Is it Spring Yet? Almond Marshmallows

That's the question of the day. Is it Spring yet? Because all around me I see my tiny herbs growing (please pray for them to keep doing so), flowers popping from the soil in front of the Edgartown Library, and the weather? This weather we call "winter" is nothing but a joke. A joke I am grateful to be on the laughing end of (or is it the other way around? Who knows!). 50 degrees in February in New England? I'll take it!

So consider this your preview to Spring. Whether you're looking forward to starting your garden outdoors, or you want to have fun picnics, and make fresh salads. Or maybe you're just like me and want to look up into the sun, while lying on cool grass, and smiling? Corny, I know. But hey! It's my happiness!

You see those marshmallows there? Sprinkled with fairy dust, topped with two types of almonds, they are the sweet treat that will get you thinking about spring. The yellow background helps too, doesn't it? Well, I was approached by Oh!Nuts to pot a recipe including their Jordan Almonds, which come in a variety of colors & flavors and I of course choose the baby blue ones. Not because it's my favorite color (yellow is my favorite color if you were wondering), but because they look like tiny Robin eggs. And NOTHING says Spring more to me than those light blue eggs!!

The marshmallow recipe is my current favorite, "Vanilla Bean Marshmallows" adapted from Bravetart. It's based on gelatin and not egg whites, and definitely a great standby recipe. My adaptations to this recipe include:

• Instead of using a vanilla bean, I added 1 1/2 teaspoons of Real Almond Extract. 
• When spread in pan, marshmallows were topped quickly with a sprinkling of slivered almonds and carefully dotted with the light blue Jordan Almonds.

These are a great addition to your dessert table, as well as an anytime treat for kids and adults alike!

Disclaimer: This post is being entered in an Oh!Nuts contest. Jordan Almonds were provided free of charge by the generous folks (a.k.a. Sam) over at Oh! Nuts.