Candy traditions
Snowflakes are a crunchy treat
The best gifts in my household are edible. Christmas candy is the present that keeps on giving throughout the day, long after others presents are stowed away. I actually enjoy making some of these throughout the year, if for nothing else but to improve on technique. After all, anyone who has made candy can tell you that miscalculations in temperature, stirring and sugar crystal catastrophes can lead to crumbling fudge and cement-like divinity.
In my experience, and through watching people eat various candies, it’s usually the most simple recipe that receives the highest praise. Not to mention the first to be devoured. One of the most popular sweets I make each holiday is something I call Snowflakes. I saw a recipe for a version called Ting-a-Lings, but the name raised more questions that I cared to answer, so I thought these white confections resembled flakes, each one different in the way peanuts and chow mein noodles settled when dropped onto a cookie sheet.
Pralines are one of the most challenging candies I attempt to make. I’ve tried several different recipes with varied success. One from last year said to let the mixture sit for about 20 minutes before stirring. It was a disaster, with only one or two pralines even resembling something edible. The rest became too stiff to stir and started crumbling like sand when I tried to drop them from a tablespoon.
A favorite each year is peanut brittle, especially for those who are not big on chocolate.
I will try to tackle pralines again for Valentine’s Day. I know it’s just a matter of finding that right recipe.
Snowflakes
12-ounce package almond bark
1 1/3 cups chow mein noodles
1 cup salted peanuts
Line cookie sheet with waxed paper. Melt candy in microwave-proof bowl at 30-second intervals until no lumps remain.
Stir in chow mein noodles and peanuts. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto cookie sheet. Let stand until set. Store in refrigerator.
Servings: 36
Toasted pecans enhance flavor
Pralines
1 cup sugar
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup butter
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 cups pecan pieces, toasted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Line a cookie sheet with waxed paper.
Combine sugars, milk, butter, corn syrup in a heavy saucepan. Cook over low heat until butter melts. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sprinkle nut pieces on cookie sheet or pizza pan and bake for about 7 minutes. Set nuts aside. Cook butter mixture over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture reach soft ball stage of 238 degrees.
Remove from heat. Stir in pecans and vanilla. Beat with a wooden spoon until the mixture begins to thicken and lose its gloss. Drop quickly by rounded tablespoonful onto cookie sheet. Let stand firm.
Servings: 36
Peanut Brittle
2 cups sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1 cup water
2 cups raw Spanish peanuts
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon soda
1 teaspoon vanilla
Grease two cookie sheets.
In a heavy 3-quart saucepan over medium heat, combine sugar, corn syrup and water. Cook until temperature reaches 234 degrees on a candy thermometer. Add peanuts and salt. Stir constantly. Cook to 305 degrees. Quickly stir in butter, baking soda and vanilla. Pour at once onto cookie sheets. Spread with spatula. Break up into pieces when cool.
Servings: 48
Peanut brittle breaks apart
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What a very informative website many thanks.
Thank you, thank you, thank you! This is the recipe for the date nut “roll” my grandma made but some how got lost before she passed away years ago. My aunt swears her “recipe” came from Grandma but I can tell you it didn’t taste the same but this now… well this TASTES like Grandma’s recipe!! Once again thank you! (now I need to go buy more ingredients because this batch won’t last until new years)