You probably have a bag of jet-puffed marshmallows sitting in the back of your pantry right now. They’re likely a bit stiff, maybe even slightly fused together from the humidity, but you aren’t throwing them away because, honestly, who does? We keep them for that specific moment when the sugar craving hits and a plain cookie just won't cut it. But here’s the thing about things to bake with marshmallows: most people treat them as an afterthought. They’re a topping. A garnish. A sticky little hat for a sweet potato casserole. That’s a mistake.
If you want to actually level up your baking, you have to stop treating marshmallows like a decoration and start treating them like a structural ingredient. When you apply heat, that pillowy puff of gelatin and corn syrup undergoes a radical transformation. It’s not just "melting." It’s caramelizing, expanding, and creating a chewiness that you literally cannot replicate with any other sugar source.
The Science of the Gooey Center
Baking is chemistry. Pure and simple. When you’re looking for things to bake with marshmallows, you’re actually looking for a way to manage moisture and aeration. Most marshmallows are made of sugar, water, and gelatin, whipped into a stable foam. When you shove a standard marshmallow into a hot oven inside a ball of cookie dough, the air pockets expand. If you’ve ever tried to make those viral "lava" cookies, you know the heartbreak of the marshmallow disappearing entirely, leaving behind a hollow, sugary cavern.
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Why does that happen? It’s the moisture.
Standard grocery store marshmallows have a high water content. In a 350-degree oven, that water turns to steam, the gelatin breaks down, and the whole thing basically dissolves into the dough. If you want that iconic "cheese pull" effect but with sugar, you have to use frozen marshmallows or high-density mallows like the ones from North State Provisions or even the dehydrating bits you find in cereal. It sounds weird, but freezing your marshmallows for two hours before folding them into a hot batter creates a temperature buffer. This delay allows the surrounding dough to set its structure before the marshmallow fully liquefies. You get a pocket of Gooeyness—capital G—instead of a sticky puddle on your baking sheet.
The S'mores Evolution (It’s Not Just for Campfires)
Let's talk about the heavy hitter. S’mores. Everyone does the brownie version. It’s fine. It’s a classic for a reason. But if you really want to explore things to bake with marshmallows, you have to look at the "S'mores Blondie." Blondies are superior here because the brown sugar and butter base mimics the flavor profile of a graham cracker much better than cocoa powder ever could.
I once saw a recipe from Christina Tosi of Milk Bar fame that used "cornflake crunch" alongside toasted marshmallows. It changed my life. You don’t just put the marshmallows on top at the end. You mix half into the batter so they melt into "sugar ribbons" and save the rest for a broiler blast at the very last minute.
- The Graham Cracker Crust: Don't just crush them. Pulse them with melted salted butter and a pinch of cinnamon until it feels like wet sand.
- The Chocolate Choice: Use 60% dark chocolate. The marshmallow is already a sugar bomb; you need the bitterness of high-quality cacao to keep your teeth from aching.
- The Char Factor: If you aren't using a kitchen torch, you're missing out. A broiler works, but it’s imprecise. A torch lets you target the edges of the marshmallow, creating that bitter, burnt-sugar crust that makes the interior taste even sweeter.
Unexpected Savory-Sweet Hybrids
This is where people usually get skeptical. Marshmallows in savory-leaning bakes? Absolutely.
Have you ever had a Goober-style muffin? It’s a peanut butter base, maybe some salty pretzel bits, and mini marshmallows folded in. The salt from the peanut butter reacts with the vanilla notes in the marshmallow in a way that’s almost addictive. Or consider the "Mississippi Mud" style of baking. It’s heavy, it’s dark, and it’s deeply southern.
In a traditional Mississippi Mud cake, you’re looking at a dense chocolate base topped with a layer of melted marshmallows and then a warm chocolate frosting poured over the top while the marshmallows are still puffed. The frosting "traps" the air. It creates a texture that is somewhere between a cloud and a fudge bar. Most people mess this up by waiting for the cake to cool. Don't do that. You want that marshmallow layer to be a molten bridge between the cake and the icing.
The Fluff Factor: When to Use the Jar Instead
Sometimes the solid marshmallow isn't the right tool for the job. Marshmallow fluff (or crème) is a different beast entirely. Because it lacks the gelatin that gives regular marshmallows their shape, it won't "hold" in a bake. It’ll just merge.
If you're making a stuffed Whoopie Pie or a filling for a layered cake, fluff is your best friend. Mix it with cream cheese. That’s the secret. A 1:1 ratio of marshmallow fluff to softened cream cheese creates a frosting that is stable enough to hold up a cake layer but light enough that it doesn't feel like you're eating a brick of butter.
Beyond the Basics: Pushing the Limits of Sugar
What about things to bake with marshmallows that aren't just cookies?
- Marshmallow-Stuffed Sweet Potato Bread: Forget the casserole. Fold mini marshmallows into a spiced sweet potato quick bread. They create little pockets of honey-like syrup throughout the loaf.
- Toasted Marshmallow Cheesecake: Toast a tray of marshmallows under the broiler until they are almost black. Throw them into a blender with your heavy cream before mixing it into the cream cheese. The result is a smoky, campfire-flavored cheesecake that tastes like autumn.
- The "Cloud" Fritter: A yeast-risen doughnut dough with a single jumbo marshmallow tucked inside. When fried, the marshmallow vanishes into a sweet, airy glaze that coats the inside of the dough.
There is a real art to the "Almost Burnt" stage. In culinary circles, this is the Maillard reaction meeting sugar caramelization. It’s complex. It’s bitter. It’s carbon-heavy. Most home bakers are too scared of the smoke alarm to really push a marshmallow to its limit. Don't be. That dark brown, nearly black crust on a baked marshmallow is where the flavor lives. It cuts through the cloying sweetness.
Why Quality Actually Matters
If you're buying the generic store brand, you're mostly eating corn starch and air. If you can find marshmallows made with honey or agave, or better yet, make your own with a stand mixer and a candy thermometer, the difference is staggering. Homemade marshmallows have a "bounce" that commercial ones lack. They melt more predictably in the oven because they don't have the weird chemical anti-caking agents that keep bag-marshmallows from sticking together.
Honestly, the best things to bake with marshmallows are the ones that play with contrast. Hot and cold. Crunchy and gooey. Sweet and salty. If you're just putting a marshmallow on a cracker, you're barely scratching the surface of what this weird, puffy little ingredient can do.
Your Next Steps in the Kitchen
To get the best results with marshmallow-based bakes, follow these specific technical moves:
- Freeze before folding: Put your mini marshmallows in the freezer for at least 90 minutes before adding them to cookie dough or muffin batter to prevent them from "bleeding" into the dough.
- The Broiler Watch: If you are browning marshmallows on top of a brownie or cake, do not leave the oven door. They go from perfect gold to a grease fire in exactly 11 seconds.
- The Knife Trick: When cutting anything baked with marshmallows (like Rice Krispie treats or marshmallow-topped brownies), grease your knife with a flavorless oil or butter. It prevents the marshmallow fibers from tearing and gives you those clean, bakery-style edges.
- Balance the pH: Marshmallows are highly alkaline. Adding a tiny bit of extra lemon juice or cream of tartar to your batter can help balance the flavor profile so it doesn't taste "flat" or overly sugary.
Start with a standard blondie recipe, swap the white sugar for dark brown, and fold in frozen marshmallows at the very last second. You'll see exactly what I mean about the texture. It’s not just a treat; it’s a chemistry experiment that happens to taste like a dream.