NEW YORK - What starts as a boiling sugar solution doesn't look like much, but eventually it will be transformed into marshmallows. It's the creation of Katherine Sprung at her East Village shop called, appropriately, Squish Marshmallows. She started it five years ago when she came across a recipe for the treats while writing a food blog.

"I started to think about different flavors and different textures to incorporate in the marshmallow that usually don't happen, and people usually don't associate with a typical little humble marshmallow," Sprung said.

And these marshmallows are anything but, with flavors like peanut butter jelly time and rocky road. There's even fun beverage toppers to throw in a cup of hot cocoa.

Katherine explained the process of making marshmallows,.

"Within a matter of minutes all of a sudden the volume gets bigger, it gets glossier and whiter, and you really see that transition from one state to another," Sprung said.

Flavors or ingredients are added, like sprinkles. The gooey goodness then goes into a pan, sets for a few hours, and soon you can start working on a s'more, the classic treat that is made before your eyes. No campfire, but a torch instead. 

Katherine spent the first two and a half years making her marshmallows at a commercial kitchen, selling them online and at local markets. A few years ago she moved into a storefront located at 120 St. Mark's Place. And she confesses that she does get some customers who ask, why Marshmallows? And her answer is: Why not.

"Nobody goes to an ice cream shop and asks why do you only have ice cream. Nobody goes to a donut shop and asks why do you only have donuts. So you just have work past that boundary and show people there are a lot more things to do than buy them out of a bag," Sprung said.

For more information, visit squishmarshmallows.com.