Tuesday, July 12, 2016

Review: Dandies Marshmallows

 

A Better Marshmallow

Dandies Marshmallows are made with all natural ingredients, contain no high fructose corn syrup or gelatin (they're 100% vegan!), and are the first ever marshmallow to be Non-GMO Project Verified. Oh, and our marshmallows are kosher too!

Traditional marshmallows are loaded with unnatural ingredients and made with gelatin (a yucky animal-based ingredient, look it up). We recognized that these family-favorite treats desperately needed an ingredient-list makeover!

Dandies Marshmallows are indistinguishable from conventional marshmallows. Our light and fluffy marshies are perfect for roasting over a campfire, putting in hot chocolate (or coffee—try it!), classic crispy treats, s'mores, or just straight snackin'!





We believe that marshmallows can and should be better.  Our focus is on making Dandies Marshmallows with the best all natural ingredients we can find and using only cruelty-free ingredients (you will find no gelatin in Dandies).

Dandies Marshmallows are perfect for roasting over the campfire or making s'mores, while Dandies Mini Marshmallows are perfect for hot chocolate or even coffee. They're also fantastic for making classic crispy treats. 
  • Made with all natural ingredients
  • Gelatin free (100% vegan)
  • Free from most common allergens (peanut, tree nut, milk, egg, wheat, fish, shellfish, corn)
  • Gluten free
  • Contains no corn syrup
  • Made in a dedicated vegan facility
About
Dandies came to life in 2008 when our founder, Ryan Howard, wanted his son to try a marshmallow for the first time. His son, having been vegan since birth, had never enjoyed the classic campfire treat because gelatin (an animal-based ingredient) is one of the main components in traditional marshmallows. Ryan, being a trained food process engineer by trade, put his mind to work and made some marshmallows in the test kitchen for his little dude to enjoy. The spark that lit the campfire was born!

Within a year, we were putting all the pieces together in our processing plant, working tirelessly toward a product launch at Natural Products Expo West. Before we had sold even a single bag to stores, we set up our booth and hoped to sell a few cases. By the show’s end, Dandies had been placed in nearly every Whole Foods in the country!

Over time, we've been quietly evolving Dandies Marshmallows, making them better and better. We’ve also been working hard to make Dandies available in more and more stores, so everyone can enjoy the comfort food of our youth in a friendlier and more natural way. We're so proud of the work we've done and love nothing more than seeing you enjoy Dandies and share them with your friends and family.


Purchase Dandies Marshmallows online using their store locator, and visit them on social media:

Dandies Marshmallows (visit their website to find a $0.50 off coupon!)
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Our Thoughts
I freaking LOVE Dandies Marshmallows.  Since I follow the paleo way of eating, I am not exactly a vegan and not adverse to gelatin (quite the contrary!) but I AM adverse to the other ingredients in traditional marshmallows and figured they were off my eating list forever.  I first came across Dandies Marshmallows in a natural foods store a little over an hour away from me.  I don't keep treats around too much, but if I do have a bag, mostly I snack on them.  Someday, I'll actually have a bag not completely eaten when we have an impromptu campfire.  I can't wait to try them out for that.  Although, I have been known to roast the occasional marshmallow over the flame on my gas stove burners, haha. Oh YUM.

So when Dandies sent me their regular marshies and their mini marshies for review, I'm not gonna lie, I ate one bag straight away.  They aren't kidding when they say they're great for snacking.  I couldn't even stop myself, they are SO DARN TASTY!!  I took the bag of minis up to our cabin with us and enjoyed them over a spiced latte.  Perfect on a cool day looking out at the scenic lake.  Love.



For the latte recipe, I used Bengal Spice tea from Celestial Seasonings, a little unsweetened full fat coconut milk, a wee bit of raw honey, and topped it with the Dandies Mini Marshmallows.  Unbelievably delicious!!  Who wants to stand in line and spend money on fancy lattes when you can very quickly and easily make your own?

I also used the minis to make some little appetizers perfect for holidays or any gathering. 


I used toothpicks for mini-snacks, and added blueberries and raspberries, but really, your imagination's the limit here.

Now for the regular size marshmallows, I've been wanting to try making a chewy "granola" bar.  Paleo friendly - not sure if the marshmallows count or not, LOL, but with Dandies' all natural ingredients, its about as close as we're gonna get. (And I am SO glad they are allergen free!!)


The basics of this recipe are 1 part marshmallows to 2 parts "stuff" (dry goods), plus a little oil to help prevent the marshies from sticking to the pan when melted.  For the record, 10 regular sized marshmallows makes for 1 cup.  For the "stuff" mixture, I used a combination of almond slices, pecans, raw pepitas, roasted unsalted sunflower seeds, dried cherries, sweetened dried cranberries, some mini chocolate chips, a wee bit of salt and vanilla flavoring.  While the marshmallows were melting with the oil over extremely low heat, I pulsed the dry goods "stuff" through a food processer to make the bits smaller. When the marshies were thoroughly melted, I stirred in as much "stuff" as I could, then kneaded in the rest; patting it into a lightly greased 8x8 baking dish. Let cool, then slice and eat! 


The result?  Fantastic! Although I think I need to either cut back a little on the dry goods, or add a couple more marshmallows as it falls apart a little quicker than I'd like.  Certainly a recipe I wrote down for next time!

One thing I'd like to note: Dandies claims their marshmallows are indistinguishable from traditional marshmallows.  I beg to differ - they are BETTER.  Fluffier, and absolutely delectable.  Thank you, Dandies, for making a comfort food healthier. HIGHLY recommend!!








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