Holiday Baking: Let's talk candy!

[supernova]

grasswire's "gift's from the kitchen" thread got me to cogitating.

I've sometimes given baked goods over the holidays, but I think this year, I'd like to focus on candy. While I can eat a slice or two of baked goods, I'd rather stay away from wheat in any serious way since I'm sensitive to it.

I got the image in my mind of making a little box and calling it Supernova's Jewel Box, sorta like my own sampler, except it would be candies. Of course, I would include recipes.

:9

The citrus peel, I think will definitely be in there.

I have a vague memory of a candy that was shaped like frosted strawberries, but was made out of coconut, I think. It was cheap and good, and looked cool.
(The librarian at my mom's school used to make these; I'd gobble them up! Have to dig out that recipe.)

Rum balls, haven't made these since I was a kid.

That's all I can think of off the top of my head

Do you make candy this time of year? What's your favorite? Fudge? peppermint bark? toffee? petit fours?

[Tesha]

1. truffles...

they always go first from my sweets tray...

tiny bites of cream mixed with good chocolate and a touch of flavor (read alcohol) rolled in good cocoa (or whatever you like)

easy - not too expensive - and oh so tasty!

[hippywife]

3. It's always amazed me how easy these are to make.

People think of them as some exotic, elegant thing and they are one of the easiest things in the world to make and impress people with. :)

[kentauros]

43. Easy, but very time-consuming

especially if you want to give a dozen or so to every family member ;)





I make them once every few years and usually in the week before Christmas. With all that heavy cream, they will go bad if not refrigerated.

[sazemisery]

10. My take on Truffles ala Amadeus

Nipples of Venus! These are Candied Ginger Truffles w/white chocolate coating :evilgrin:

[hippywife]

2. We were just talking here at work

about candy and I remember when I was a kid my mom sweetening mashed potatoes and making a pinwheel candy with peanut butter in the center. Both were sweetened with confectioner's sugar.

We really don't celebrate Christmas but Bill and I enjoy just spending the time together and making some kind of sweet dessert as a team, usually tiramisu, and listening to David Sedaris books on CD. :rofl:

[wildflower]

11. Wow, that's really neat

I never heard of mashed potato candy. How did she do it?

[hippywife]

12. This looks like it would be the way to do it:

http://www.ehow.com/how_2297048_mashed-potato-candy.html

[EFerrari]

4. I used to bake and make candy every day from 12/10 to 12/24.

That all stopped when I married Doug who felt resentful of any activity that took me away for more than 15 minutes. Well, he couldn't help it but it took all the fun out of it.

This year back in the family and they always loved the December bake off. Fun. :party:

[supernova]

19. Go nuts!

Or caramel! Or ribbon!

:rofl:

:hug:

[Dyedinthewoolliberal]

21. You could bake and make candy

for me anytime darling! :o) What was he thinking? :toast:

[The empressof all]

5. I do quite a bit of candy usually

I do coconut bonbons--You know the ones with the sweetened condensed milk

I usually do Velveeta fudge (I know....but my family likes it :shrug)

And I'm adding a new one this year. I bought some large Sourdough pretzels (They are crunchy) which I'll be covering with the "Crack" from Smitten Kitten and then covering with a dark chocolate.

I also may do coconut brittle as that's something the SO really enjoys.

I use to do bark and Chocolate coated macaroons. I also had a long run with making caramel but it's my weakness and I need to get what remains of years of making it off my hips before I do that one again.

Of course I do Bourbon or Rum balls but I think of those as cookies unless of course you dip them in Chocolate....Which I could be easily persuaded to do. (I think I'll be taking those off my list this year as well...I'm already salivating)

[hippywife]

7. You and your crack!

Face it...it's never gonna let go of you. :rofl:

[supernova]

18. ..

:rofl:

[hippywife]

6. I saw this yesterday. Looked kind of interesting.

Pumpkin Seed Brittle: http://www.joyofbaking.com/candy/PumpkinSeedBrittle.html

[supernova]

17. I saw that!

I've been trying to eat more pumpkin seeds, and this is another good recipe.

Thanks for the info.

We used to make brittle a lot, it was my dad's fav candy besides anything made with coconut. I may revive it this year.

[EFerrari]

20. That is just too cool.

[Tesha]

8. Oh Nuts!

Coated with something yummy, baked, then rolled in dark chocolate

OMG! how about Cashew Turtles.. I am so getting the holiday baking books out this weekend!

[supernova]

16. That's like my fav thing ever

chocolate covered nuts.

If I make that, it won't stay around long enough to put in jewel boxes. :P

[Warpy]

9. Marzipan

is a prefab almond paste that is available in most decent grocery stores, even around the holidays. Most fruit candies are made with this stuff, flavoring and food coloring, molded into the appropriate shape and dusted with granulated sugar.

If you live in the boonies, you can make a decent version of it at home: http://candy.about.com/od/nougatmarzipancandy/r/Basicmarzipan.htm

It's also great just rolled into little balls and dipped into chocolate.

Nut brittles are also great, my favorite being cashew brittle.

[supernova]

15. Love marizpan!

:9

My sister used to make a marzipan-filled date.

She assembled them this way:

Use food coloring to color the marzipan red and green in batches. I think she tried other colors, but those two seems to work the best.

Halve a bunch of fresh dates. Medjool are good of course, but the smaller ones work well too, if you'd like a smaller portion. This is very sweet candy.

Fill the date half with colored marzipan, in a kind of rectangle.

Top the marzipan with a half of a blanched almond, skin removed.

These are yummy and addicting, for me anyway.

I agree with you about the cashew brittle.

[katkat]

13. ribbon candy

I've always wanted to make ribbon candy, but after watching a video of it being made, I'm surprised they don't charge $1,000 a foot for it.

[supernova]

14. I've done it a couple of times

It takes a lot more pulling and ribboning than you might imagine to get to the glass stage. But it is very fun. Double fun if you have little ones around to help pull the candy. :-)

[MagickMuffin]

22. Divinity or Seafoam Candy

This has always been one of my favorite candies to make, and the main reason I got a kitchenaid. After making the syrup and adding to the whipped egg whites I can let the mixer do the work while I go do something else and check back after several minutes. I found out why it sometimes became grainy by watching someone on teevee explaining that anytime you make syrup using water and sugar to always brush (using brush dipped in water) down any sugar crystals into the pan and it will keep your product from becoming crystallized later. It works! My divinity is very creamy and delicious.

Of course making truffles has also become a favorite one along with fudge that I finally learned to do recently by combining condensed milk and chocolate chips.

[Phentex]

23. I'm makng buckeyes...

my husband loves those and I usually have to buy them. But this year I'm going to make him some myself. And there will be enough to throw on a cookie plate for others. :)

[GoCubsGo]

24. Chocolate coconut haystacks

Easy as can be! Toast some shredded coconut. Mix it with melted chocolate. Drop small spoonfuls on a wax or parchment-covered tray. Chill until the chocolate is set. I have had pretzel versions of this, as well. (Broken pretzel thins.)

Chocolate-dipped pretzels are also good. You can fancy them up with jimmies, chopped nuts, coconut, crushed toffees or other candies. If you use white chocolate, you can sprinkle with colored sugar. Or drizzle white with dark and/or milk. Heck, you can chocolate-dip just about anything...strawberries, oreo cookies, nuts...

My favorite are bourbon balls. Same as rum balls, but using bourbon as the liquor.

[spinbaby]

25. Toffee!

I don't have the recipe handy, but it's basically brown sugar and butter cooked until it turns dark, then you pour it in a greased pan, sprinkle chocolate chips on top to melt, and top with chopped walnuts. Cool and break into pieces.

[The empressof all]

26. Try putting some of those skinny salty pretzels in your toffee

Trust me on it. :rofl:

[hippywife]

27. ...

:rofl:

BTW, I'm going to make some of that damn crack this weekend. Got graham crackers but didn't remember the pretzels and I really want to try that. x(

[The empressof all]

29. Just be aware

Once you make Crack...you'll never go back :rofl:

[hippywife]

30. You ain't just whistling dixie, sister!

I purposely don't make it very often at all. :rofl:

[japple]

28. The usual: rum balls, (almond butter) buckeyes, sugared cinnamon pecans,

and, since everyone says it's easy, TRUFFLES. My biggest fear is that I'll eat them all before Christmas. Note to self: put 10 lbs. of butter on shopping list.

[hippywife]

31. I've been buying two pounds of butter

every time I go into the grocery store for anything since it's been on sale for half it's normal price right now. I use nothing but so this is always a good time for me to stock up even though I don't do all that holiday baking anymore. And you can freeze it!

This is the truffle recipe I use, in case you need it. :hi:

See bottom right along with this ganache recipe:
http://www.joyofbaking.com/ganache.html

[japple]

35. Thanks for the recipe, HW. And, yes, I've got about 4 lbs. of

butter in the freezer now. If Kroger or Ingles puts it on sale, then I'm really gonna stock up.

[kentauros]

44. I've never used butter in a ganache recipe.

The way I learned it is that's it's basically nothing more than cream and chocolate, at an almost 1:1 ratio. If you want a more liquid ganache, like for coating a cake, use more cream, and less cream than chocolate for truffle centers :)

The book I have used for my recipes is by Rose Levy Beranbaum: A Passion for Chocolate, and I highly recommend it :)

Her basic ganache recipe is as follows:

12 oz bittersweet chocolate
10 oz creme fraiche or heavy cream (1 1/4 liquid cups)

Break the chocolate into pieces and process in a food processor until very fine.
Heat the creme fraiche to the boiling point, and with the motor running, pour it through the feed tube in a steady stream. Process a few seconds until smooth. Transfer to a bowl and cool for several hours, until frosting consistency. (At this point, I refrigerate it so I can form it into balls for dipping. It's easier to work with when it's cold and stiff.)

[pengillian101]

32. Tried and true Christmas Angel Food Candy

(My scanner is on the blink, so here is a typed version of my favorite --since 1976.)

Boil together in a very LARGE saucepan or soup pot (because it foams up mega much), over low heat and stir constantly:

1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup dark Karo syrup
1/2 cup light Karo syrup (or just use 1 cup total dark is fine)

Boil until crack stage - 290 degrees. Use a thermometer.

Once it's at temp, add 2 TBS baking soda. Stir until it foams up.

It will foam up immensely (hence the large saucepan or soup pot).

Then pour it into a greased or buttered 8x8 pan or larger.

When it's hard, break it into pieces and coat or dip it in melted combined sweet chocolate and chocolate chips - or melted dark chocolate.




Always a favorite!

:hi:

[hippywife]

34. A song just for you, gilli!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIk4jtV3Ovw


:rofl:

[EFerrari]

38. I always wondered what that was called and how it was made.

Thanks!

[DU GrovelBot]

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[mopinko]

36. white sour cream fudge that you can throw anything into.

the original recipe called for candied cherries and walnuts, but i have put everything into it from candied citrus peel (my favorite) to crushed hard candy to any kind of dried fruit. mmmmm sour cherries. apricots.
also make a chocolate fudge with an addition or 2. make big batches and divide it into 2 or 3 bowls to cool, so that i can put in different additives.
fudge that doesn't set to my satisfaction gets coated with chocolate, sometimes with a little fruit preserve on top.
any leftover ingredients like nuts or fruit also get dipped in chocolate and put in little cups.
sometimes bake small amounts of leftover cookie dough into a thin sheet and make some sort of layered bar out of it.
have some cookies that i make ganache for, and use any leftovers for some sort of truffl-y things.

yes it gets nuts around here in december. should be extra crazy this year as my oldest has moved back home, and she is a great cook, and my oldest son has been making a batch of cookies a week, at least, for the last several months. mmmmmmm.
(fat)

[CrispyQ]

37. My mother used to make some type of 7-layer bar candy.

It was sinfully rich! Mostly I remember the chocolate & butterscotch chips & how good they tasted together. I'll bet my sister has the recipe if you want it.

[CrispyQ]

40. She had it.

In 9" pan
Melt 1/2 cube butter
Add 1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup coconut
6 oz. choco chips
6 oz. butterscotch chips
1 can Eagle Brand
1 cup chopped nuts

Bake 350 for 30 minutes. Cool in pan, cut in squares.

I haven't had this in years, but as a kid I loved this stuff!

[hippywife]

41. This is your opportunity

to treat yourself to some. :hi:

[Tesha]

42. 7 Layer Delight!

I used to make it years ago... I made it last year and found it was sooo sweet I cut them into 1" squares..

Still tasted wonderful tho'

[kestrel91316]

39. My mom, for all her faults (racist, schizophrenic, obsessive housekeeper)

sure knew how to feed us at Christmas. Along with the half dozen kinds of cookies, and the fruitcake, and of course the full-on turkey and trimmings, she used to make half a dozen kinds of CANDY for Christmas. I remember walnut-dotted fudge (and she got it CREAMY-perfect), divinity, pecan pralines, taffy, penuche, peanut brittle, and probably some others occasionally.

My grandfather always made fudge, too. He worked without a recipe, he'd been making it since he was a boy, and did so annually until he was 85.

I have no recipes, just reminiscences.