Orange-Scented Truffles and more . . .

An elegant way to present after-dinner coffee or just to have on hand for a special treat. Orange lends itself nicely to chocolate! Also, a great way to make a special gift for a friend or as a hostess gift. Thanksgiving is coming up way too soon. You can try out your Christmas candy making on unsuspecting holiday guests!

 Orange-Scented Truffles
12 ounces dark chocolate chips
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
1 teaspoon orange extract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Freshly and finely grated zest of one orange
1/3 cup granulated sugar

Run the zest and granulated sugar through the blended for a minute or so to thoroughly blend in the orange zest. Set aside.

Gently melt the chocolate until it is smooth. You can do this over a double boiler or in the microwave. Stir in the cream until blended and stir in the extracts. Bring to room temperature, stirring ever so often. Refrigerate until firm. Scoop into small balls, roll in orange/sugar mixture and place in paper candy cups for serving.

I'm thinking of trying a lemon zest/spice version. Still in the thought process but figure I could blend the lemon zest with the sugar and a teaspoon of ground cinnamon and a pinch of nutmeg and cloves.

Budget Candy

Although I've shared this before, with the holiday coming up, it seemed like a good reminder. When you are having guests, you often need to stretch the dollar and this is an easy and good way.

When my children were very small, we didn't always have the extra money for special treats. Fortunately, I liked to bake so something could always be managed and the children never really knew when we were struggling financially. A favorite was a simple candy recipe that only required melting, stirring something into it, and letting it harden.

Although you can use your choice of chocolate chips for this, I watch for the sales of the chocolate melts at the craft stores. Besides chocolate, it came in a variety of colors. It is easy to gently melt in the microwave and you can stir in just about anything to come up with a crunchy treat. You just add enough so it holds together when you drop tablespoons onto some waxed paper to harden.

Some ideas . . .
Peanuts and raisins.
Candied fruit.
Chow Mein noodles (the dried, ready-to-eat variety)
Coconut.
Crisped rice cereal.
Tiny marshmallows and nuts.
Pretzels

As you can see, the list is as long as your imagination. Just make sure you don't use any 'wet' ingredients as it will seize up the chocolate and turn it into a grainy mess. Also, there are candy molds available if you want to be really fancy and, as they are reusable, it is a great investment of a couple of dollars.

Budget Candy Treats . . . from your own kitchen!

When my children were very small, we didn't always have the extra money for special treats. Fortunately, I liked to bake so something could always be managed and the children never really knew when we were struggling financially. A favorite was a simple candy recipe that only required melting, stirring something into it, and letting it harden.

Although you can use your choice of chocolate chips for this, I watched for the sales of the chocolate melts at the craft stores. Besides chocolate, it came in a variety of colors. It is easy to gently melt in the microwave and you can stir in just about anything to come up with a crunchy treat. You just add enough so it holds together when you drop tablespoons onto some waxed paper to harden.

Some ideas . . .
Peanuts and raisins.
Candied fruit.
Chow Mein noodles (the dried, ready-to-eat variety)
Coconut.
Crisped rice cereal.
Tiny marshmallows and nuts.
Pretzels

As you can see, the list is as long as your imagination. Just make sure you don't use any 'wet' ingredients as it will seize up the chocolate and turn it into a grainy mess. Also, there are candy molds available if you want to be really fancy and, as they are reusable, it is a great investment of a couple of dollars.

Fast Candy Treat . . .

Sometimes, the simplest of ingredients will make for a memory. When my children were small, they liked nothing more than 'cooking' in the kitchen. One daughter would cut up celery and think she was the most accomplished of cooks. When they got older, they would experiment with Ramen for lunch.

This is a fast candy treat to make on a 'boring' afternoon. The children can help and it could be a surprise for Dad when he gets home from work. The best part is you probably have the ingredients in
your cupboard. The even better part is you can be creative and substitute some of the inclusions in the recipe.

Quick Candy Treat
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup chunky peanut butter
4 cups minature marshmallows (using the colorful ones only add to the drama!)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts.

Gently meld the chocolate and peanut butter together. Keep stirring until smooth. Remove from heat and quickly mix in the walnuts and marshmallows. Now, you can either spread the mixture into a greased 9-inch pan or drop spoonfuls onto parchment or waxed paper. Chill until firm.

Ideas . . .
You don't have to use walnuts, mixed nuts, cashews, pecans . . . it's your call!
1/2 cup of your favorite cereal?
Coconut?
Chow Mein Noodles?

Homemade Candy . . .

Various versions of this recipe have been around for years. I ran into it in an ancient cookbook and decided to print it out to try this week. Thought other people might like to include it in their summer dinner parties and festivities . . . or just because everyone wants some homemade candy!

Homemade Chocolate Nut Crunch
4 sticks of butter (Margarine won't work!)
2 cups granulated sugar
1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons corn syrup
2 cups chopped almonds (I toast them a bit and leave them unblanched)
8 ounces semisweet chocolate
1/2 cup finely chopped nuts for topping

Melt butter over low heat in a large cooking pot. Add the sugar and stir constantly until melted. Add in the water and  corn syrup. Cook and stir constantly to prevent burning until a candy thermometer registers 290 degrees. Remove from heat and stir in the 2 cups of chopped nuts. Spread immediately into a vegetable-oiled sprayed pan, approximately 9 x 13 or whatever you have that will work. You can always do this is two, small pans. Refrigerate until candy is hard.

Melt the chocolate and spread over cold candy and immediately sprinkle with the finely chopped nuts. When the chocolate is set, break into pieces and enjoy!

Ideas . . .
You can also top it with melted white chocolate chips and sprinkle with colorful sugar or decorations.
You can add a smidge of cinnamon to the nut crunch portion just as you finish cooking it.

Homemade Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups

The one thing that can lure me away from a self-imposed diet is a peanut butter cup chocolate candy. I can avoid them while shopping as I'm careful about going off my grocery list. However, upon discovering this easy recipe, temptation is but a few minutes of work away!

http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/Homemade-Peanut-Butter-Cups?pmcode=IMBDV01T&_mid=2340136&_rid=2340136.558202.453303

If you have trouble accessing the link, let me know and I will post the actual recipe here.

Peanut Butter and Chocolate - the Perfect Match!

Just when I think I have my comtemplated candy-making list in readiness, I come across another recipe that begs to join the ranks. This one makes me seriously think about knocking an old favorite off the list in favor of it Peanut Butter Truffles sound very good! The ingredients are simple and who can argue the benefits of those combined flavors in one delicious bite? http://www.bhg.com/recipe/candy/peanut-butter-truffles/

Homemade Candy Canes?

My favorite treat at Christmas time has always been candy canes. I don't know what it is about the shape but regular, hard-mint candies just don't taste the same.  You can imagine my surprise and delight to come across this recipe today for . . . Homemade Candy Canes! If I have time, next week, I think this will be a fun activity on a cold afternoon.

http://candy.about.com/od/hardcandyrecipes/r/candy_canes.htm?nl=1

Easy Mint Chocolate Truffles

Another interesting recipe link from Taste of Home magazine. I like the chocolate/mint combination and am already thinking about the decoration sugars, etc., that I can roll these in for presentation. Fortunately, I have a small-sized cookie scoop otherwise, from past experience, I will start off with a nicely-sized truffle and by the time I get to the end, they are verging on golfball size!

http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/Easy-Mint-Chocolate-Truffles?pmcode=ILKDV05T&_mid=2316528&_rid=2316528.558202.435259

Poor Man's Candy?

I've seen this sort of recipe around and think it is a great one when you are low on cash yet want to make something special for your family or friends during the holidays.  The combination of sweet and salty has gotten to be a classic.

Poor Man's Candy
16 or so saltine crackers
1 stick butter
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 cup milk chocolate chips
1/4 white chocolate chips
1/2 cup slivered almonds, chopped walnuts or pecans

Line and grease an 8-inch baking pan with foil and grease with vegetable oil spray. Place enough saltine crackers to cover the bottom of the pan, one cracker deep. Set aside.

Bring the butter and sugars to a boil. Stirring constantly, cook for 3-4 minutes. Pour the butter/sugar mixture over the crackers in the pan. Bake at 375 for five minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle the milk chocolate chips over the top and bake another minute. Remove from oven and scatter on the white chocolate chip and when they soften spread out the chocolate and white chocolate to give a marbelizing effect. Scatter the nuts over the top, chill, and cut into squares.

Ideas . . .
Instead of nuts, you could scatter a small candy of choice over the spread out chocolate.
Toasted coconut and dried pineapple (diced finely) would make a good substitute for the nuts.
Crushed peppermint would be a good finale.
All white chocolate chips and crushed pretzels would be quite different.
Peanut butter chips and crushed peanuts could be a favorite.

Candy Cane Bark

I noticed, this year, that many stores are offering Peppermint Bark . . . you know, that layer of white and chocolate with crushed candy canes pressed into it's surface? They also charge a lot for it so, naturally, I developed my own recipe! I'm sharing it with you because we all need to save money and still provide a good, happy, blessed holiday for our family and friends.

Candy Cane Bark

Most stores sell a pound or so package of both the white and the chocolate used for dipping candy or making bark. If you can't find it in the baking aisle of your market, chocolate and white chocolate chips work just as well.

You can use candy canes or peppermint hard candies for the crushed topping. Do this first, put the candy in a heavy plastic bag and roll with a rolling pin to get in broken down into eatable chunks.

Super-simple directions! Line a baking sheet with foil and spray with vegetable oil spray. Carefully melt the chocolate so as to liquify it but not burn it. Over a double boiler is the safest way. Pour it onto the prepared baking sheet and let it spread out evenly. You don't want it super thin but you don't want thick bumps in the surface. Let is set or refrigerate until it sets.

Then, carefully melt the white chocolate. Spread it over the prepared chocolate layer and quickly press in the crushed peppermint. You don't want to bury the peppermint candy but you want it to stick to the white chocolate layer. Let it set until hardened, break into pieces, and serve!

One year, I got some canning jars and filled them with this candy, decorated the jars, and gave them as hostess gifts.

Brandy Balls - For adults only!

While the children are munching on Christmas cookies, here is a treat for the grownup set. These small treats are full of flavor and go great with a cup of coffee after dinner. They are also unbaked and easy to make with a little planning ahead. Store them in the refrigerator until served.

Brandy Balls:

1 ½ cups toasted nuts (your choice!) finely ground
1 1/4 cups finely crushed vanilla wafer cookies
½ cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon finely grated orange zest
1/4 cup brandy

Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl and stir until well mixed. If the mixture is too dry, add drops more of the brandy to moisten. This is not a child’s candy! Refrigerate the dough until it can be worked. Form into small, bite-sized balls and place on a wax paper lined baking sheet.

For coating the balls, you can use the commercial white or chocolate coating product usually found in the baking section of most stores. Melt according to directions and dip each brand ball to coat, let excess drip off, and place on prepared baking sheet. Refrigerate to harden.

You can also melt semisweet chocolate with a bit of shortening or butter to smooth is out for the dipping. Now you are ready to individualize your creations!

Ideas . . .
Roll the brandy balls in ground nuts, pressing to help adhere them.
Just dust them with powdered sugar.
Press them in colorful sprinkles.
Coat them with cocoa powder
Mix some cocoa powder with espresso powder for coating.
Melt either white or milk chocolate and drizzle over the brandy balls.

I haven’t tried it yet, but I hoping to get a bottle of peppermint liqueur and substitute that for the brandy this year.

You can also buy some candy papers to nestle your candy in for presentation. People will be impressed that you made these yourself.

Homemade Christmas Candy Recipes . . .

Besides baking, I enjoy making candy for the holidays. This link has always had a nice variety and the instructions are pretty easy to follow, too.

http://www.cdnbiz.net/xmas/candies.html

Christmas Candy!

One of the nice side effects of the holidays is letting go a bit on our diets and enjoying some of the treats of the season. One of my favorite flavors in the world is chocolate/mint. Here is a recipe that helps you fill that 'need' and provides treats to share with friends.

Chocolate Mint Patties
1 pound of powdered sugar
3 tablespoons butter, softened
3 teaspoons peppermint extract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup evaporated milk
2 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
2 tablespoons shortening

Combine the sugar, butter, peppermint and vanilla in a mixing bowl. Add the milk and mix to combine. This should work into a pliable 'dough'. Roll into small balls and place on waxed paper. Chill for 15-20 minutes then flatten with the bottom of a glass into a patty. Chill for an additional 30 minutes.

Melt the chocolate chips and shortening. Dip the mint patties in the chocolate and place back on the waxed paper to harden. You can also freeze them a bit to hurry up the process. Makes 4-5 dozen depending on the size of your mint patties.

Ideas . . .
Before the chocolate hardens, you can sprinkle them with crushed candy cane treats.
Don't like mint? Think about orange extract with some finely grated zest.
White chocolate chips would make an interesting coating, too.
You can drizzle the chocolate-covered mints with a contrasting melted chocolate.

Homemade candy . . .

One of my favorite treats is honeycomb candy. It is rather expensive in the store so I haven't had it in years. I was browsing through a magazine, today, and it flipped open to a recipe for that very, same candy! Since I was waiting for my daughter to get done with her haircut, couldn't access her purse for a pen/paper, I memorized the recipe but didn't get down all the steps. Hey, I was amazed to remember the ingredients but it sounds pretty straightforward.

The Ingredients

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
3 tablespoons corn syrup
1 tablespoon honey
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon baking soda

Basically, from what I can remember, you mix everything except the baking soda in a good-sized pot as the mixture will boil up at the last stage.

Prepare a baking sheet with foil and vegetable oil spray it lightly.

Slowly cook the first four ingredients until they come together, stirring constantly. All that sugar would just love to burn. When the sugar is well-dissolved, bring to a rolling boil. Brush down the sides with a wet pastry brush to get rid of any sugar crystals. Return to a boil, add the baking soda now (It is supposed to really bubble up at this point!) and quickly stir just to incorporate, and pour onto your prepared baking sheet. Just let it spread. When it has set, about 30 minutes, you can crack it into pieces. I'm assuming you need to reach the 'hard-crack' stage in the candy-making language.

Not guaranteeing anything here as I've just given you what I quickly read and remembered. I'm going to try it as it isn't too big an investment in a fun experiement. I'm thinking that dipping the hardened pieces (assuming it hardens as hoped for!) in melted chocolate would be good.

Just sharing a moment so you take your chances here.

Pumpkin Fudge?

One of my daughters likes most anything to do with pumpkin. She even asked for pumpkin pie for one birthday 'cake' when she was little. I ran across this recipe and figure I should try it out for her. It looks interesting and, possibly, tasty but know in my heart it will never replace a chunk of chocolate walnut fudge.

Pumpkin Fudge

Ingredients:
2 cups sugar
½ cup pureed cooked pumpkin
½ cup evaporated milk
¼ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
¼ cup butter
½ teaspoon vanilla
1 cup chopped nuts
¼ teaspoon cornstarch

Directions:
1. Combine sugar, pumpkin, milk, and spice in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over high, then reduce to a gentle simmer. Cook until it forms a soft ball when dropped in cold water, or until reaches 236°F. Remove from heat

2. Add the nuts, butter, and vanilla; beat until mixture is creamy.

3. Pour into a buttered plate and allow to cool. Cut into small chunks and serve.

First-class candy at candy bar prices . . .

This is a favorite treat for the holidays but I've come to the conclusion that one doesn't always have to wait for Christmas trees to sprout up in our living rooms to enjoy a batch of these candies. The only real trick to getting a good batch is making sure you don't leave the room and maintain the level at rolling boil not burning sugar!

ALMOND TOFFEE AT HOME
1 ½ sticks butter, no substitutes
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1 cup toasted and coarsely chopped almonds

Melt the butter and sugars together in a pot and bring to a gentle rolling boil. Maintain the rolling boil for five minutes, stirring constantly. Add the nuts, bring to a rolling boil and continue for another five minutes, stirring to prevent burning.

Spread the mixture on a sheet of greased foil (heavily use any vegetable oil spray.). Sprinkle with chocolate chips and spread out as they melt. Put in the refrigerator until set. Break into pieces and store in a closed container in a cool place.