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Showing posts with the label candy

Dreamsicle Fudge

I had this amazing fudge last Christmas at a get-together. It was so good I came home and Googled the recipe and went right out and bought the ingredients. I gave a little of it away before it was devoured by my family. Taste of Home "made over" this recipe that tastes like an orange Creamsicle ice cream bar. DREAMSICLE FUDGE Prep: 30 min. + chillin g 2 1/2 cups granulated sugar   2/3 cup evaporated milk   1/2 cup butter, cubed   1 package (10 to 12 ounces) white baking chips   1 jar (7 ounces) marshmallow creme   3 teaspoons orange extract   12 drops yellow food coloring   9 drops red food coloring Line a 13-in. x 9-in. pan with foil and coat with cooking spray; se t a side. In a small heavy saucepan, combine the sugar, evaporated milk and butter. Cook and stir over low heat until sugar is dissolved. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 4 minutes. Remove from the heat; s tir in chips and marshmall...

Sweets for your sweetie: Chocolate-covered Cherries

I wrote this story in December 2002 for The Dominion Post. Chocolate-covered cherries are not only a Christmastime treat. They are perfect to give at Valentine's Day. And they are not hard to make at all. BY CYNTHIA McCLOUD The Dominion Post Crafting a holiday confection -- juicy cherries wrapped in sweet, creamy fondant and swathed with semisweet chocolate -- isn't as complicated as it tastes. Sue Carpenter of Morgantown easily makes chocolate-covered cherries from a recipe she found in McCall's magazine in 1987. "It said 'easy candy' and they are real simple to make," Carpenter said as she wrapped a thin layer of white fondant around a maraschino cherry at the dining room table in her South Park home. As a member of the Morgantown Service League, Carpenter makes the cherries as refreshments for the group's annual holiday open house at the Old Stone House Gift Shop. She said she would like to sell them at Valentine's Day to b...

Christmas Candy: Peanut Clusters

This recipe is the newest I have added to my Christmas candy repertoire. My friend Melanie, with whom I attend Taste of Home Cooking School shows, shared this recipe, which is her Aunt Jean’s. She said her aunt does it differently than she submitted it to me and I made it still differently than that. What I have written below is what I did and it was yummy. The combinations of the two chocolates and the almond bark coating makes the candy’s taste is more complex than just “chocolate-covered peanuts”. I’ve gotten swoons from the people I’ve shared it with so far. It is so easy to make because a Crock-Pot melts the chocolate. All you have to do is stir and drop the clusters onto waxed paper. PEANUT CLUSTERS 1 16-ounce jar salted dry roasted peanuts 1 16-ounce jar unsalted dry roasted peanuts 1 pound 8 ounces white almond bark, broken into chunks 4 ounces Baker’s white chocolate 12 ounces Baker’s German chocolate 12 ounces Toll House semisweet chocolate chips ( you could use milk chocola...

Indoor S'mores

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This Easter, my daughter got her weight in sugar (not from me, I assure you.) A week later I was staging an indoor "campfire" for a sleepover and instead of buying milk chocolate chips to concoct these indoor S'mores, I raided her Easter haul. Two solid chocolate crosses and a Dove rabbit were sacrificed for the good of the project. I didn't think about it until later, but possibly Peeps could be used in place of the mini marshmallows. But those never last around my house as long as the solid chocolates. Indoor S'mores Copyright 2007 General Mills 8 cups Golden Grahams cereal 5 cups miniature marshmallows 1 1/2 cups milk chocolate chips 1/4 cup light corn syrup 5 tablespoons butter or margarine 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 additional cup miniature marshmallows, if desired I made the stovetop version; microwave directions follow. Into large bowl, measure cereal. Butter 13-by-9-inch pan. In 3-quart saucepan, heat 5 cups marshmallows, the chocolate chips, corn syrup and butt...

Old-fashioned candy: January Thaw

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Among my fondest memories of growing up in an Appalachian holler is the food, specifically the sweets. Late last year, foodie trend watchers predicted old-fashioned candy is going to be hot this year. I have yet to see Google return this recipe in response to my request for "old-fashioned candy." Trust me, it's a goodie. As a kid, I never gave much thought to why January Thaw was called that -- we sometimes made it in months other than January -- but a Web site that printed a recipe similar to my mom's says it’s because it looks like muddy slush. I assure you it's much tastier. And as the foot or so of snow outside my house has melted this week, the candy doesn't much resemble what's in my yard. Nor does the batch I made tonight exactly match what I remember from 25 years ago. I chalk that up to ingredients and technique and I'll throw in different elevation for good measure. While not "perfect", it's still pretty good -- who could find f...