Granite Shoals marshmallow maker's treats are for all seasons and tastes - DailyTrib.com (2024)

Chloe Rothermel shows off a box of her homemade marshmallows behind the counter of Mickel’s Convenience Store in Marble Falls. She has been making the confection from scratch since 2021 and sells it online, at local farmers markets, and now at Mickel’s. Pictured are vanilla, watermelon, and pecan pie flavors. Staff photo by Dakota Morrissiey

A little sugar and salt, some gelatin and elbow grease, and a whole lotta love go into making the perfect marshmallow. In her quest for the best in a fluffy sweet treat, Granite Shoals resident Chloe Rothermel developed a top-secret formula and set up shop.

“It’s the most satisfying thing when people say they don’t like marshmallows,” Rothermel said. “I say, ‘Well you haven’t tried my marshmallows.’ And then they’ll eat them and become customers that keep coming back.”

Rothermel is the head, heart, and hands behind Little Mallows Cottage Shop. She makes marshmallows and other confections from scratch to sell at Highland Lakes farmers markets, in Mickel’s Convenience Store at 2101 RR 1431 in Marble Falls, and from her Facebook page.

She offers over 30 unique flavors ranging from the simple (blueberry and vanilla) to the unique (tamarind and pecan pie).

Rothermel’s marshmallow mission has noble origins: making a simple treat that all kids could enjoy, regardless of dietary restrictions or food allergies. She used to make desserts like cookies and cakes for her children’s birthday parties or hangouts but quickly found out that many kids couldn’t partake due to allergies.

“I couldn’t make one treat that everybody could eat,” she said. “I had to find ways around eggs, dairy, gluten, all sorts of stuff, so I started to look into it.”

While experimenting with different recipes, she stumbled upon a marshmallow-based fondant and realized that actual marshmallows were easy to make and nearly devoid of most of the usual allergens.

“It took me months to get the starter one figured out and make it completely allergen-friendly,” Rothermel said. “I just didn’t want to see any kids left out.”

After all that work, she decided to keep the formula for the final product a secret.

“Nobody else has my recipe,” she said.

In its most basic form, a marshmallow is no more than a mix of sweetener, salt, gelatin, and water whipped into a sweet, mushy cloud. The key is to measure ingredients in proper proportions and whip just enough air into the mix.

What we drop into our hot chocolate today has been 4,000 years in the making. The first marshmallows on record can be traced as far back as 2000 BCE in ancient Egypt. The name is derived from the mallow plant, which is common in marshes across Europe, Asia, and Africa. “Mallow plant” plus “found in a marsh” equals marshmallow.

Sap from the plant was squeezed out and whipped with honey and nuts to make the original marshmallow, according to the National Confectioners Association.

In the 1800s, French candy makers developed a way to make the treat without the tedious process of draining mallow plants. They began using gelatin as a substitute.

By the 1900s, marshmallows made their way to American palates and the process became industrialized. By the 1950s, the confection was a household staple, especially around Easter, when neon-colored Peeps gained their seasonal fame.

Rothermel’s contribution to humanity’s four millennia of marshmallow-making history began in 2021 but without artificial dyes. Her colors come from vegan dyes or the natural colors of her ingredients.

“I know they taste like pure sugar, but they have less sugar than a bite of a Snickers bar,” she said.

The self-taught baker honed her skills in her home kitchen. She has built up a personal recipe box that she will one day pass down to her children. Her two oldest kids, November and Logan, attend Marble Falls High School and help her run the Little Mallows Cottage Shop stand at the Llano Farmers and Crafters Market and ORRasis Market in Smithwick on the weekends.

The youngest, 13-year-old Christopher, is currently working on a top-secret cinnamon roll recipe that has been in development for over a year.

“He wants to have them perfect, but I’m fine with waiting because we get cinnamon rolls every couple of weeks,” Rothermel said.

She said her son’s baking helped him conquer fractions, which he was having trouble with in school.

Rothermel’s marshmallow recipe list is ever-growing, being fed by recommendations from her trusted advisors and taste testers: friends, family, customers, and co-workers in the Marble Falls H-E-B bakery. She often shares her creations to get ideas for new flavors and test textures and tastes.

For now, marshmallow making is a part-time endeavor, but she is working toward the dream of her own brick-and-mortar storefront after moving into the commercial kitchen at Mickel’s.

It’s also a calming endeavor.

“Plus,” she said, “the cutting and squishing are just fun.”

dakota@thepicayune.com