Candy Shop

On the very first Tasty Tuesday, Buttercup asked me to recommend her a recipe. I told her why don't you use the candy recipe for Divinity we made over Christmas break. She told me how brilliant I was (And I agreed with her) and I read this little bich's article and she's talking about buying milkshakes at Dairy Queen. I went to all that effort of typing up that recipe and e-mailing it to her for her to decide she did not want to use it. 

So, today prepared to be dazzled and open up your own candy shop with me. None of these recipes are that difficult, especially if you do it as a tag team. I was having a Christmas gathering of friends on the last Friday before Christmas. It was the day before on Thursday when Buttercup called me up and said she wanted to get together.

I told her if she wanted to come over she could, but mama had some baking to do. I was going all out for this party. I was making fudge, hot apple cider, plenty of cookies for Santa. As long as it wasn't healthy I was going to make it. Everything turned out fine except for the peanut butter fudge, that I burned twice mind you. My morning had just not started out that well, but I was bound and determined to get everything I wanted done.

Mind, you Buttercup and my first outing did not go that great either. We were making the Divinity. It said in the recipe to keep it on low heat. We did this. Apparently however the heat was too low. 

A half hour later the syrupy mixture had this beautiful amber color, but it still had not reached the temperature it was supposed to have reached twenty minutes ago. We both look at each other like WTF? 

So, I increase the temperature in order to compensate for this and we get it to the right temperature and mix it up just the way we were told to. We mix in the dried fruit (Highly recommended) and let it sit.

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You will need one of these

We proceed to clean the mixer and everything else the divinity had touched (NOTE: Use cold water to wash the dishes, hot water does NOT work). That was a pain.

After an hour or two my mother walks in and they have dried, the divinity. She tries one and she says there really chewy.

Divinity is not supposed to be chewy. They are supposed to be succulent, dense but not too dense, or in simple terms heavenly. They melt. That is what Divinity does, if made right. It is not supposed to be chewy.

So, the moral of this story is this: follow your instincts. If you think something is going terribly wrong while your cooking. Realize that something terribly wrong is going on with your cooking. Also do not cook the syrup on one, when it says low heat. It is going to make the syrup too dense. If that is even a thing.

Do not be fooled by my negativity towards my Divinity. I put that mother trucker out there for the world to see, because Buttercup and I put a lot of energy into making it. 

RECIPES:
Divinity
2 1/2 cup of Sugar
1/2 cup of Light Corn Syrup
1/2 cup of Water
2 Egg Whites
1 teaspoon o Vanilla Extract
1/2 cup of dried fruit (optional)
1/2 cup of nuts (optional)

In a large saucepan, stir together the sugar, corn syrup, and water, heating until sugar dissolves and the mixture boils, 5-7 minutes. Avoid splashing the syrup on sides of pan.

Reduce the heat, and cook without stirring over medium heat to 260 degrees (Hard Ball). The mixture should boil gently over the entire surface. (At the hard ball stage a few drops of syrup dropped into cold water will form a hard ball when removed from water.) Remove the saucepan from the heat and set aside.

Immediately begin to beat the egg whites on medium  speed until stiff peaks form. Gradually pour the syrup in a thin stream over egg whites beating them constantly on high speed. Add the syrup slowly, it should take about 3 minutes.

Add the vanilla extract, continuing to beat on high speed until the candy holds its shape when the beaters are removed, about 5-6 minutes.

When the candy is beaten enough, the mixture will stay mounded in soft shape when a spoonful is dropped onto wax paper.

NOTE: If mixture is too stiff add a few drops of hot water and beat until it is softer.

When the candy holds its shape, stir in the fruit or nuts. If desired. Quickly spoon the candy be teaspoonful onto wax paper.

Cool and store in airtight container.


Lemon Crunch
1 pound of White Chocolate
1/2 cup of crushed Lemon Drops

Melt the chocolate in the microwave, stirring every 20 seconds until it is all melted. Add the lemon drops, stirring to coat well.

Pour the mixture onto wax paper and spread it thinly. Let it cool for a few hours, then break the bark into pieces and store it in airtight container. 

NOTE: This is an easy recipe that anyone can do, and it will make you look so impressive, because who can make candy? This recipe also has easy variations that just include switching up the add in, so you can constantly look like your reinventing.

Oreo Balls
1 Package of Oreos
1 pound of Dark chocolate
8 ounces of softened Cream Cheese    

Using a food processor, pulse the Oreos until they are the consistency of heavy flour. Knead in the cream cheese by hand until it is mixed thoroughly. Refrigerate the dough as long as over night.

Roll the dough into similar shaped balls (Not larger than 1 inch), then dip them in the dark chocolate and place them on wax paper to dry.

NOTE: Not as user friendly as the Lemon Crunch this recipe is still very accessible if you do not feel comfortable dipping the Oreo balls in chocolate. It is hard to make them look perfect and if you thrive on perfection, I suggest dusting them with powder sugar. elegant, sophisticated, and you don't have to go to the extra expense of buying that pound of chocolate.