Sookie's Fried Marshmallow Pie for the Eating Gilmore One Year Anniversary
“And there’s cornbread, and fried marshmallow pie for dessert.” “And you have CCR on.” “Well, you like CCR.”
Ingredients:
For the marshmallows:
(Recipe from Averie Cooks)
1 cup cold water
3 packets of unflavored gelatin (.25 ounces each)
1 ⅓ cup granulated sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
¼ tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
⅔ cup powdered sugar
For the pie dough:
1 cup unsalted butter, cubed
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
½ tsp salt
½ cup ice cold water
Assembly:
1 egg, beaten
½ quart vegetable oil
Directions:
For the marshmallows:
In a large mixing bowl, mix the gelatin in ½ cup of the cold water. It’s easiest to mix with an electric mixer. Allow to set for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, place a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the sugar, corn syrup, salt, and remaining ½ cup of water. Stir until the sugar is dissolved.
Once the mixture begins to bubble, allow to simmer for 3 minutes.
Carefully pour the hot syrup over the gelatin. Be careful to avoid splashing!
If you have a whisk attachment to your electric mixer, use on the lowest setting until fully combined to avoid splashing.
Whisk the marshmallow mixture for about 10 minutes. It will turn white and become fluffy, doubling in size.
Add the vanilla and whisk for an additional minute.
Dust the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish with ⅓ cup of powdered sugar. Use a fine-mesh sieve to avoid clumping.
Using a rubber spatula, evenly spread the marshmallow mixture into the baking dish.
Dust the top of the mixture with the remaining powdered sugar. Again, use a sieve to avoid clumps.
Allow the marshmallows to set for at least 8 hours.
To cut the marshmallows, use a sharp knife. If the knife sticks, dust the knife in more powdered sugar. Cut into 1 inch cubes.
For the pie dough:
Place the butter in a small bowl and dust with about ½ tbsp of the flour. Place the butter into the freezer for 1 hour to make sure it’s really cold.
Meanwhile, in a large mixing bowl, combine the rest of the flour and salt.
Add the cold butter to the flour mixture and using your hands, combine until the mixture is just combined. There should still be full chunks of butter.
Add the ice-cold water to the mixture and using your hands or a dough hook if it’s too cold to handle, combine until a shaggy dough forms. It will be crumbly, but you don’t want it to be too wet.
On a lightly floured surface, form your dough into a large ball. Be careful not to overwork the dough. Wrap the dough and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Assembly:
Once the dough has chilled, carefully roll it out to about ¼ inch thick. Use a cereal bowl or another round object to use as a guide to cut out a circle of dough about 5-6 inches in diameter.
Add about 7-10 marshmallows to one side of the dough circle. Leave about ½ inch of the dough exposed.
Lightly brush the edge of the circle with the egg. Fold the circle in half to create a semi-circle and press the edges together to form a seal.
In a large saucepan, add the oil. It should reach at least 3 inches up the pan. Place over medium heat.
Allow the oil to reach 375 degrees F. If you don’t have a thermometer, drop in a small piece of the leftover pie dough into the oil. If it sizzles and starts to fry, the oil should be ready.
Gently add the pies, working in batches, about 2-3 at a time. Let the pies cook 1-2 minutes on one side, or until golden brown, then use a large slotted spoon to flip over. Allow the pies to cook 1-2 minutes on the other side.
Remove the pies with the large slotted spoon and place on towels to dry and cool.
When I was a few weeks away from my first anniversary, I went back through the episodes I’ve already done for this project and picked out a few dishes I didn’t make but had wanted to. I asked my Instagram followers to vote on which dish I should make to celebrate the anniversary of Eating Gilmore, and Sookie’s Fried Marshmallow Pie from 3.11 I Solemnly Swear was the winner. If you recall, this is the episode in which Sookie cooks Jackson a feast because she feels guilty for flirting with her old friend Joe.
I had initially planned to make the fried marshmallow pie for this episode, but I was feeling burnt out on desserts so I went with the warm potato and chorizo salad instead. I have never had nor even heard of a fried marshmallow pie before watching this episode, but it’s always intrigued me. Typically, fried pies are individual-sized hand pies. I considered making it a s’mores pie, but Sookie just says marshmallow, so I reluctantly left out the chocolate. But don’t worry, because s’mores will be featured on here one day.
I decided to make my own marshmallows because I never had before. Sometimes I like being extra and making all the components from scratch (like when I made my own strawberry jam for my homemade pop-tarts). And other times, I’ll take a few shortcuts (like using store-bought puff pastry for my apple pie). I support cooks that go either way. Sometimes you want to put in the work in the kitchen, but sometimes you just want to eat the delicious food faster. But seeing as how this is a special one year anniversary dish, I knew I had to be a little extra!
A year ago, I launched Eating Gilmore! I can’t believe it’s already been a year. I know it seems cliché to say, but this past year has flown by. Thank you for supporting me this past year. I never thought I would meet so many amazing people that love Gilmore Girls as much as I do. This community almost feels like my own Stars Hollow! I started Eating Gilmore as a pandemic project, but now it’s become what I look forward to most! I am truly grateful for my readers, followers, and new friends. So as a way to say thank you, I will be hosting a giveaway on my Instagram starting tomorrow!
Ever wonder why I picked the name Eating Gilmore? No one has actually ever asked me this, but sometimes I’m curious if people ever wonder why. It’s not a long story or even a particularly clever one. I was inspired by the promotional line for the Netflix revival. “Live More, Laugh More, Talk More, Gilmore.” I almost went with Eat More Gilmore but decided to shorten it to create an easier Instagram handle. And that’s it, that’s the story. If you want to read a more interesting (at least to me) story about how I fell in love with the show, you should read my first blog post!
Again, thank you for supporting me this year. I am so excited for what the next year has in store.
As always, happy cooking from the Hollow!
