Yesterdays menu: Breakfast - fried egg with grape tomatoes, Lunch - leftovers from dinner, Dinner - a one pot dish with cabbage, broccoli, onions, peppers and polish sausage served over barley.
One of my favorite treats is gummy candy but I hate all the artificial gunk in them. My husband and I were talking about this one day and he mentioned a woman he knew growing up who made all natural gummy bears to sell in his community. Yesterday, I thought it was time to see if there was a recipe online. The one I am sharing today is the first recipe I found. It's not all natural since it uses packaged Jello but it was so easy that I was glad I started there instead of picking a complicated natural recipe. My mom had said she wanted a particular jelly candy - it's similar to a gummy candy but with nonpareil candies coating it. I rushed home and made this candy. The gummy part is great. I don't recommend trying to coat them in nonpareils. They were hard to keep on the candy and by morning had disintegrated into a rainbow goo which stains (they were making lovely colors on my plates last night when they were being attached). The candy replication for my mother was not a success but I did manage to make a really good gummy candy. It was so easy that I may never buy gummy candy again.
I did not use a mold but poured it into a 9x9 glass pan. They're not pretty but great for learning. If you choose to use molds - do not grease and let the candies sit for awhile. The recipe said 20 minutes but mine was still tacky (I did double the batch) which was perfect for adding the nonpareil mess but difficult for removing. I just cut mine up with scissors to make bite sized candies.
Gummy Candy
1 3oz box of Jello
2 packages of knox gelatin
1/3 cup water
Add water to a saucepan and sprinkle on Jello and gelatin. Let sit 5-10 minutes. Cook on medium heat, stirring constantly, until all the gelatin has dissolved (2-5 minutes). Pour into molds or glass pan (ungreased). Let sit for 20 minutes before removing.
Easy Peasy!
Showing posts with label candy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label candy. Show all posts
Friday, April 6, 2012
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Potato Candy
Yesterday we had leftovers for breakfast and lunch - nothing interesting there. For dinner my husband made a rice dish. He sauteed a head of cabbage with a polish sausage (we picked up four packages on a really good sale). He added the remaining onion soup that I turned into gravy and some leftover plum sauce and served it over brown rice. It was good. A bit on the gooey side but the brown rice offered a nice firm texture under the saucy cabbage. The flavor was amazing. It's fun to clean out the fridge sometimes and dump extra sauces in dishes. Sometimes it's the seasonings that make the dish.
I promised a potato candy recipe - the actual recipe will be at the end of this post.
My son has this deep love of potato candy and, to him, it's the ultimate St. Patricks Day food. He requests it when he has a function at school during the holiday.
I started with having him peel 6-7 small potatoes (I thought they were small, in hindsight they may have been closer to medium). I wanted him to have enough but I also thought it made sense to use up the bag. I didn't realize this was far too many potatoes. I boiled the potatoes until they were soft and then ran them under cold water to keep them from being to hot to handle. I mashed them with a stick of Nucoa and then set them in the freezer to cool. It took a little work but by the time I added the sugar they were cold. I mixed in slowly an entire 2 pound bag of powdered sugar. This was when I realized I was in trouble. I didn't have anything resembling a dough - this was a definite soup of a mess. I couldn't run to the store - I didn't have time since I left this to the last minute so I did what any great cook does, I substituted. I added some regular sugar, maybe 2 cups but that didn't really help and the texture went from smooth to gritty. I needed something that maintained the current flavor and yet thickened it. While thinking on that, I added the vanilla which was not enough and my homemade version wasn't strong enough. Being of quick mind, I grabbed a rather dusty, forgotten bottle of Irish Cream coffee syrup and added that to the mix. It was perfect, the flavor complemented nicely and may become the new flavoring for this particular candy. I decided that coconut flour would be perfect since I finish off with coconut. I like coconut flour, it adds a nice nutty flavor to baked goods and was my go to GF flour (I started using it long before going GF though because it's high in fiber). About 1 cup of the flour and the dough was good to go. I finished it with about 2/3 of a bag of sweetened coconut and put the whole thing in the fridge. By this time I was too tired to spend time rolling it into balls and then in the remaining coconut.
My son and husband did that before his party. He said the kids were skeptical at first but then ate them all up. I want to note that they only rolled a portion of the dough. I still have a ton of it in my fridge that I need to come up with a plan for. The gritty texture never really went away but the flavor only got better. I may be coming up with a way to use the dough as a filler in cookies.
Potato Candy
1 large potato - peeled
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
4-5 cups confectioner’s sugar
5 cups sweetened coconut flakes
Boil potato until soft Mash until smooth and add butter. Let cool completely. Mix in vanilla and slowly add sugar. (if the potato is still warm it will melt the sugar so make sure it is cool). Add sugar until you have a stiff dough. Knead in half of the coconut. Roll the dough into small balls and roll in remaining coconut. The dough gets soft when warm so may have to refrigerate it to make it workable.
Can add green food coloring with the vanilla.
I promised a potato candy recipe - the actual recipe will be at the end of this post.
My son has this deep love of potato candy and, to him, it's the ultimate St. Patricks Day food. He requests it when he has a function at school during the holiday.
I started with having him peel 6-7 small potatoes (I thought they were small, in hindsight they may have been closer to medium). I wanted him to have enough but I also thought it made sense to use up the bag. I didn't realize this was far too many potatoes. I boiled the potatoes until they were soft and then ran them under cold water to keep them from being to hot to handle. I mashed them with a stick of Nucoa and then set them in the freezer to cool. It took a little work but by the time I added the sugar they were cold. I mixed in slowly an entire 2 pound bag of powdered sugar. This was when I realized I was in trouble. I didn't have anything resembling a dough - this was a definite soup of a mess. I couldn't run to the store - I didn't have time since I left this to the last minute so I did what any great cook does, I substituted. I added some regular sugar, maybe 2 cups but that didn't really help and the texture went from smooth to gritty. I needed something that maintained the current flavor and yet thickened it. While thinking on that, I added the vanilla which was not enough and my homemade version wasn't strong enough. Being of quick mind, I grabbed a rather dusty, forgotten bottle of Irish Cream coffee syrup and added that to the mix. It was perfect, the flavor complemented nicely and may become the new flavoring for this particular candy. I decided that coconut flour would be perfect since I finish off with coconut. I like coconut flour, it adds a nice nutty flavor to baked goods and was my go to GF flour (I started using it long before going GF though because it's high in fiber). About 1 cup of the flour and the dough was good to go. I finished it with about 2/3 of a bag of sweetened coconut and put the whole thing in the fridge. By this time I was too tired to spend time rolling it into balls and then in the remaining coconut.
My son and husband did that before his party. He said the kids were skeptical at first but then ate them all up. I want to note that they only rolled a portion of the dough. I still have a ton of it in my fridge that I need to come up with a plan for. The gritty texture never really went away but the flavor only got better. I may be coming up with a way to use the dough as a filler in cookies.
Potato Candy
1 large potato - peeled
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
4-5 cups confectioner’s sugar
5 cups sweetened coconut flakes
Boil potato until soft Mash until smooth and add butter. Let cool completely. Mix in vanilla and slowly add sugar. (if the potato is still warm it will melt the sugar so make sure it is cool). Add sugar until you have a stiff dough. Knead in half of the coconut. Roll the dough into small balls and roll in remaining coconut. The dough gets soft when warm so may have to refrigerate it to make it workable.
Can add green food coloring with the vanilla.
Friday, February 10, 2012
Butter Mints
A local candy company makes very pricey butter mints but they are such a treat. That was until I learned to make my own. This is one of the few recipes I would suggest using the highest quality ingredients because they make a huge difference. The candies are slightly labor intensive but I believe you could use a mixer - I just haven't tried. The dough does get warm rather quickly, if it refuses to roll out - stick it in the fridge or freezer for a little bit. The taste is wonderful.
For an even better treat - dip these in chocolate.
Butter Mints
½ cup butter
1 pound confectioner’s sugar
1 tablespoon cream or milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon peppermint extract
Food coloring, optional
In mixing bowl, cream the butter. Gradually add sugar, cream and extracts. Knead into balls; add food coloring if desired. Flatten into patties or roll between two sheets of waxed paper to 1/8 in and cut into desired shapes. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Store in refrigerator.
For an even better treat - dip these in chocolate.
Butter Mints
½ cup butter
1 pound confectioner’s sugar
1 tablespoon cream or milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon peppermint extract
Food coloring, optional
In mixing bowl, cream the butter. Gradually add sugar, cream and extracts. Knead into balls; add food coloring if desired. Flatten into patties or roll between two sheets of waxed paper to 1/8 in and cut into desired shapes. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Store in refrigerator.
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Peanut Butter Fudge
Every now and again, I go through my posts and add them to a file so I can easily find what recipes I have posted so I don't repeat them (unless they have undergone dramatic changes). I discovered I forgot to share the Peanut Butter Fudge recipe. I made it the same day I made the chocolate fudge. I think this recipe is the family favorite. The chocolate was good but they have been devouring the peanut butter. We are peanut butter sort of people so it makes since (their favorite cookie is my gluten free peanut butter cookies).
I made it with homemade evaporated milk.
Just a note about next week - I will not be posting next week but I will be experimenting and will have lots to share after the holidays.
Peanut Butter Fudge
¾ cup evaporated milk
2 cups sugar
2 TB butter
1 1/8 cups peanut butter
1 7oz marshmallow cream
1 teas vanilla
In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine milk, sugar and butter. Bring to a rolling boil, stirring constantly and let boil 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in peanut butter, marshmallow cream and vanilla until well incorporated. Spread into greased 8x8 dish. Let cool completely before cutting into squares.
I made it with homemade evaporated milk.
Just a note about next week - I will not be posting next week but I will be experimenting and will have lots to share after the holidays.
Peanut Butter Fudge
¾ cup evaporated milk
2 cups sugar
2 TB butter
1 1/8 cups peanut butter
1 7oz marshmallow cream
1 teas vanilla
In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine milk, sugar and butter. Bring to a rolling boil, stirring constantly and let boil 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in peanut butter, marshmallow cream and vanilla until well incorporated. Spread into greased 8x8 dish. Let cool completely before cutting into squares.
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Chocolate Covered Cherries
There's not many recipes I have made this week that I haven't shared at some point on this blog. Here is one I haven't made in a few years because it's time consuming. It's not exactly difficult - just takes time. The result is well worth the effort.
Chocolate covered Cherries
½ cup butter, soft
2 cups marshmallow creme
1 teas almond extract
4 cups powdered sugar
1 jar maraschino cherries, well drained
2 cups chocolate chips
2 TB shortening
Cream butter. Add marshmallow creme, extract and sugar, mix well. Knead into a large ball, chill for 1 hour. Roll into 1 inch balls and flatten into 2 inch circles. Wrap circles around cherries and carefully shape into balls. Place on lined baking sheet, cover loosely. Chill for 4 hours to overnight. Melt chocolate chips with shortening in a double boiler. Dip balls in chocolate, place on lined baking sheet to harden. Refrigerate in covered container 1-2 weeks before serving.
Chocolate covered Cherries
½ cup butter, soft
2 cups marshmallow creme
1 teas almond extract
4 cups powdered sugar
1 jar maraschino cherries, well drained
2 cups chocolate chips
2 TB shortening
Cream butter. Add marshmallow creme, extract and sugar, mix well. Knead into a large ball, chill for 1 hour. Roll into 1 inch balls and flatten into 2 inch circles. Wrap circles around cherries and carefully shape into balls. Place on lined baking sheet, cover loosely. Chill for 4 hours to overnight. Melt chocolate chips with shortening in a double boiler. Dip balls in chocolate, place on lined baking sheet to harden. Refrigerate in covered container 1-2 weeks before serving.
Monday, December 19, 2011
Peanut Brittle
My husband really wanted peanut brittle this year. I was able to get unsalted roasted peanuts (no raw) and thought about how to go about this. I decided to use my toffee recipe. We used Nucoa to make him a dairy free version. Because of this - I believe that the recipe needs stirring. Normally, one does not stir the toffee as it cooks but the nucoa did not exactly meld with the sugar. Stirring would have helped.
Peanut Brittle
1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
3 TBS water
1 1/2 cups peanuts
Bring butter, sugar and water to a boil. Boil for 10 minutes until the color turns amber (290 on a thermometer). Stir in peanuts and pour into a greased cookie sheet. Let cool completely. Break into pieces and enjoy.
Peanut Brittle
1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
3 TBS water
1 1/2 cups peanuts
Bring butter, sugar and water to a boil. Boil for 10 minutes until the color turns amber (290 on a thermometer). Stir in peanuts and pour into a greased cookie sheet. Let cool completely. Break into pieces and enjoy.
Friday, December 16, 2011
Chocolate Fudge
I needed a good easy fudge recipe that didn't have too many ingredients since we had to stay within budget for the month. This recipe comes from Eagle brand sweetened condensed milk. I made my own with the recipe I posted earlier this week. The only problem I encountered is that the powdered milk stayed a little lumpy. I made this a second time and beat the milk more reducing the number of little milk lumps. You can't taste the powdered milk and my husband is convinced they are nuts (I didn't add any nuts and have told him several times). We used milk chocolate chips since the semi-sweet that were on sale were gone. The result was a wonderful and rich candy. I, also, found that cooking it for just a few minutes after the chips were melted resulted in a firmer less sticky fudge but either way is great.
Chocolate Fudge
3 cups chocolate chips
14 oz Sweetened Condensed Milk
¾ cup chopped nuts
1 ½ teas vanilla
Melt chocolate chips and milk in a pan over low heat. Add nuts and vanilla. Pour into greased 8x8 inch pan. Chill for 2 hours.
Chocolate Fudge
3 cups chocolate chips
14 oz Sweetened Condensed Milk
¾ cup chopped nuts
1 ½ teas vanilla
Melt chocolate chips and milk in a pan over low heat. Add nuts and vanilla. Pour into greased 8x8 inch pan. Chill for 2 hours.
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Microwave Caramel
I can't remember where I found this recipe but I couldn't wait to try it. The flavor of this caramel is wonderful but I just couldn't get it to firm up in the microwave. I ended up taking the two batches I attempted and putting them in a pot on the stove until they firmed up. The result was amazing caramels and I had used the homemade sweetened condensed milk.
I do think this would make amazing (but soft) caramel corn. Which would be perfect for a quick evening snack. I didn't add anything to the recipe after I took it out of the microwave.
*make sure your microwave is really clean - this does bubble over and if it lands on a clean surface you can scoop it back into the batch.
7 Minute Microwave Caramels or Caramel Corn
Yield: About 50 individually wrapped caramels, or 15 cups of caramel corn
Make the Caramel:
Note: If making individual caramels, have an 8x8 dish lined with parchment paper at the ready. If making caramel corn, prepare 12-15 cups of popped kettle corn and place in a large bowl. (1 1/2 standard size bags of microwave popcorn popped equals about 12 cups. This is the amount I used.)
4 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into cubes
1 cup light brown sugar, tightly paked
1/2 cup corn syrup
2/3 cup sweetened condensed milk (not low fat)
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
In a large microwaveable bowl or 8 cup glass measure, combine the butter, brown sugar and corn syrup. Microwave at 100% power for 2 minutes. Stir mixture well. It will be a little grainy. Microwave for another 2 minutes and stir well. Add 2/3 cup sweetened condensed milk. Microwave for 3 minutes. Watch carefully, it is prone to bubble up at this stage. Remove from microwave and stir in vanilla extract. Be very careful at this stage, the caramel is extremely hot and sticky!
For Individual Caramels:
Sea salt for sprinkling
Pour hot caramel into the parchment lined pan. Lightly sprinkle with sea salt. Let stand until set, but still slightly warm. Lift caramel block from pan and cut into individual squares. Wrap in wax paper squares.*Note: My caramels held their shape quite well without being wrapped.
For Caramel Corn:
1 cup peanuts or cashews
Sea salt for sprinkling
Pour nuts over popped kettle corn. Pour hot caramel over popcorn, turning popcorn over with a large wooden spoon to coat. Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper, set aside. Microwave caramel coated corn for 4 minutes, stopping after each minute to stir. Pour onto prepared baking sheet and sprinkle with sea salt. Let stand at room temperature until hardened. Break into pieces and store in an air-tight container.
I do think this would make amazing (but soft) caramel corn. Which would be perfect for a quick evening snack. I didn't add anything to the recipe after I took it out of the microwave.
*make sure your microwave is really clean - this does bubble over and if it lands on a clean surface you can scoop it back into the batch.
7 Minute Microwave Caramels or Caramel Corn
Yield: About 50 individually wrapped caramels, or 15 cups of caramel corn
Make the Caramel:
Note: If making individual caramels, have an 8x8 dish lined with parchment paper at the ready. If making caramel corn, prepare 12-15 cups of popped kettle corn and place in a large bowl. (1 1/2 standard size bags of microwave popcorn popped equals about 12 cups. This is the amount I used.)
4 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into cubes
1 cup light brown sugar, tightly paked
1/2 cup corn syrup
2/3 cup sweetened condensed milk (not low fat)
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
In a large microwaveable bowl or 8 cup glass measure, combine the butter, brown sugar and corn syrup. Microwave at 100% power for 2 minutes. Stir mixture well. It will be a little grainy. Microwave for another 2 minutes and stir well. Add 2/3 cup sweetened condensed milk. Microwave for 3 minutes. Watch carefully, it is prone to bubble up at this stage. Remove from microwave and stir in vanilla extract. Be very careful at this stage, the caramel is extremely hot and sticky!
For Individual Caramels:
Sea salt for sprinkling
Pour hot caramel into the parchment lined pan. Lightly sprinkle with sea salt. Let stand until set, but still slightly warm. Lift caramel block from pan and cut into individual squares. Wrap in wax paper squares.*Note: My caramels held their shape quite well without being wrapped.
For Caramel Corn:
1 cup peanuts or cashews
Sea salt for sprinkling
Pour nuts over popped kettle corn. Pour hot caramel over popcorn, turning popcorn over with a large wooden spoon to coat. Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper, set aside. Microwave caramel coated corn for 4 minutes, stopping after each minute to stir. Pour onto prepared baking sheet and sprinkle with sea salt. Let stand at room temperature until hardened. Break into pieces and store in an air-tight container.
Monday, December 12, 2011
Chocolate Jelly Truffles
This recipe is thanks to Joanne Fluke except I changed the name. I wanted to open it up to more flavors than just raspberry. This is the easiest truffle recipe out there. I doubled her recipe for convienence but feel free to cut it back in half.
Chocolate Jelly Truffles
1 package chocolate chips (2 cups)
4 TBs fruit jelly
cocoa powder
Melt chocolate chips and jelly in a double boiler until thick and smooth. Let cool. Roll into balls and refrigerate. Remove and re-roll until small smooth balls (they will spread and soften when warm in the beginning but chilled they will hold their shape well). Roll in cocoa powder. Store in refrigerator.
Chocolate Jelly Truffles
1 package chocolate chips (2 cups)
4 TBs fruit jelly
cocoa powder
Melt chocolate chips and jelly in a double boiler until thick and smooth. Let cool. Roll into balls and refrigerate. Remove and re-roll until small smooth balls (they will spread and soften when warm in the beginning but chilled they will hold their shape well). Roll in cocoa powder. Store in refrigerator.
Friday, November 4, 2011
Toffee
Yesterday's post made me think of toffee. For those of us in Washington, this toffee recipe is often called Almond Roca after the popular candy (made in Tacoma Washington - some day I will visit that factory). This recipe can easily be converted into the toffee topping for the Chewy Toffee Almond Bars. Omit the chocolate and the almonds, then break up the toffee for the bars.
If you aren't interested in doing that much work - then just make the toffee as instructed and enjoy. We love this candy and I think I'll be putting together a batch this weekend.
Toffee
1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
3 tbs. water
1 tsp. vanilla or corn syrup
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup finely chopped almonds
Boil butter, sugar and water (and corn syrup if using) until mixture browns and pulls away from side of pan (about 10 minutes/ 290 degrees). Add vanilla and 1/2 cup nuts if using. Pour onto buttered cookie sheet and place chocolate on top of hot mixture. Spread evenly as it melts. Sprinkle nuts over chocolate. Cool and break into pieces.
If you aren't interested in doing that much work - then just make the toffee as instructed and enjoy. We love this candy and I think I'll be putting together a batch this weekend.
Toffee
1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
3 tbs. water
1 tsp. vanilla or corn syrup
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup finely chopped almonds
Boil butter, sugar and water (and corn syrup if using) until mixture browns and pulls away from side of pan (about 10 minutes/ 290 degrees). Add vanilla and 1/2 cup nuts if using. Pour onto buttered cookie sheet and place chocolate on top of hot mixture. Spread evenly as it melts. Sprinkle nuts over chocolate. Cool and break into pieces.
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Turkish Delights - Blackberry Jellies
Between here and the mountains is a small town called Cashmere in Washington. It's not a significant sort of place except for one thing - Aplets and Cotlets. Aplets and Cotlets are a mass produced sort of Turkish Delight. They are amazing candies and quite popular in Washington. I hear they have some popularity all over but in Washington they are famous. We stop at Cashmere to enjoy the factory and the gift shop every couple of years or so.
One year I wanted to learn how to make them at home. Several failed attempts later, I pretty much gave up on the idea. Then last Christmas I came across a recipe for something called Blackberry Jellies. These were different but had so much potential. I undercooked them and created a really tasty jelly for sandwiches. I decided to try again this past weekend and they were perfect. The recipe is not difficult, it requires patience. I, apparently, lacked that patience last Christmas. The candies are wonderful. I haven't taken the time to dredge them in sugar so they are really sticky but I plan on trying them dredged in powdered sugar to see how they compare to Aplets and Cotlets. I, also, plan on trying an apple version (with and without walnuts) to see if I can, indeed, replicate the candy.
I didn't start with frozen blackberries. When we go blackberry picking, I run the berries through my food mill to remove all the seeds and anything else because the berries are often too soft and mushy by the time we return home. I freeze this juice and used that to make this candy. It takes 2 cups of fruit puree so I used 2 cups juice and will use 2 cups apple sauce when I make an apple version.
This recipe has you dredge with granulated sugar, Turkish Delights uses powdered sugar - either will work.
Blackberry Fruit Jellies
1 bag(s) frozen blackberries
2 teaspoon(s) powdered pectin
2 3/4 cup(s) sugar, divided, plus additional for coating
1 tablespoon(s) lemon juice or lime juice
Puree fruit and 1/2 cup water in blender until smooth; strain out seeds.
Place 2 cups puree in a heavy-bottomed medium saucepan. Thoroughly mix pectin and 1/4 cup sugar, whisk into fruit puree, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Add remaining 2 1/4 cups sugar and cook mixture until it reaches 225 degrees F, stirring constantly. Stir in lemon or lime juice; cook 30 seconds more. Pour into a lightly oiled 9" x 13" baking pan, sprinkle sugar on top, and allow to set, about 2 hours. Cut into 1-inch squares, or use a lightly oiled cookie cutter to make other shapes. Dredge in sugar and dry on a cooling rack overnight. Scraps can be remelted and reset. Store in a box or paper bag at room temperature for up to two weeks.
One year I wanted to learn how to make them at home. Several failed attempts later, I pretty much gave up on the idea. Then last Christmas I came across a recipe for something called Blackberry Jellies. These were different but had so much potential. I undercooked them and created a really tasty jelly for sandwiches. I decided to try again this past weekend and they were perfect. The recipe is not difficult, it requires patience. I, apparently, lacked that patience last Christmas. The candies are wonderful. I haven't taken the time to dredge them in sugar so they are really sticky but I plan on trying them dredged in powdered sugar to see how they compare to Aplets and Cotlets. I, also, plan on trying an apple version (with and without walnuts) to see if I can, indeed, replicate the candy.
I didn't start with frozen blackberries. When we go blackberry picking, I run the berries through my food mill to remove all the seeds and anything else because the berries are often too soft and mushy by the time we return home. I freeze this juice and used that to make this candy. It takes 2 cups of fruit puree so I used 2 cups juice and will use 2 cups apple sauce when I make an apple version.
This recipe has you dredge with granulated sugar, Turkish Delights uses powdered sugar - either will work.
Blackberry Fruit Jellies
1 bag(s) frozen blackberries
2 teaspoon(s) powdered pectin
2 3/4 cup(s) sugar, divided, plus additional for coating
1 tablespoon(s) lemon juice or lime juice
Puree fruit and 1/2 cup water in blender until smooth; strain out seeds.
Place 2 cups puree in a heavy-bottomed medium saucepan. Thoroughly mix pectin and 1/4 cup sugar, whisk into fruit puree, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Add remaining 2 1/4 cups sugar and cook mixture until it reaches 225 degrees F, stirring constantly. Stir in lemon or lime juice; cook 30 seconds more. Pour into a lightly oiled 9" x 13" baking pan, sprinkle sugar on top, and allow to set, about 2 hours. Cut into 1-inch squares, or use a lightly oiled cookie cutter to make other shapes. Dredge in sugar and dry on a cooling rack overnight. Scraps can be remelted and reset. Store in a box or paper bag at room temperature for up to two weeks.
Monday, October 31, 2011
Catching Up and Caramels
I wasn't feeling all that well last week but I did manage to get one more weekend of foraging two weekends ago. All those apples and pears and elderberries need to be used up so I'll be posting recipes soon. We had a day of candy making and I'll have some fun ideas on that too. I love this time of year because baking ingredients go on sale and we take every opportunity to share food with friends and family.
I'm still struggling with the end of this bug but I wanted to share Mary Jane's Caramel recipe. I made this nucoa and half and half.
In the pan it was gritty and I wasn't sure how it would come out but it finished beautifully. The trick is to not skimp on the time you cook the caramels. Make sure you get them hot enough before taking them off the stove.
I'm still struggling with the end of this bug but I wanted to share Mary Jane's Caramel recipe. I made this nucoa and half and half.
In the pan it was gritty and I wasn't sure how it would come out but it finished beautifully. The trick is to not skimp on the time you cook the caramels. Make sure you get them hot enough before taking them off the stove.
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Pumpkin Seed Brittle
This has just been one of those weeks so I'm going to keep this short. I discovered this brittle recipe years ago. The brittle was a garnish for a larger dessert but we loved it so much that it became a family favorite. It's quick and easy. The brittle part is more of a candy coating on the pumpkin seeds. I use shelled store bought seeds though you can use ones you roast yourself.
Pumpkin Seed Brittle
In heavy 6-8 inch frying pan over med-high heat, stir 1/3 cup sugar and 1/4 cup water until sugar is dissolved. Cook without stirring, shaking pan often, until mixture is a deep amber brown color (5-10 minutes). Remove from heat and stir in ½ cup hulled and roasted pumpkin seeds. Pour onto 12x15 piece of buttered foil and spread thin. Let cool until had (6-10 min) break into ½ inch pieces.
Pumpkin Seed Brittle
In heavy 6-8 inch frying pan over med-high heat, stir 1/3 cup sugar and 1/4 cup water until sugar is dissolved. Cook without stirring, shaking pan often, until mixture is a deep amber brown color (5-10 minutes). Remove from heat and stir in ½ cup hulled and roasted pumpkin seeds. Pour onto 12x15 piece of buttered foil and spread thin. Let cool until had (6-10 min) break into ½ inch pieces.
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Potato Candy
This is a fun recipe for kid's parties. You can use potato flakes if you don't want to boil a potato. Make fairly small balls because it is really sweet.
Potato Candy
1 large potato - peeled
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
4-5 cups confectioner’s sugar
5 cups sweetened coconut flakes
Boil potato until soft Mash until smooth and add butter. Let cool completely. Mix in vanilla and slowly add sugar. (if the potato is still warm it will melt the sugar so make sure it is cool). Add sugar until you have a stiff dough. Knead in half of the coconut. Roll the dough into small balls and roll in remaining coconut. The dough gets soft when warm so may have to refrigerate it to make it workable.
Can add green food coloring with the vanilla.
Potato Candy
1 large potato - peeled
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
4-5 cups confectioner’s sugar
5 cups sweetened coconut flakes
Boil potato until soft Mash until smooth and add butter. Let cool completely. Mix in vanilla and slowly add sugar. (if the potato is still warm it will melt the sugar so make sure it is cool). Add sugar until you have a stiff dough. Knead in half of the coconut. Roll the dough into small balls and roll in remaining coconut. The dough gets soft when warm so may have to refrigerate it to make it workable.
Can add green food coloring with the vanilla.
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