candy

Name: Potato Candy
Prep time: 30 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 25
Ingredients: 1/2 medium baking potato, peeled; 3 1/2 C powdered sugar, (may need more); 1 C peanut butter; 1/2 tsp vanilla; pinch of salt

Potato Candy

December 16, 2016 by sblades Leave a Comment

Remember this one? My mother used to make Potato Candy every year and put it on her three-tier glass stand along with date balls, fudge, molasses cookies and fruitcake.

She probably had fun chasing us three girls around the house after all that sugar, but we sure enjoyed those Christmas sweets!

My Mom’s recipe is as follows: “boil Irish potatoes with jackets on, mix with powdered sugar, add a pinch of salt and some vanilla. Roll out very thin, add a layer of peanut butter and roll up. Refrigerate till firm, then slice into 1/4″ slices.” O.K.

On the first try, I nuked two potatoes and started adding powdered sugar…and kept adding and adding and adding. It never got to doughy consistency, even after over a box of powdered sugar. Into the garbage it went.

I decided to try again this year and used one-half of one potato. I started adding powdered sugar by the cup and finally at about 3 1/2 cups, the the dough was formed and I could roll it out and finish the recipe. I’m still amazed at how much liquid the potato adds to the batter!

Making Potato Candy really brings back memories of sneaking into the refrigerator and grabbing a few of these sweet, peanut-buttery candies every time I went by.

It Christmas candy recipe also brings back great memories of family, fun, and love during the holiday season.

Potato Candy

Yield: 25 pieces

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

Very sweet candy with a peanut butter finish.

Ingredients

1/2 medium baking potato, peeled
3 1/2 C powdered sugar, (may need more)
1 C peanut butter
1/2 tsp vanilla
pinch of salt

Instructions

Microwave the potato until soft.
Mix the potato and one cup of the powdered sugar in a medium bowl till smooth. Add vanilla and salt.
Continue adding powdered sugar until it forms a dough consistency that you can pick up (leave it slightly sticky).
Put a little powdered sugar on your counter and knead the dough until proper consistency for rolling. Add powdered sugar as needed.
Roll out the dough into a 1/4" thick square and spread the peanut butter over it evenly. Roll the dough into a log and cover with saran wrap.
Put in the refrigerator for at least one hour, then cut into 1/4" slices. Keep refrigerated when not serving.

Notes

You can always use more potato, but remember it takes a ton of powdered sugar per potato!

You can use smooth or crunchy peanut butter. I like to use smooth as it rolls up more easily.

The slices are thin, but the candy is very sweet and doesn't need to be sliced any thicker.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 25 Serving Size: 1 piece
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 128Total Fat: 5gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 55mgCarbohydrates: 20gFiber: 1gSugar: 17gProtein: 2g

Nutrition Values are Approximate

Salted Peanut Clusters

December 18, 2014 by sblades 1 Comment

And so it begins. The candy/cookie/bread making marathon that is so much fun every Christmas! For the last six months I’ve been creating a list with the perfect combination of goodies to take to my neighbors and friends.

This year I decided to start a little early and pace myself so I wouldn’t get worn out. I say that every year and by December 26th, I’m done in.

Here’s the first candy for this year – Salted Peanut Clusters – a wonderful candy recipe that’s been around forever, but is still so good. Years ago, Joyce B. brought these creamy-crunchy peanut butter clusters candy to a Healey event and Bret, along with everyone else, loved them. This amazing recipe is so simple and so delicious!

These Salted Peanut Clusters are outstanding and so very easy to make. You get a deep peanut butter flavor combined with that creamy vanilla almond bark. Then add those roasted peanuts and you’ve got the perfect candy.

After the third day of holiday baking, I move a little slower and start wondering why I thought I could get all of this done with my schedule.

Then I remember that besides the taste-testing we get to do before sending out the plates, it’s so much fun to share with friends and see their smiles. Tis the Season!

I hope you have a great holiday and a Merry Christmas.

Wander through the candy index above and try a new candy or cookie recipe this year. Your family will love the change. But don’t forget the old favorites.

Check out these Butterscotch Spoonnoodles. They’re always on our Christmas plates!

Salted Peanut Clusters

Yield: 50 - 60 pieces

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes

Salty, crunchy and creamy with a wonderful peanut butter flavor.

Ingredients

1 block almond (or vanilla) bark, (20 oz.)
2 small bags of Reese's Peanut Butter Chips, (10 oz. each)
1 jar dry roasted peanuts, (16 oz.)

Instructions

Melt the bark and peanut butter chips in a a double boiler until creamy.
Stir in the peanuts and drop by heaping tablespoons onto waxed paper. Let cool till firm.

Notes

Tips and Stuff:

After they are cooled and hardened, the waxed paper may stick to your cabinet. I used a large spatula to loosen underneath the waxed paper so the candy doesn't break.

Do not have to refrigerate - just keep in a sealed container if you have any left to store.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 50 Serving Size: 1 piece
Amount Per Serving: Unsaturated Fat: 0g

Insanely Good Chocolate Nougat

March 27, 2014 by sblades 2 Comments

A couple of weeks ago I mentioned The Daring Kitchen and that I am participating in their challenges; both cooking and baking. Well, this week the Baking challenge is due and it’s amazing!

The March 2014 Daring Bakers’ challenge is hosted by Rebecca of BakeNQuilt. She challenged us to learn to make classic nougat and to make it our own with our choice of flavors and add-ins. The result is what I call Insanely Good Chocolate Nougat!

OK, I admit my idea of nougat is the chewy filling in a Milky Way Bar (which, by the way, isn’t half bad), but in fact it’s an entirely different thing! Besides my homemade caramels, this is the best candy I’ve ever made.

Classic nougat is full of almonds and dried fruits, but we had the go-ahead to change it up and be creative. The recipe Rebecca provides has pistachios, almonds, hazelnuts and various dried fruits.

Since we still have a bumper crop of pecans from last fall, I decided to use those along with Montmorency dried cherries, local honey and salted pistachios.

The process is quite an experience and involved multitasking, at which I don’t excel. I planted myself in the kitchen and got all of the ingredients organized and all of the utensils, pots and pans ready.

I’m thankful for my small kitchen because I didn’t have to run from the mixer to the stovetop since they’re so close together. It was lots of fun, a little stressful, and I ended up with cooked sugar and honey in my hair, but it is well worth it!

When I tasted this awesome Insanely Good Chocolate Nougat – chewy, sweet and full of nuts and fruit – my eyeballs actually went into the back of my head for a second…. it’s incredible. If you want a challenging and satisfying candy, definitely make this wonderful confection!

Insanely Good Chocolate Nougat

Yield: 25 candies

Prep Time: 1 hour

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

A lot of work, but well worth it! This is my version adapted from Chocolate Epiphany by Francois Payard. Awesome flavor and texture - very rich and addictive.

Ingredients

Syrup:
2 1/2 C. granulated sugar
1/2 C. water
1/4 C. light corn syrup
For the Meringue:
3 large egg whites, at room temperature
3/4 C. plus 1 tbsp. clover honey
2 tbsp. corn syrup
Add-Ins:
7 oz. 72% chocolate, very finely chopped
1 C. dried Montmorency cherries
1 C. salted pistachios, toasted
1 C. pecan halves, toasted

Instructions

1. Spray a 9x9" baking pan with vegetable spray and line it with parchment paper and up the sides of the pan. Also spray the parchment paper as well. Set aside.
2. Place the toasted nuts in a heat-safe bowl and put in a preheated very low oven at 250 degrees until needed.
3. Combine the sugar and 1/4 C. of corn syrup with the water in a 2 quart saucepan and set it aside.
4. Place the egg whites in the bowl of an electric mixer with the whip attachment. Do not start to mix yet.
5. Combine the honey and 2 tbsp. of corn syrup in a small saucepan (the honey mixture will foam up and grow to about 3 times the starting size, so make sure your pot isn't so small that it will overflow) on medium-high heat. Attach a candy thermometer. Start beating the egg whites on low speed.
6. When the honey reaches 240 degrees, raise the speed of the mixer to high and beat the egg whites until they hold stiff peaks, watching the honey mixture until it reaches 248 degrees. As soon as the honey reaches 248, put the pan with the sugar mixture on medium-high heat as you remove the honey from the heat.
7. While beating the whites on high, slowly stream the hot honey mixture down the inside of the mixing bowl and into the whites. Do not pour it directly on the whites or they may collapse. Keep beating on medium high speed.
8. As the sugar mixture starts to bubble, dip a pastry brush in water and brush the sides to remove any sugar crystals. Alternatively, you can put a lid on the pot for a couple of minutes once it's bubbling and let steam do the job for you.
9. Attach the candy thermometer. When the sugar mixture reaches 310 degrees, turn the mixture back up to high and slowly pour the syrup into the egg whites in a slow stream down the inside of the bowl. Do not pour the syrup directly on the whites or they may collapse.
10. Once the sugar syrup is incorporated, continue beating for 3-5 minutes until the whites feel warm, not piping hot (if your mixer bowl is metal, the bowl will still be hot even when the whites have cooled some).
11. Add the chocolate to the bowl and beat on high until the chocolate is combined. The heat from the egg mixture will melt the chocolate.
12. With a spatula, fold in the dried cherries and warm nuts.
13. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and spread it in an even layer.
14. Let it sit for 24 hours at room temperature, uncovered.
15. Invert the nougat onto a cutting board and remove the parchment paper. Cut as desired.
16. Store in an airtight container in a cool, dry place for up to 2 weeks. The texture of the nougat will soften a little after a couple of days.

Notes

Tips and Stuff:
Where do I begin? Wear an apron. Be careful with the cooked syrups - no children or pets allowed in the kitchen while you're making this.

A stand mixer is required - you can't do this with a hand mixer.

Rebecca's recipe also had 3 oz 100% chocolate, but I couldn't find any. She also had 3/4 C dried fruits (cranberries, raisins or chopped apricots), 1 1/2 C toasted almonds and 1 1/3 C hazelnuts. That's a lot of nuts to me, but that's the point of nougat.

The 9x9 pan made very thick nougat as you can see by the picture. You can use a larger pan to make thinner nougat.

Be sure and follow the instruction about pouring the syrups on the side of the bowl and not directly on top of the egg whites so they won't deflate.

I turned the heat up quite a bit on the sugar mixture to get it up to 310 degrees - carefully though or it will burn.

After cutting the candy, set them on wax paper with room between the pieces. Mine were quite gooey after I cut them and they sat for a day. Gooey, but delicious....

Don't skip the 24 hours at room temperature - this sets the candy and makes it perfect.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 25 Serving Size: 1 piece
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 172Total Fat: 5gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 2mgSodium: 17mgCarbohydrates: 31gFiber: 1gSugar: 30gProtein: 1g

Butterscotch Spoonnoodles

December 21, 2013 by sblades 2 Comments

There’s a debate whether Butterscotch Spoonnoodles is a cookie or a candy. It seems more like a candy to me – butterscotch-coated pecans and chow mein noodles ingredients dropped onto waxed paper.

This recipe has been passed down through my family and always called a cookie, though, but we’ll compromise and call it both.

I make these ‘cookies’ occasionally throughout the year, but mainly at Christmas. I love the combination of flavors and often use fresh pecans from our own trees (eight of them in our front yard). The best thing is that sweet/salty combination.

It’s hard to stop eating them. Butterscotch Spoonnoodles are quite addictive.

This recipe has been in our family forever and I’m not sure how or when they got their unique name. It’s cute, though, and fun to say.

This has to be my favorite cookie/candy hands down and I’ve never seen it published anywhere else. Although it has chow mein noodles in it, it’s not the haystack that you’re used to.

Honey is the ingredient that really kicks it up a notch and gives the butterscotch a sweet richness that is just heavenly. They’re chewy, crunchy, buttery, sweet and salty.

Years ago I submitted them to the Good Morning America cookie contest and was runner-up. *Pat on back*

Fairly easy to stir together, Butterscotch Spoonnoodles are tops on my good stuff list.

I think you’ll really like these unusual little ‘cookies.’ Er, candies.

Butterscotch Spoonnoodles

Yield: 4 dozen cookies

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes

*****The best and fairly simple to throw together.

Ingredients

2 Cups chow mein noodles
1 Cup coarsely chopped nuts
1/3 Cup honey
1/4 Cup sugar
2 tbsp butter
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/8 tsp salt
1 package, (6 oz or 1 Cup) butterscotch morsels

Instructions

Combine the chow mein noodles and nuts in a medium bowl; set aside. Combine honey, sugar, butter, vanilla, and salt in saucepan and bring to full boil over moderate heat, stirring constantly.
Remove from the heat and add butterscotch morsels. Stir until melted and smooth. Pour over noodles and nuts, mix gently until coated. (Careful - the mixture is hot.) Drop by tablespoon onto wax paper.

Notes

Tips and Stuff:

Be patient after adding the morsels to the hot honey/butter sauce. It may take a few minutes to get the mixture smooth.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 48 Serving Size: 1 cookie
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 44Total Fat: 2gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 1mgSodium: 45mgCarbohydrates: 5gFiber: 0gSugar: 3gProtein: 1g

Ma’s Christmas Toffee

December 9, 2013 by sblades Leave a Comment

Every year our family has enjoyed Bret’s mother’s Ma’s Christmas Toffee in the candy trays during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays.

Now, I’ve had a lot of toffee in my life, maybe too much, but this has to be the best I’ve ever had. It’s not the thin, Heath-bar type of hard toffee – this is about an inch thick and full of pecans with chocolate coating the top and bottom.

Ma’s Christmas Toffee isn’t not rock hard, but it’s not chewy either – it’s hard to describe the wonderful texture of it. Many have tried to duplicate it, but there’s nothing like this recipe, and no one can quite make it as well as Ma can.

This is my second attempt at making toffee; the first being the saltine toffee previously posted in November. That was successful and tastes great, but this is an altogether different type of toffee.

You have to be patient and not deviate from the recipe, as it is spot on and produces great results.

Many say you’re not supposed to make candy on a humid or damp day, but Ma says she’s never had any problem with humidity, even with her divinity.

The only problem I had with this recipe was that my chocolate kept falling off the bottom of the toffee and that was because I deviated from the recipe and added a handful more of chocolate chips to make a thicker layer of chocolate.

More is better, right? Not in this instance. Stick to the amounts listed.

Bret said it was really good (and it is..) but not quite the texture of his mother’s.

I never really expect to make Ma’s Christmas Toffee as well as she does, but I can keep trying! (And enjoy the results….)

Ma's Christmas Toffee

Yield: 1 lbs.

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes

Outstanding. Best toffee I've ever had!

Ingredients

1 C butter
1 C granulated sugar
1 tbsp white corn syrup
3 tbsp water
1 1/2 C chopped walnuts or pecans
1, 6 oz pkg. semi-sweet chocolate morsels

Instructions

Butter a 9" square pan.
Melt the 1 cup of butter in a 2 quart saucepan. Stir sugar in gradually. Add syrup and water; cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally to 290 degrees on a candy thermometer or until a little mixture in cold water becomes very brittle. Add 1 Cup of nuts - cook 3 minutes more, stirring constantly. Pour into pan.
When cooled completely, remove from pan. Melt half of chocolate chips over hot water and coat one side of toffee - sprinkle with half of remaining chopped nuts. Allow to set until chocolate is hardened.
Melt remaining chocolate chips and spread onto the other side of the toffee and sprinkle on remaining nuts. Cool completely until chocolate is hardened and then break or cut into bite-sized pieces.

Notes

Tips and Stuff :

Be patient when bringing the mixture up to 290 degrees on candy thermometer and make sure thermometer doesn't touch the bottom of the pan.

I used pecans, but walnuts would be wonderful on this - even chopped almonds would be great.

I buttered the 9" pan very, very well, but Ma said you could use aluminum foil and butter it to make lifting it out of the pan easier. I didn't have a bit of trouble popping it out of the pan, though.

I lightly patted the nuts into the chocolate so they'd stick better. Also, it takes awhile for the chocolate to harden, so I stuck it in the refrigerator to speed the process.

Don't be tempted to use more chocolate - I got it too thick on one side and the chocolate kept dropping off the toffee on that side.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 25 Serving Size: 1 piece
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 179Total Fat: 14gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 20mgSodium: 60mgCarbohydrates: 14gFiber: 1gSugar: 13gProtein: 1g