These are our favorite holiday candies.
Peanut Butter Cups
You will need some small muffin papers
they sell them in the craft, candy making, section of
Walmart.
You will need some:
dipping chocolate
a jar of natural smooth peanut butter
1/2 stick of butter
and some powdered sugar
Buy the peanut butter about a week ahead of time and let it sit in your pantry so as much of the oil that will come to the top does.
Melt the dipping chocolate in the top of a double boiler and paint the bottom and the sides of the tiny muffin papers with chocolate and put them in the freezer. I use a jelly-roll pan to put them on. Just let the chocolate that is left harden in the pan and save it for later.
Pour the oil off the peanut butter
discarding the oil and empty the jar into a mixer bowl and beat the peanut butter together with the butter until smooth. Mix in enough powdered sugar to get it as sweet as you like it but not too sweet and form the mixture into walnut size balls.
Press a peanut butter ball into each of the chocolate cups, then melt the rest of the chocolate and drop a small spoon of chocolate on top of each ball to seal. Let them harden at room temperature and pack them in bags. You can store them in the frig or the freezer if you are going to need to keep them for a long time. I have made these months in advance and when they thawed out they were as fresh tasting as the day I made them.
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Caramel Corn
Preheat oven to 250°
Step A:
8 quarts of popped popcorn dumped in a large roasting pan
Step B:
2 sticks butter
2 cups brown sugar
1/2-cup light Karo syrup
1/2-teaspoon salt
Step C:
1/2-teaspoon baking soda
Bring step B to a boil and cook for 5 minutes.
Add baking soda and stir. It will fizz. Pour mixture over the popcorn and mix in well.
Bake for 1 hour, at 250° stir every 15 minutes to dry the caramel.
Spread out on wax paper to cool.
Can be frozen in Tupperware.
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Chocolate Covered Pretzels
Melt dipping chocolate and dip pretzels in chocolate. Place of wax paper to set up.
Store in zip-lock bags.
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M&M Holiday Bark recipe
http://www.recipegoldmine.com/candyconfD/candyconf107.html
1 package white chocolate bark
1 package baking M&M's
Melt bark in microwave, stirring to get smooth consistency, then stir M&M's into bark. Pour thin layer on wax paper to cool.
When completely cool and hard, break up into pieces.
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Martha Washington Chocolates
1/4 pound butter
15 ounce can condensed milk
2 pounds powered sugar
3 1/2 ounce can coconut
2 cups finely chopped pecans
Melt butter, mix together with the rest of the ingredients. Kneed by hand until nugget is very smooth. Roll into small balls and dip in chocolate mixture below, drop onto wax paper to cool.
Dipping Chocolate:
Melt and dip candy.
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Microwave Pecan or Peanut Brittle
1-cup sugar
1/2-cup light Karo syrup
1 cup chopped pecans or whole peanuts
1/8-teaspoon salt
Microwave 8 minutes on high, stir well after 4 minutes.
Add:
1-teaspoon vanilla
1-teaspoon butter
Microwave 1 to 2 minutes more. Add 1-teaspoon baking soda. Stir well it will foam up. Pour onto greased baking sheet.
Put in freezer until set. Take out and break into pieces.
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Millionaires
1 large can evaporated milk plus 4 tablespoons cream
2 tablespoons sugar
1-cup brown sugar
1-cup dark Karo syrup
1/2-cup butter melted
2 cups chopped pecans
1-teaspoon vanilla
1. Combine sugars, Karo, butter and milk in a heavy pan. Bring to a boil and cook until a soft ball forms in a cup of cold water.
2. Remove pan from fire while testing, candy over-cooks very quickly.
3. Then add nuts and vanilla and pour into a buttered 9x13-inch cake pan or a glass cake pan works well too to cool.
4. Cool over night in the refrigerator. Then cut into small pieces and dip in this mixture.
In a double boiler melt:
Melt 1 package of dipping chocolate and dip the candy
place on wax paper to dry.
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Perfect Divinity
5 cups sugar
1-cup light corn syrup
1-cup water
1/4-teaspoon salt
2 large egg whites
1-teaspoon vanilla
2 cups chopped nuts
1. Combine the sugar, syrup, water and salt in a saucepan and stir until sugar dissolves.
2. Heat to boiling point and cover. Boil for 2 minutes.
3. Uncover and cook to softball stage or to 238 degrees of candy thermometer.
4. Beat the egg whites until stiff but not dry.
5. Pour syrup over egg whites slowly, beating constantly with electric mixer, then beat until candy is cool and holds its shape.
6. Stir in the vanilla and nuts and drop from a teaspoon onto waxed paper.
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Triple Chocolate Fudge
4 cups sugar
1 (12-ounce) can evaporated milk
2 tablespoons milk (do not leave this out!)
1/2-cup (1-stick) butter
2 (1-ounce) squares unsweetened chocolate
1 (10-ounce) package miniature marshmallows
1 (12-ounce) package semisweet chocolate chips
1 (12-ounce) package milk chocolate chips
1-teaspoon vanilla
1/2 pound pecans(optional)
1.Combine sugar, evaporated milk, milk, butter and unsweetened chocolate in a 5-quart heavy Dutch oven.
2.Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a boil. Boil 8 minutes, stirring often.
3.Remove from heat. Stir in marshmallows, semisweet chocolate pieces, milk chocolate pieces and vanilla.
4.Beat until smooth. Add pecans. Pour into a buttered 15x10x1" jellyroll pan.
5.Cool and cut into 1 1/4" squares.
Makes 8 dozen pieces.