6tablespoonunsalted butter, cut into pieces, at room temperature
½cupheavy (whipping) cream
1 ½teaspoonfleur de sel(or sea salt)
For Assembly/Finishing:
24lollipop sticks(see note)
Instructions
For Marshmallows:
Coat a 8" square pan with nonstick spray. Line with foil, allowing foil to overhang the edges of the pan to form handles, and spray the foil with nonstick spray. Set aside.
Process the freeze-dried apples (see note) in the bowl of a food processor until ground fine. I tried to get as much of it ground to a powder as I could, but there were still some larger pieces of apple, and that's fine. Set aside (keep away from moisture or it will clump!)
In a small bowl, whisk gelatin and ½ cup water. Set aside to soften for 5 minutes.
In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, ¼ cup agave syrup (or light corn syrup), and remaining ¼ cup water. Bring mixture to a boil over high heat, stirring occasionally. Cook until syrup temperature reaches 240F.
While syrup is boiling, pour remaining ¼ cup agave syrup (or light corn syrup) into the bowl of a stand mixer. Place gelatin mixture in microwave for about 30 seconds, or until it is completely melted. Add gelatin mixture to mixer bowl. Turn the mixer on low and keep it running.
Once syrup reaches 340F, pour carefully into mixer bowl (while mixer is still running on low). Be VERY careful not to touch the syrup, as it will stick to your skin and cause serious burns!
Increase mixer speed to medium and beat 5 minutes. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat 5 more minutes. Then increase the mixer speed to high and beat for another 2 minutes. Mixture will be white, shiny, and will have tripled in volume.
Pour half the ground apples into the marshmallow mixture, folding in to combine. Once nearly combined, add the other half of the apples and repeat. Spread marshmallows into prepared pan, using an offset spatula to smooth the top. Let the marshmallows set up at room temperature at least 4 hours.
For Salted Caramel Sauce:
Pour sugar into a medium saucepan. Whisk over medium-high heat as sugar melts. It will clump and you'll think you're doing it all wrong. You're not. :)
Once sugar is melted, stop whisking and let sugar cook until it is deep amber in color. *Carefully* add butter (mixture will bubble!) and whisk to incorporate.
Remove mixture from the heat. Add cream (carefully!) and whisk until smooth. Add salt and stir to incorporate. Allow caramel to cool to nearly room temperature.
For Dipping/Assembly:
Remove marshmallows from pan and cut into 24 marshmallows (a greased pizza cutter works nicely for this; see note). Insert a lollipop stick (see note) into each marshmallow and set on a baking sheet lined with waxed paper or a silpat (see note).
Dip each marshmallow almost completely in the salted caramel sauce (if you dip it all the way in, you risk losing your marshmallow off the stick). Place dipped marshmallows in the refrigerator to set.Enjoy!
Notes
Note on freeze-dried apples: Make sure that you're using freeze-dried apples and not just dried. Freeze-dried apples will be crunchy and allow you to grind them into a powder. If you can't find them in your local grocery store, you can find them [here].Note on pizza cutter: A greased pizza cutter makes quick work of cutting the marshmallows and leaves them with nice clean-cut edges. I had a fancy marshmallow cutter and it didn't do the job nearly as well! If you're looking for a pizza cutter, you can find one [here].Note on lollipop sticks: I can never find these in my local grocery store, and end up buying them at a craft store or online. If you're looking to get some, you can find them [here].Note on silpat: I line my baking sheets with silpats because the caramel won't stick to them at all and I can reuse them over and over again. If you're looking to get yourself one, you can find them [here].