gelatin sheets to a bowl and cover completely with water. Allow to soften for 4 to 5 minutes, remove the water, squeeze them gently to remove excess water, and add them back to the bowl and set aside.
- Whisk the egg whites.
- Make the hot syrup.
- Combine the hot syrup and egg white mixture.
- Melt the gelatin and add it to the marshmallow mixture.
- Pipe the ghosts.
- Make the chocolate faces and dust the marshmallows so they don't stick.
How To Make Easy Homemade Ghost Marshmallows Step-By-Step Recipe Photos
How to Flavor Homemade Marshmallows
Playing with the flavor of homemade marshmallows is fun. Use any of the options below to complement or replace the pure vanilla extract in the recipe.
- ¼ to ½ teaspoon natural strawberry extract
- ½ to 1 teaspoon almond extract
- ⅛ teaspoon peppermint extract
- ¼ to ½ teaspoon coconut flavoring
- ¼ to ½ teaspoon orange extract
- ¼ to ½ teaspoon lemon extract
- Add espresso powder, cinnamon, or pumpkin spice to the mixer toward the end
How to Store Homemade Marshmallows
Once the marshmallows have been cured and dusted to prevent sticking, they can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for about a week and even longer in a cool, dry area of the cupboard.
How to Troubleshoot Making Homemade Marshmallows
Making homemade marshmallows is easy, but if you're not familiar with candy-making, it might be intimidating at first. Don't let it be. Use these helpful tips to make the best-tasting and textured marshmallows you've ever had.
If the marshmallows are sticky on the bottoms after the curing (drying) period, it's most likely because you didn't whisk the mixture long enough until the outside of the bowl was completely cool to the touch. To fix sticky bottoms, dust with more cornstarch or the cornstarch-powdered sugar mixture until they're no longer sticky.
If the marshmallows are too soft, it may mean that the temperature of the hot syrup mixture didn't reach the required 245°/118°C, which may indicate your thermometer isn't accurate. Test the thermometer in a pot of boiling water and make sure it reads 212ºF (100ºC) if you're at sea level.
Make sure you do not have the heat on the burner when you are melting the gelatin, or it may lose its gelling potential. Instead, use the residual heat from the still-hot pot you cooked the syrup mixture in to gently melt it. It melts in a quick couple of seconds.
You can use cornstarch-only in place of the powdered sugar-cornstarch mixture to prep the workstation and dust the final marshmallows. I've used both, and the cornstarch-only mixture is definitely drier, but I do like the addition of the powdered sugar for flavor. It's up to you.
More Easy Halloween Recipes
If you're looking for more Halloween tricks or treats to make this year, here are a few of our favorite pumpkin and pumpkin spice recipes to try.
- Ghost Meringues Recipe (Easy Halloween Meringue Cookies)
- Easy Apple Rum Cake with Pecan Crunch
- White Chocolate Salted Caramel Cheesecake With Oreo Cookie Crust
- Simple and Delicious Mascarpone Apple Torte
- Pumpkin Walnut Bread (Super Moist & No Mixer Needed)
- Pumpkin Pancakes Recipe (Extra Fluffy + Video)
- Bakery-Style Pumpkin Spice Blueberry Muffins (No-Mixer Needed)
- Candied Pecans Anyone Can Make (Easy, Holiday Party Nuts)
- Easy Pumpkin Focaccia Bread (Focaccia alla Zucca)
- Easy Pumpkin Seed Milk (Dairy-Free Milk Recipe)
- Moist Pumpkin Spice Banana Bread w/Toasted Pumpkin Seed Crunch
- Pumpkin Pie Spice Recipe (Best McCormick Copycat)
- Pumpkin Cheesecake with Chestnut Graham Cracker Crust
- Fluffy Pumpkin Pancakes With Berries and Pecans (With Video)
- 20-Minute Pumpkin Purée (100% Homemade)
- Pumpkin Pie Mascarpone Tart With Pecan Crunch and Biscoff Crust
Let's get started!
Print📖 Recipe
Ghost Marshmallows For Beginners (Easy Halloween Marshmallows)
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 16 Ghost Marshmallows
- Diet: Low Fat
Description
If you're looking for an easy Halloween dessert recipe that's sure to make every kid happy, these mini marshmallow ghosts are the perfect treat. So, fluffy and soft, these homemade marshmallows take just about 25 minutes to make, plus a few more minutes to pipe into their ghostly shapes.
I've included ingredients and instructions for using sheet gelatin or powdered gelatin. See the recipe notes.
Ingredients
GHOST MARSHMALLOWS USING SHEET GELATIN:
For Blooming the Gelatin:
- 10 grams of gelatin sheets (120-130 bloom strength ) (2 sheets of Mariarosa Gelatine in Foglia)
- 2 cups cold water (500g)
Hot Syrup Mixture:
- 3 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon cold water (40g)
- ½ cup granulated sugar (100g)
- 3 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon Lyle's Golden Syrup (50g) *sub light corn syrup
Egg Whites Mixture:
- 2 large egg whites, at room temperature (65g)
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (5g)
- pinch of salt
For Dusting the Finished Marshmallows:
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch (15g)
- 6 tablespoons powdered sugar (50g)
*For the powdered gelatin option see the recipe notes below.
Get Recipe Ingredients
Instructions
- Prepare the work surface for piping the marshmallows. Whisk together the cornstarch and powdered sugar for dusting the marshmallows. Dust a baking sheet evenly with the mixture using a sieve or a sifter. Be sure to cover the entire area completely, reserving some of the mixture to dust the tops of the marshmallows later on.
- Bloom the gelatin:
- For Powdered Gelatin. In a small bowl, sprinkle the powdered gelatin over the water to soften and absorb the liquid.
- For Sheet Gelatin. Add the gelatin sheets to a bowl and cover completely with water. Allow to soften for 4 to 5 minutes, remove the water, squeeze them gently to remove excess water, and add them back to the bowl and set aside.
- Whisk the egg whites. In the bowl of a stand mixer (or large mixing bowl if using a handheld mixer), add the egg whites and whisk on low speed until frothy. Add the salt and vanilla and continue mixing on low speed while you make the syrup.
- Make the hot syrup. In a small pot fitted with a candy/deep fry thermometer, add the sugar, golden syrup, and water, and cook over medium-high heat. When the temperature of the syrup reaches 210°F/99°C, increase the speed of the mixer to high and whisk until visibly thick and fluffy.
- Combine the hot syrup and egg white mixture. When the temperature of the syrup reaches 245ºF/118°C, carefully pour the hot syrup into the mixer in a steady stream down the side while the machine is still running at high speed. Be careful and try to keep the syrup from coming in direct contact with the whisk so it doesn't splatter. Set a timer for 10 minutes and allow the mixture to continue at high speed.
- Melt the gelatin and add it to the marshmallow mixture. Add the bloomed sheet gelatin plus 1 tablespoon of water to the same pot you cooked the hot syrup in and allow it to melt. It melts quickly from the residual heat. Do not turn on the heat to melt the gelatin. When the gelatin is melted and there are no visible pieces or granules, add it to the mixer while still mixing at high speed. Use a rubber spatula to get all of the gelatin mixture into the stand mixer. Continue mixing on high speed until the outside of the bowl is completely cool to the touch and no longer warm (5 to 8 minutes more).
- Pipe the ghosts. Add the marshmallow mixture to a piping bag with a large hole and pipe directly onto the prepared baking sheet. Start by piping a little, take a pause, lift up, pipe a little more, take another pause, lift up, and make the last pipe. Allow the ghosts to rest for at least 2 hours before adding the chocolate faces. *See the video for help piping the ghosts.
- Make the chocolate faces. Melt a little dark chocolate over a double boiler or in the microwave. Using a toothpick or wooden skewer, make eyeballs and a mouth by dotting the chocolate onto the marshmallows. Get creative and have fun! Allow the marshmallows to cure for at least 4 hours, but even better overnight, uncovered at room temperature. Just before storing, dust them with the remaining powdered sugar mixture to keep them from sticking together. Store them in large sealed containers and enjoy them with your favorite hot cocoa or to perk up your coffee or Ghoulish Halloween sundaes, Enjoy!
Notes
A note on sheet gelatin: The sheet gelatin used in this recipe is 120-130 bloom strength (Mariarosa Gelatine in Foglia). If your gelatin sheets have a different bloom strength, you may need to adjust the amount slightly. Higher bloom = stronger gelling power (use less). Lower bloom = weaker gelling power (use more). When in doubt, check the bloom strength on the package and adjust accordingly.
HOW TO SUBSTITUTE POWDERED GELATIN:
For Blooming Powdered Gelatin:
- 1 envelope powdered gelatin (2 ½ teaspoons) (8.5g)
- ¼ cup cold water (63g)
- When the hot syrup mixture has cooled just enough that most of the bubbles have subsided, add the bloomed gelatin mixture and stir to dissolve the gelatin. When there are no more granules and the gelatin has been fully combined with the hot syrup, pour everything into the egg white mixture while the mixer is running on high speed and follow the rest of the instructions.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 5
- Category: Candy
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Ghost Marshmallow
- Calories: 54
- Sugar: 11g
- Sodium: 19g
- Fat: 0g
- Saturated Fat: 0g
- Unsaturated Fat: 0g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 13g
- Fiber: 0g
- Protein: 1g
- Cholesterol: 0g
Ivy M. says
Made these for my daughter's Halloween themed birthday party (her favorite holiday) and they were the hit of the event! Way easier than I expected and the ghost shapes are forgiving even if they're not perfect. My wonky ones still looked adorable👻🎃 !
Kelly says
That's awesome, Ivy! I'm so happy you liked them. And I actually think the imperfect ones are the cutest🤗!