Review by Denise Dutton: ‘Tis the season for warm festive beverages! And for all the things to top ’em. Nutmeg for nog, a cinnamon stick for mulled goodness, and for folk who partake of animal products (ex: gelatin), marshmallows for coffee and chocolate-centric libations. I have a love-hate relationship with marshmallows. I love how they bob on the top of my drink, but hate that most of the time I’m left with a soggy bit of ‘mallow bloof (it’s a word because I just used it) as I empty my mug. However, that’s about to change, thanks to Smashmallow.

Opening the bag there’s a strong cinnamon sugar and vanilla smell that makes me want to stick my head into the bag. The marshmallows themselves are nice and spongy, softer than what you’d get in your usual “put ‘em on a stick for s’mores” mallows. They’re also little cubes, rather than the typical cylindrical bits.

But how do they taste? Yummy. Picking a piece out of the bag, I notice that each one is liberally coated in chunky granules of cinnamon sugar. The sugar is a light beige, but the ‘mallow itself is the usual pure white. These pieces are also a whole lot airier and lighter than the usual stuff, making them almost too easy to eat. Being so light and airy, these ‘mallows melt rather quickly when plopped into hot beverages. I tried one in a piping hot mocha, and the square looked absolutely adorable floating on top…and then boom, before I knew it, it was gone, leaving a nice creamy topping on my drink. Yeah, regular marshmallows melt too, but these ‘mallows go down fast. And I actually dig that; I like to blend in my topping, not just have disappointment dregs oozing around the bottom of a finished cup. 

No disappointment here; in fact a nice hint of cinnamon was added to my drink, along with the added sweetness. (I don’t know if I’d recommend adding these to cocoa, unless you’re seriously down with the sweet. If you are – salut!) I know think of these ‘mallows as Stealth Mallows, because they melt into a drink like a ninja into shadows.

They’re also sneaky. (These ‘mallows, not ninjas; we already know ninjas can be sneaky.) I told myself I was going to limit my Smashmallow consumption to one plain one, and one in my mocha. Then I found myself reaching into the bag for another one, as if my hand had a will of its own. I should probably take these upstairs. But maybe one more. Then I’ll stop. Promise.

Denise Kitashima Dutton has been a reviewer since 2003, and hopes to get the hang of things any moment now. She believes that bluegrass is not hell in music form, and that beer is better when it’s a nitro pour. Besides GMR, you can find her at Atomic Fangirl, Movie-Blogger.com, or at that end seat at the bar, multi-tasking with her Kindle.