You know you want the good stuff. It's time to break out the candy thermometer and start making your own delectable treats. Jean Marie Kennedy (left) of Simply Savory has been tempting customers at the South of the James market every Saturday since 2010, selling her handmade line of mustards, cheese spreads and heirloom candies.
"This has been the most fun I've ever had," she says. With a high-pressure day job in the tech industry, "I needed an outlet, something beyond what I was doing."
"My mother and grandmothers were excellent, from-scratch cooks and canners and welcomed help, even the grubby-kid kind," says Kennedy. She grew up in Buffalo, N.Y., and one of her most unusual items, sponge candy, is a local tradition there but mostly unheard of in Richmond. "The candies are things I grew up with — sponge candy, peanut brittle, good hot fudge sauce. All use good ingredients and are made like they were 100 years ago."
For the following recipes, you'll need a few key pieces of cooking equipment: a heavy pot with a lid, a heat-resistant silicon spatula and a candy thermometer. You'll need to watch temperatures carefully, but that's about the only tricky thing when it comes to making candy.
Recipes
I combined several recipes to come up with this one. It's the best hot fudge sauce I have ever tasted, and it makes a great gift. Use the best quality chocolate chips you can find. I like Ghirardelli.
Hot Fudge Sauce
INGREDIENTS
- 1 cup of corn syrup (Karo brand gives best results)
- 1/2 cup of sugar
- 1 1/2 cups of unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 cup of very strong coffee
- 1 pound of good quality bittersweet or semisweet chocolate chips
- 1/4 cup Cointreau or Triple Sec
DIRECTIONS
Bring the corn syrup, sugar, cocoa powder and coffee to a boil, stirring constantly.
Reduce the heat to low and stir in the chocolate chips, a cup at a time, until they melt. When the chocolate is completely melted, let it simmer for 5 minutes, stirring every minute or so.
Remove the pan from the heat, and stir in the Cointreau. While still very warm, pour it into airtight containers. The recipe makes about 4 cups and can be stored in the refrigerator for up to a month.
Brown Butter Caramels
Browning the butter gives a subtle nutty flavor to these delicious caramels.
INGREDIENTS
- 2 sticks of unsalted butter
- 1 up of corn syrup (Karo brand gives the best results)
- 2 cups of sugar
- 1 14-ounce can of sweetened condensed milk
- 1/2 cup of water
- 1 vanilla bean, split and the seeds scraped from the pod
- 1 teaspoon of coarse salt
DIRECTIONS
Butter and line a 13-inch by 9-inch inch baking pan with parchment paper.
Over medium heat, melt the butter in a heavy pot, stirring constantly. The butter will foam (this is the milk solids separating from the butter); you don't want the solids to sink to the bottom of the pan, or they will burn. When the butter is nutty smelling and light brown, remove it from the heat. Carefully pour away the clarified butter from the solids. You will need 3/4 cup of liquid butter for this recipe and will have some remaining in the pot.
Combine the butter, corn syrup, sugar, sweetened condensed milk, water, and vanilla seeds and pod in a heavy pot. Stirring constantly with a heat-resistant silicon spatula, bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat.
Clip on a candy thermometer and keep stirring, scraping the corners to keep the syrup from scorching. When the temperature reaches 243 degrees, remove the pot from the heat. Remove the vanilla bean pod and stir in the salt.
Pour it into the prepared pan and cool at room temperature. Cut and wrap pieces individually in cellophane. You can store the caramels at room temperature for up to one week.
Sponge Candy
Also called "honeycomb candy," this candy is very popular in Buffalo, N.Y., where I grew up. It's a little tricky to make, because humidity really affects the results. For the most success, make this on a low-humidity day, and don't move the mixture after you have poured it onto the sheet pan.
INGREDIENTS
- 1 cup of water
- 1 cup of corn syrup (Karo brand gives the best results)
- 3 cups of sugar
- 2 1/2 tablespoons of sifted baking soda (It's very important to sift!)
- 1 pound of chocolate melting wafers (available at For the Love of Chocolate)
DIRECTIONS
Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Set it aside.
In a heavy pot with a lid, stir together the water, sugar and corn syrup. Cover the pot and bring it to a boil. Do not remove the lid or stir.
After 5 minutes of boiling, remove the lid and clip on a candy thermometer. Once the sugar syrup has reached 280 degrees, start stirring it with a heat-resistant silicon spatula continuously until the syrup reaches 310 degrees.
At 310 degrees, remove the pot from the burner and whisk in the baking soda. It will foam up. Keep whisking for at least 30 seconds. Don't try to touch it — it's really hot and will burn!
Use the spatula to help pour the candy from the pot onto the parchment-lined sheet pan. Do not try to smooth or spread the candy once it's on the pan.
Let the pan sit undisturbed until it's completely cooled, 3 hours or more, and then break the candy into pieces. (It's really difficult to cut.)
Melt the chocolate in a double boiler over gently simmering water or in the microwave in 10-second bursts. Dip the candy pieces into the warm chocolate to coat. Let the chocolate set for an hour, then remove the candy pieces and store them in an airtight container for up to two weeks.
Spicy Bacon Peanut Brittle
There are a lot of peanut brittle recipes out there. I like mine to be thin, bumpy with peanuts, and kicked up with cayenne and bacon. I use the Virginia brand Plantation Peanuts for this recipe, but the grocery store brand makes good candy, too.
INGREDIENTS
- 3 cups of unsalted peanuts
- 12 ounces of bacon, cooked until crisp and drained on paper towels
- 1/2 cup of water
- 2 cups of sugar
- 1 cup of corn syrup (I use Karo)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons of coarse salt
- 2 teaspoons of vanilla
- 3 tablespoons of butter
- 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper (or 1 teaspoon, if you like things HOT)
- 2 teaspoons of baking soda
DIRECTIONS
Cut a piece of parchment paper to fit a sheet pan, turn the oven on to 350 degrees and put the empty sheet pan into the oven (leave the parchment paper on the counter for now). Place the peanuts in a microwave- safe bowl.
Combine the water, sugar and corn syrup in a heavy pot. Bring it to a boil, clip a candy thermometer to the pan and cook on high for about 5 minutes or until 280 degrees is reached. Once you have placed the pot on the heat, do not stir the mixture at all.
As the sugar hits 280 degrees, microwave the peanuts on high for 4 minutes and cook the sugar, stirring constantly, until it reaches 320 degrees.
Remove the syrup from the heat and add the salt, vanilla, butter and cayenne, stirring thoroughly. Remove the peanuts from the microwave. Stir in the baking soda and then add the hot peanuts and bacon to the mixture.
Immediately, take your hot pan out of the oven, top with the parchment, and pour the mixture down the middle of the pan lengthwise. Spread it to the edges of the pan with a heat-resistant silicon spatula. Let the mixture cool completely, and break it into pieces and store in an airtight container.
Green Tea Ice Cubes
This exotically flavored candy gets its pale green color from matcha, a finely ground, powdered green tea. It can be found in Asian groceries and at Carytown Teas.
INGREDIENTS
- 1 cup of confectioners' sugar
- 12 ounces of good quality white chocolate chips (Ghirardelli is my go-to brand)
- 1/2 cup of refined coconut oil (sold in a jar in the health food section of the grocery)
- 2 1/2 tablespoons of matcha
DIRECTIONS
Butter an 8-inch square baking pan and line with parchment paper. Set it aside.
Sift the confectioners' sugar into a bowl and set aside. Melt the chocolate in a double-boiler over gently simmering water or put the white chocolate chips into a microwave-proof bowl, and heat in 10-second bursts, stirring each time, until the white chocolate is smooth and melted. Warm the coconut oil until it is liquid (no warmer than 85 degrees).
Combine the chocolate, coconut oil and matcha. Stir for at least 2 minutes. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and allow it to set at room temperature for about 2 hours.
Turn it out of the pan and cut it into squares. Dust them with the confectioners' sugar. Store at room temperature in a sealed container. They will be firmer after they rest, and are best eaten within a day or two.
Chocolate Mint Ice Cubes
INGREDIENTS
- 3/4 cup of confectioners' sugar
- 1/4 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder
- 12 ounces of good quality semi-sweet chocolate chips (Ghirardelli is my go-to brand.)
- 1/2 cup of refined coconut oil (sold in a jar in the health food section of the grocery store)
- 10 drops of peppermint oil (I use LorAnn brand.)
DIRECTIONS
Butter an 8-inch square baking pan, and line it with parchment paper. Set it aside.
Sift together the confectioners' sugar and cocoa powder, and set aside. Melt the chocolate in a double-boiler over gently simmering water or put the chocolate chips into a microwave-proof bowl and heat in 10-second bursts, stirring each time, until the chocolate is smooth and melted. Warm the coconut oil until it is liquid (no warmer than 85 degrees).
Combine the chocolate, coconut oil and peppermint oil. Stir it for at least 2 minutes. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and allow it to set at room temperature for about 2 hours.
Turn it out of the pan and cut it into squares. Dust them with the confectioners' sugar/cocoa powder mixture. Store the squares at room temperature in a sealed container. They will be firmer after they rest, and are best eaten within a day or two.
Coconut Caramels
INGREDIENTS
- 2 cups of sugar
- 1 cup of water
- 1 cup of corn syrup (Karo brand gives the best results)
- 1 16-ounce can of unsweetened, full-fat coconut milk
- 1 1/2 teaspoons of coarse salt
- 2 teaspoons of vanilla
DIRECTIONS
Butter an 8-inch square baking pan and line it with parchment paper. Set aside.
Stir the coconut milk thoroughly to break down the fat chunks into small bits.
Combine the water, sugar and corn syrup in a heavy pot. Bring it to a boil and cook on high for 5 minutes, with- out stirring.
Clip on the candy thermometer. When the syrup reaches 280 degrees, stir constantly, until it's lightly browned and the temperature reaches 310 degrees. Reduce the heat to medium-high.
Add the coconut milk and salt to the hot syrup. Be careful — it will rise up and splash. Stirring continuously, bring to mixture to 243 degrees. Add the vanilla and stir thoroughly to incorporate.
Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and cool at room temperature. Cut it into squares and wrap them in individually in cellophane. You can store the caramels at room temperature for up to one week.
