Fondant, Baby!

I have seriously been wanting to try something with fondant, forever. It's pathetic. I'm probably the last person out there to try it, but I needed a good excuse to play with it, where it wasn't going to matter how it actually turned out. I decided snacks for Jaxon's soccer game was perfect. I know you're thinking... "fondant... for the 6 year old soccer players?" Ridiculous, but I knew the kids wouldn't care how it tasted or how it turned out and I could try something low key.

I knew I was doing cupcakes and decided I wanted pre-made fondant, just to save a little time and work. That is, until I saw that it would cost me 20 dollars! So, I started looking for a recipe to make my own. I found this recipe on allrecipes and the reviews promised it would taste mildly better than regular fondant. Because let's face it, the stuff is ick. But oh, so pretty!

This fondant is pretty basic and cheap. But it's a ton of work. My arms got such a workout. I wouldn't recommend doing it with a hand mixer. My dead hand mixer would second that. I think a Kitchenaid with the dough hook would do it.

Makes about 2.5 lbs. of Fondant

up to 1/4 cup Crisco

1 (16 ounce) package miniature marshmallows
4 tablespoons water (possibly more)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (I omitted this to keep my fondant white; it'll make the color more of an off white if you use it--granted, that doesn't really matter if you'll be coloring the fondant)
up to 2 pounds confectioners' sugar, divided

Food coloring, if desired

1. Set your Crisco aside. You'll just be using it to grease bowls, spoons, your hands, and workspace.

2. Place the marshmallows in a large , well greased (just spray with Pam or spread some Crisco on it), microwave-safe bowl, and microwave on High for 30 seconds to 1 minute intervals to start melting the marshmallows. Carefully stir the water and vanilla extract into the hot marshmallows, and stir until the mixture is smooth. Add food coloring at this point as well, if you intend to color your fondant.

3. Transfer melted marshmallows to Kitchenaid bowl at this point and begin slowly beating in the confectioners' sugar, a cup at a time, until you have a sticky dough. Reserve 1 cup of powdered sugar for kneading. The dough will be very stiff. I found that I could barely beat in 1 cup of sugar before the batter got too stiff to beat. At this point, I kneaded all the powdered sugar in by hand.

4. Rub your hands thoroughly with Crisco, and begin kneading the sticky dough. As you knead, the dough will become workable and pliable. Turn the dough out onto a working surface dusted with confectioners' sugar and continue kneading until the fondant is smooth and no longer sticky to the touch, 5 to 10 minutes. Add powdered sugar about a cup at a time. I found that I didn't use the entire 2 lb. bag of powdered sugar. Just keeping adding until you have a nice, non-sticky, pliable dough. I added a little extra water to make the dough easier to handle.

5. Form the fondant into a ball, rub it all over with Crisco (it's niice, like a baby's behind...) wrap it tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight (I'm impatient... I only waited about 4 hours). To use, allow the fondant to come to room temperature, and roll it out onto a flat surface dusted with confectioners' sugar. Roll it to about 1/4 or 1/8 inch thickness. Now it's time to play with it.

But that's a whole 'nother post. Best check out Bakerella or Pioneer Woman for good tips there. I'm definitely just trying to figure it out myself. But my soccer cupcakes sure turned out cute. And the fondant was surprisingly not horrible. Not my favorite, but I used chocolate frosting underneath, as an adhesive, and the fondant wasn't terrible.

Leftover fondant will keep for several weeks in the fridge.