Fondant

By wtaylor

Ingredients

• Two pound bag of powdered sugar
• 16 oz bag of mini marshmallows
• 1/2 cup shorting (Crisco brand)-- put this in a container you can get your fingers into....like the measuring cup shown above.
• 2-4 Tablespoons of water

Preparation

Step 1

Clean your counter really well and spread 1/2 of your shorting in a thick layer on your counter about the size of a basketball.


Sift your powder sugar into a pile on top of the shorting. I hate sifting when I bake but in this case it is really helpful. If you don't do it you will end up with clumps of sugar in your fondant.

Make a crater in the middle of your sugar, keeping high sides all around and a layer of powder sugar on the bottom

Place your marshmallows in a microwave safe bowl. Add your water. Start with 2 tablespoons.

**The amount of water you use will depend on where you live. When I lived in southeastern Idaho (where it's more dry) I would add 3 1/2 tablespoons but now that I am in northern Idaho, I only add 2.
If your fondant is dry (cracking) when you knead it later on, you know you need to add more water. Once you figure out how much you need you can add it during this step.

Put your bowl in the microwave. Heat until your marshmallows melt. This takes about 2 1/2-4 minutes. They will look like this

Fold the marshmallows until it is all incorporated and smooth.

Pour your mixture onto your powdered sugar crater, making sure to scrape and add the excess from the sides of the bowl.

These next steps can be hot, please be careful.
You can let the marshmallows cool a bit if needed

Coat your hands with shortening. On the front, back, in between fingers, up to your wrists, everywhere. Ha! That which it's not coated will have fondant stuck to it. So take off your rings too.

And I am sure there are many ways to do this.....but this is what works for me.
Start to fold the powdered sugar on top of the marshmallows keep folding and combining it until it all starts mixing together

Now I scrape the counter with a pastry scraper or spatula, put the extra sugar on the fondant.
Apply a thin layer of shortening onto the counter to prevent sticking and keep kneading the fondant til smooth.

If you still have some shortening left, work all but 1 tablespoon in.


Now you're done.
Use the fondant right away or coat your finished fondant with a thin layer of shortening and seal tight in a zip lock bag