Brownie Marshmallow Sandwich with Strawberry Sauce

Brownies were, by far, my all-time favorite treat growing up. As in, made-from-a-box, just-add-eggs-and-water brownie. To this day, I always have a box of brownie mix in my cupboard. Just in case.

And it sure came in handy when I got inspired to create a decadent treat for my Valentine. I'm a little obsessed with making homemade marshmallows, and have had my fair share of hot chocolate and marshmallows this winter. It's also one of Sam's favorite combos.

Playing on the chocolate-marshmallow combo, I baked brownies and whipped up a sheet of vanilla marshmallows.

With a large heart-shaped cookie cutter, I stamped hearts out of both the brownie and marshmallow sheets. Then I stacked the cut outs into layers. And because I just couldn't help myself, I whipped up some strawberry syrup to drizzle over. Looks romantic-ish, right?

What I didn't plan for was coming down with a pretty bad cold. Sam wouldn't come anywhere near me. In his defense, I would have done the same thing had the roles been reversed.

So to make him a bit more... comfortable, I was able to squeeze out a few smaller desserts using the sheets of marshmallows and brownies I had already made, and a smaller cookie cutter.

We both thoroughly enjoyed this taste of Valentine's Day. Even if it was from separate plates :)

Brownie Sandwich with Vanilla Marshmallow and Strawberry Sauce

Ingredients:
1 box of brownie mix and necessary add-ins

cooking spray

2 cups sugar
1 T light corn syrup
4 packages (1/4 ounce each) unflavored gelatin
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 large egg whites
2 cups strawberry
1/3 cup powdered sugar
1 T fresh squeezed lemon

Brownies:

1 box of brownie mix. Follow instructions on box and bake in 13x9 baking pan. Once baked and cooled, stamp with heart-shaped cookie cutter.

Vanilla Marshmallows:

Adapted from this recipe for Peppermint Swirl Marshmallows.

Coat an 13x9 square pan with cooking spray; line bottom with parchment paper. Coat the parchment with cooking spray, and set pan aside. Put sugar, corn syrup, and 3/4 cup water in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring, until sugar is dissolved. Stop stirring; let mixture come to a boil. Raise heat to medium-high; cook until mixture registers 260 degrees on a candy thermometer. Meanwhile, sprinkle gelatin over 3/4 cup water in a heatproof bowl; let stand 5 minutes to soften. Set the bowl with the gelatin mixture over a pan of simmering water; whisk constantly until gelatin is dissolved. Remove from heat, and stir in extract; set aside. Beat egg whites in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment until stiff (but not dry) peaks form. Whisk gelatin mixture into sugar mixture; with mixer running, gradually add to egg whites. Mix on high speed until very thick, 12 to 15 minutes. Pour mixture into lined pan. Let marshmallow stand, uncovered, at room temperature until firm, at least 3 hours. Stamp with cookie cutter.

Strawberry Syrup:
Adapted from this recipe for Raspberry Sauce.
Cream strawberries, powdered sugar and lemon in food processor until smooth.

Presentation:

Stack brownie and marshmallow cut outs, and top with strawberry syrup.