M&Ms are colorful, sugar-coated chocolate beans. The name stands for “Mars & Murrie’s” according to Forrest E. Mars, the inventor of the M&Ms, and its business partner Bruce Murrie.
In today’s post, I’ll show you how to make a huge M&M at home. Have fun baking!
Cooked/Baked today: Homemade Giant M&Ms
Difficulty: Medium – Difficult
Preparation Time: 6 hours (incl. cooling times)
Our Recipe rating:
Ingredients for 1 Homemade Giant M&M:
…for the sugar coating:
- 80 grams sugar
- 80 milliliters water
- 1 tablespoon coffee creamer
…for the peanut kernel:
- 2 heaping tablespoon sugar
- 20 grams peanuts (roasted & unsalted)
…more ingredients:
- 150 grams milk chocolate
- 80 grams powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon water
- ½ tube blue food coloring
- White sugar font to write the “m”
Required kitchen gadgets, helper & preparations:
- Saucepan for the sugar mixture
- Whisk
- Candy thermometer
- Hemisphere silicone mold (diameter 7,5cm)
- Brush
- Pot or pan for the peanut kernel
- Spatula
- Hemisphere silicone mold or cake pop form (diameter 3.5cm)
- Large pot + suitable bowl for the double boiler or use a microwave to melt chocolate
- Baking paper
- Bowl to mix the frosting
- Egg cup
Instructions for the Homemade Giant M&M:
…for the sugar coating:
Place 80 grams of sugar, 80 milliliters of water & a tablespoon of coffee creamer in a saucepan, heat up over medium heat, stirring constantly with a whisk until sugar & coffee creamer have completely dissolved & the sugar mixture starts to simmer.
Then allow the sugar mixture to cook without stirring for about 5 minutes & check the temperature with a sugar thermometer from time to time. Once the temperature has reached 145°C, remove the pot from heat and pour the hot sugar syrup into 2 wells of a hemisphere silicone mold (diameter 7.5cm).
Then use a brush to spread the sugar up to the rim until both hemispheres are lined with a uniform layer of sugar, afterwards set the silicone mold aside to harden.
…for the peanut kernel:
Roughly chop 20 grams of peanuts with a knife. Heat up a saucepan or small pan adding 2 heaping tablespoons sugar over low to medium heat & allow the sugar to melt completely. Once the sugar turned golden brown & amber in color turn off the heat to avoid the sugar from burning & getting too dark.
Next add the chopped peanuts and mix quickly with a spatula until all nuts are wetted with a light layer of sugar.
Then fill the peanut sugar mixture with a spoon in 2 wells of a hemisphere silicone mold (diameter 3.5cm) and smooth down as best as possible. Afterwards set aside & allow to cool completely.
…for the M&M:
Melt 150 grams of milk chocolate over a double boliler or in the microwave, then pour into the prepared silicone mold and fill the sugar balls ¾ full with chocolate. Plop the cooled peanut kernel halves out of the silicone mold, press into the melted chocolate and then set the aside for at least 1 hour (possibly in the fridge) to cool down.
Finally, press the two M&M halves out of the silicone mold and glue them together with 2 – 3 teaspoons of another melted chocolate.
…for the blue sugar frosting:
Stir together 80 grams of powdered sugar & 1 tablespoon of water for the frosting, then add about ½ tube of blue food coloring & also stir in until you got a viscous & thick frosting.
Line the worktop with 1 sheet of baking paper. Place the M&M ball on an upside down eggcup (or bottleneck) and then cover with the blue icing.
Finally, give another tablespoon of frosting onto the baking paper and carefully lift the M&M from the egg cup onto the frosting dab using two forks to cover the ball with icing from below.
Allow the finished M&M to set completely, then paint on a “m” with white sugar font and serve the huge chocolate bean. I wish you lots of fun baking 😉
Video Tutorial:
Watch the video tutorial to see the recipe and the preparation method precisely (German Audio only, English Subtitles available):