1up Mushrooms

Introduction

Need an extra life? Have one of these Mario 1up Mushrooms! Just be careful: if you intend to use them to gain immortality, you’ll probably die from a sugar over-dose first. This recipe can also be easily adapted to make the red “super” mushrooms of similar (if not greater) fame. Note that this is not a “full” recipe I am providing here, but an “expansion” of sorts to the previously posted Chocolate Covered Mushrooms recipe. So before you try to make these little greenies, you need to read and understand the Chocolate Covered Mushrooms recipe (to be honest, I would recommend trying to make the CCM’s first, as those are a little easier than these). So as you’re reading the instructions below, understand that they are modified/additional steps to be applied to the CCM recipe. Now, on to what these little life-givers are about: pure sugar. They’re made of meringue like the CCM’s, but instead of milk chocolate, they use white chocolate, which is pretty much just sugar in the consistency of chocolate…so, yea, just sugar…you get the idea.

Make this dish when…
The same rules from CCM apply here pretty much, but you probably won’t freak anyone out into thinking these are real mushrooms. However, making these takes even longer than regular CCM, so you’re definitely going to need plenty of time. You’re going to need a long evening, and the next morning, or simply an entire day if you start early (you won’t be busy the entire time, but waiting for chocolate to cool etc takes a while). Also, these of course are great for anything gamer or geek related, and I suppose even just fun for kids, because hey, just about everybody knows who Mario is.

Don’t make this dish when…
Again, definitely need a lot of time for these. Having a helper is also mandatory for this recipe (one person just cannot do some of these tasks at the same time, but that is pretty much what needs to happen). You need to be even more patient while making these than with CCM’s, and this recipe has a few parts that require a little more technical skill than CCM’s, so if you think you might get a little lazy on them after working for a bit, they might not come out so hot (but hey, mine aren’t perfect either, so no worries). Additionally, these will stain your tongue when you eat them (non-permanently of course), so if you don’t like that, then don’t have these. They will probably stain your fingers a little bit while you’re making them, and if you spill something, they might stain your clothes as well (and that could be permanent). Lastly, if you don’t like white chocolate, or prefer milk chocolate, then you’re probably better off with CCM’s instead.

Statistics

Dish Type: Dessert/Candy
Health Value: You gain an extra life! Just, in the form of raw calorific value…
Serving Size: About 30-70, depending on how you prepare them
Preparation Difficulty: More tiring and difficult than CCM’s by a long-shot; putting each white chocolate
Preparation Time: 8-9 hours (including baking), then several “set-up” periods (can be overnight)
Shelf-Life: 1 month (sealed in Tupperware at room temperature)
Freshness Requirements: These don’t need to be served fresh; just keep them at room temperature
Vegetarian/Vegan Concerns: These use egg-whites; you can use Meringue Powder, but that is pretty much just dehydrated egg-whites, so if you don’t like using eggs, I’m afraid there’s no way around it
Pre-cooked Edibility: I ate a little and I’m still here, but the mixture has raw egg in it (potential for salmonella), so eat it at your own risk