Actually, since marshmallows are so sweet, maybe something less sugary needs to be added...
For those that doesn't like the super sweet that is...
SweetSue.. Is sweet by nature... What would you use?
Making a marshmallow based confection less sweet has a lot of difficulties. Since marshmallow is basically just a whipped sugar syrup with gelatin, it’s hard to adjust the marshmallow portion to adjust the sweetness. It is possible to make a fresh marshmallow with reduced amount of sugar, but it’s hard to say if it will set correctly for its use as a binder.
Second step would be to adjust the base cereal. Traditionally it’s puffed rice, no real sweetener added, so that can balance out the sweet - any puffed grain should give a pretty good result - puffed rice, oats, corn, what have you.
Third option is to add something to tone down the sweet. In this case the easiest choice would be salt. Prepared flavored cereals are already high in sodium, so if that’s an issue, take care. But adding salt to a dessert can tone down that cloyingly sweet taste, and enhance the dessert as a whole. Peanut butter would be another great option, since the salt and fat in the peanut butter can help tone down sweet. If you’re worried about too much fat - we are also adding cannabutter, don’t forget, perhaps adding peanut powder in place of actual peanut butter might be an option.
If you wanted to tone down the sweet, you can also add acid. In this case I would use citric acid powder so you don’t effect the texture. Unless you are aiming for Sour Patch levels of sour, I would be cautious in adding citric acid powder. Add a small amount and taste, until you get to the desired sweetness level.
One good idea when making these types of subtle changes is to take a small amount of the original mix and setting it aside. That way you have the original to taste again, to see how much further you need to adjust.
Adjusting on the small scale is good as well. A small bowl of marshmallow fluff adjusted until it’s the desired flavored profile is a good way to experiment without ruining a whole batch. And when you do flavor the whole batch, you can refer back to your sample for the correct flavor profile.