I’m not certain why it’s taking you an hour either. I made toffee last night and that required a temp of 300-310. The thermometer bounced right up to 200 immediately and took a little less than 20 minutes to get up to 300 on a high boil. I’d say it got up to 225 within the first five minutes of the boil, but we had it cranked to about 80% of high.
I’d suggest like others to turn the flame up a bit and see if that helps. You’re not going to scald the sugar at that low temperature.
Yes, if you want to make flavored marshmallows, substitute a liqueur or extract for the vanilla at the end. You may have to tinker with the amount to get the strength of flavor you prefer–it can make for some fairly subtly flavored marshmallows. (Streaking a bit of food coloring through when you put it out in the pan is a cool effect, especially for peppermint ones.)
You can even make small amounts of mixed drinks and substitute that for the vanilla. I made margarita marshmallows that way last year. I put 'em on fruit skewers with a drizzle of chocolate…mmmm.
Alton never lies.
Obviously, you were dealing with B.A.
Eureka! So I switched to a larger pan and tried again last night. Put it on the power burner and cranked to 8 (of 10). Wham-bam-thankyou-ma’am and I had syrup. Took maybe 15 minutes, max.
Of course, there is the little issue of the boilover, which then caught fire. I only got distracted for just a second, I swear!
I got most of it cleaned up last night. Well, some of it at any rate. OK, I don’t think it will catch fire again. If you’re careful. 
I guess I’ll have to try again with my 2-quart pan. Problem I had last year was the level of syrup was so low in that pan that I couldn’t get a good reading on the thermometer.
Made mint marshmallows last night, colored 'em a very pale green. Yeah, gonna have to go easy with the extract on some of these. I just used the same amount as for the vanilla and WOW, those are MINTY FRESH!
CrazyCatLady, yeah, I’m thinking about making Kahlua ones and Amaretto ones (those being my two favorite liqueurs which I happen to have on hand). I was thinking about using the liqueur in the syrup, but evidently that’s not how it’s done. I was afraid it wouldn’t flavor enough with just a teaspoon (amount of vanilla extract the original recipe calls for), but after last night’s experience, I’m thinking that ought to work just fine. It might need a little more, but evidently not much.
I thought about streaking with food color but I couldn’t figure out how to make that happen.
I’d like to make chocolate, but I haven’t been able to find chocolate extract and I’m not sure I’ll make it to the liquor store for creme de cacao. Oh well, I did find recipes yesterday for pumpkin and Red Hots (which I thought I was going to have to just fake until I remembered the power of Google). Fortunately, SO had a stashed package of Red Hots knockoffs, because they don’t seem to be sold around here anymore.
Yes, I feel much better now. It wasn’t Alton’s fault, it was mine!
Thanks much for the suggestions and feedback, y’all. I want to make several kinds of marshmallows for Xmas presents, but a two-hour turnaround was making that unlikely. Now that it’s down to 45 minutes, I’m back on track! A couple more tonight, three or four tomorrow around the baking, and I’m all set.
Thanks very much.
To make streaks of color, spread the uncolored fluff out in your prepped pan. Then, before you coat the top with your sugar mixture, drizzle a few lines of food coloring along the top. Drag a knife through the lines in whatever pattern you want. Just be sure you don’t get too wild and crazy with the dragging, or your lovely dramatic streaks will become undefined pastel muddles.
No, no: it was B.A.'s fault! He’s the bad seed of the family!
Well, him and Marsha.
Mom’s always seemed a little on the bitchy side, too, now that I think of it.
And that Ma-Mae, may she rest in peace. Whoo! The sass mouth on her.
Jeez, the more I think about it, Alton and Elton are about the only ones really worth the powder.