Fondant Play-dough

A week or so ago my kids and I were trying to decide what to do for spring break. My daughter was interested in learning about claymation and stop-motion animation. So we brainstormed some ideas for possible movies we might make together. In the midst of this discussion my son jumped in and said "Ooh, instead of clay, let's use fondant so we can pretend we're giants and eat the people we make."

I thought that was a pretty good idea, but unfortunately we didn't get around to using the fondant in our movies. (The movies are a post for another day.) Yesterday was the last day of our spring break and I remembered that I hadn't made any fondant yet. Using some online advice I decided to try to make my own fondant using marshmallows. This was a sticky, gooey mess for about 3/4 of the process, but in the end it worked itself out and made some pretty nice edible modeling material. The kids ate some when they were finished creating and said it was very yummy, which is in contrast to what I've heard about the taste of pre-made fondant you get in the store. So if we decide to make a fancy cake some day  or just want to play with yummy play-dough I'll definitely be making this again.

Marshmallow Fondant

1 C mini marshmallows

1 Tbs water

1 1/2 + C powdered sugar

1. In a microwave safe bowl, mix mini marshmallows and water then microwave on high for 30 seconds. Stir, then microwave in 30 second increments until the mixture is very melted and stir-able.

2. Add powdered sugar and mix as best you can to incorporate sugar. Once the mixture gets too messy, you can turn it out onto a very well sugared counter top and knead with your sugared hands. This is where it is a complete sticky mess. But don't give up (not that you can when your hands are glued together with this stuff), keep adding sugar until the dough gets less sticky and more like...dough. I think I ended up adding 1.5 or more cups of sugar in the end.

3. To color your fondant you can add a few drops of food coloring when microwaving marshmallows or you can knead the color into the dough at the end.
4. To make a large batch, use a whole bag of mini marshmallows, 2 Tbs of water and a whole 2 lb bag of sugar.
5. Have fun!