Marshmallows and waffle brownies

Autumn doesn't officially begin for another 22 days, but I'm anxious to get cookin' and craftin' now. 

I haven't posted in my dusty blog since last year, and with good reason. Since October of last year basically everything about my life has changed. I closed my business, moved to a new area, and as of this week I'm (hopefully) halfway through my first/only pregnancy. My motivation to DO THINGS finally came back, thanks to my sketchbook. I started drawing again, and I find that it helps me clear my head more than meditation ever could, especially since I'm not running right now. 

Thanks to my newfound motivation, this weekend I made marshmallows, pomegranate marshmallows, and I waffled brownies. 

For some reason I doubled the marshmallow recipe because I worried I wouldn't have enough. My entire kitchen is coated with powdered sugar, and even after giving some away, I have more marshmallows than I know how to use. 

Marshmallow aftermath - squares, minis, and giant pomegranate. 

For the pomegranate marshmallows, I added 1 oz of Pama pomegranate liqueur, a little black currant syrup, and a splash of lemon juice. I should have added extra powdered sugar to the mix, so they came out a little squishy and damp, but still tasty. 

The regular marshmallows have specs of vanilla bean throughout, and they're perfectly firm but not painfully sweet. Commercial marshmallows are tasteless garbage in comparison with homemade. These are fluffy mouth clouds of happiness. 

My normal baking focus is on cake, but I got an intense urge to make waffled brownies. I use my WaffleBaker more often than I thought I would when I got it, which still surprises me. 

Hat tip to E for this amazing brownie recipe. I used about 1.5 T of batter for each brownie and let each batch WaffleBake(tm) for 5 minutes. It's a tedious way to make brownies, and I ended up with a lot of duds thanks to overzealous brownie removal, but they are SO GOOD. Armed with silicone tongs and a flat spatula, I got my technique down pat and it was smooth brownie waffling. I added some semi-sweet chips to the mix, so each brownie is chewy cocoa goodness with a soft, cakey middle, and a few chocolate bombs for extra fun. This recipe is as easy as any box mix, so I will definitely make these again in the future. 

More food gifts, with funny stickers! (Thanks, Heidi)

My September/October plans are shaping up, and my list of crafty to-dos is growing as fat as my Halloween movie to-do list. I'm excited for everything that's to come, and I'm going to relax in the in-betweens with little afternoon tea breaks with my favorite furry buddy.