Some of our favorites.....
Homemade Marshmallows – from Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa
I swear that once you eaten a homemade marshmallow, you will never go back to those store-bought puffs of nothing but air! I make these every winter, specifically for mugs of hot chocolate. I also take a bunch into work. And I make them for Christmas baskets.
3 packages unflavored gelatin
1-1/2 cups sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon vanilla
Confectioner's sugar -- for dusting
Combine the gelatin and 1/2 cup of cold water in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and allow to sit while you make the syrup.
Meanwhile, combine the sugar, corn syrup, salt, and 1/2 cup water in a small saucepan and cook over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Raise the heat to high and cook until the syrup reaches 240 degrees on a candy thermometer. Remove from the heat.
With the mixer on low speed, slowly pour the sugar syrup into the dissolved gelatin. Put the mixer on high speed and whip until the mixture is very thick, about 15 minutes. Add the vanilla and mix thoroughly.
With a sieve, generously dust an 8 x 12-inch nonmetal baking dish with confectioner’s sugar. Pour the marshmallow mixture into the pan, smooth the top, and dust with more confectioner's sugar. Allow to stand uncovered overnight until it dries out.
Turn the marshmallows onto a board and cut them in squares. Dust them with more confectioner's sugar. Makes 20 to 40 marshmallows.
Note: I used parchment paper, sugared heavily, to line the pan, and then dumped the mixture onto the paper. You do need a pan with sides!! Let them stand, uncovered, overnight. Dump them out of the pan and peel off the parchment....you may have some trouble peeling off the paper, but it will come off.
Use your pizza cutter to cut the mixture into squares. Roll them in confectioners' sugar (or just dust the cut surfaces with the sugar). I also dusted them with some Dutch cocoa. The cocoa serves to cut some of the sweetness.
Ina toasts coconut and rolls the marshmallows in the coconut. Since both my DH and my DIL despise coconut with a passion, that was not an option for me.
Saltine Toffee
Prep: 10 minutes Cook: 12 minutes
Makes: 36 pieces
1 cup butter
35 saltine crackers
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 package (12 ounces) semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup chopped pecans, toasted
Line a 10-by-15-inch rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper, allowing for some overhang. Melt butter in a large saucepan. Brush parchment with a little butter. Line up crackers on buttered parchment, touching but not overlapping.
Thicken: Whisk brown sugar into remaining butter. Set over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil; boil thick, 2 minutes (or 248 degrees). Pour evenly over crackers.
Slide into a 400-degree oven and bake until brown and bubbly, 10 minutes. Carefully remove from oven.
Scatter molten surface with chocolate chips. Let melt, 5 minutes. Use an offset spatula to spread chocolate. Cast on nuts; gently press into chocolate. Freeze until firm, 30 minutes.
Lift parchment by its overhang, and set toffee (paper and all) on a cutting surface. Slice into 18 squares, then into 36 triangles.
Take these to a party. Otherwise, you risk toffee overload.
Note: I had light brown sugar on hand so I used that. It was fine. I let the pan cool at least a half hour before putting it in the freezer, because it was way too hot and would have melted whatever was under it!
Originally from the King Arthur Flour website, another staple in our family.
Dark Chocolate Buttercrunch
1 cup (2 sticks, 1/2 pound) butter*
1-1/2 cups (12 ounces) sugar
3 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
2 cups (8 ounces) diced pecans or slivered almonds, toasted
1 pound semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped (chocolate chips are an easy solution here; you’ll need about 2-2/3 cups)
*If you use unsalted butter, add 1/2 teaspoon salt.
In a large, deep saucepan, melt the butter. Stir in the sugar, water and corn syrup, and bring the mixture to a boil. Boil gently, over medium heat, until the mixture reaches hard-crack stage (300 degrees F on an instant-read or candy thermometer), about 20 minutes. The syrup will seem to take a long time to come to the hard-crack stage, but be patient; all of a sudden it will darken, and at that point you need to take its temperature and see if it’s ready. (If you don’t have a thermometer, test a dollop in ice water; it should immediately harden to a brittleness sufficient that you’ll be able to snap it in two, without any bending or softness). Pay attention; too long on the heat, and the syrup will burn. And what a waste of good butter and sugar that would be!
While the sugar mixture is gently bubbling, spread half of the nuts, in a fairly closely packed, even single layer, on a lightly greased baking sheet. Top with half the chocolate. When the syrup is ready, pour it quickly and evenly over the nuts and chocolate. Immediately top with the remaining chocolate, then the remaining nuts. Wait several minutes, then gently, using the back of a spatula, press down on the chocolate-nut layer to spread the chocolate around evenly.
While the candy is still slightly warm, use a spatula to loosen it from the baking sheet. When cool, break it into uneven chunks. Yield: about 24 big bite-sized pieces.
Alton Brown's White Trash (this goes by many different names)
3-1/2 cups Cheerios
3 cups Rice Chex
3 cups Corn Chex
16 oz. plain M & M's
2-1/2 cups salted mixed nuts
2 cups small pretzels
2 (11-oz.) pkg. white chocolate chips (Ghiradelli brand preferred)
Dump the cereals, M & Ms, nuts and pretzels in a large bowl.
Melt the white chips in a microwave or double boiler, being careful not to burn.
Dump the melted chocolate over the cereal mixture and fold over and over until you have well-coated hunks and chunks.
Spread the whole mess out on parchment paper and set in a cool place until it sets up. Break into pieces and put into storage bags or air-tight containers. (While it's cooling, every time you walk into your kitchen, grab a chunk or three!!)
Makes 18 cups.
Note: I dump everything into a huge roaster. A large bowl (unless you have one that's truly gigantic!) will not allow you to mix the melted chocolate into the cereal mixture without making a mess....unless you're a lot neater than I am. Oh, and I take most of it into work, largely to keep it out of my kitchen. It is truly addictive. Not very healthy, but very addictive.
Peanut Caramels
1 cup light corn syrup
1 cup whipping cream
½ cup milk
1-1/2 cups sugar
¼ tsp. salt
2 cups salted peanuts
Butter a 9-inch square baking pan; set aside. In a heavy 4-quart saucepan, combine corn syrup, cream, milk, sugar and salt. Place over medium heat and stir occasionally with a wooden spoon until mixture comes to a boil. If any sugar crystals are present, wash down sides of pan with a wet pastry brush. Clip on candy thermometer. Cook stirring occasionally, to 240 degrees F or soft-ball stage. Remove from heat and stir in peanuts. Pour into prepared pan, scraping sides with wooden spoon. Let stand at room temperature until cool. Cut into 1-inch pieces. Makes 81 pieces.
Note: I drizzle with melted chocolate. They would also be good entirely dipped in chocolate.
Cranberry Gumdrops
2 envelopes unflavored gelatin
1/2 cup cold water
1 (16 oz.) can jellied cranberry sauce
2 cups sugar, divided
3 (3 oz.) pkg. raspberry gelatin
Additional sugar, optional
In a saucepan, sprinkle unflavored gelatin over water; let stand for 2 minutes to soften. Add cranberry and 1 cup sugar; cook over low heat until sauce is melted and sugar is dissolved, about 10 minutes. Whisk until smooth,
Remove from the heat and add raspberry gelatin; stir until completely dissolved, about 3 minutes. Pour into an 8-inch square baking pan coated with nonstick spray. Cover and let stand overnight at room temperature. Do not refrigerate.
Cut into 1-inch squares; roll in remaining sugar. Place on baking sheets; let stand at room temperature for 3 hours. Turn pieces over and let stand 3 hours longer. Roll in additional sugar, if desired. Store in an airtight container at room temperature. Makes about 5 dozen gumdrops.
Note: It takes me longer than 10 minutes to melt the cranberry sauce completely and get the mixture completely smooth. After removing from the pan, I cut my squares a little larger than one inch....it's hard to see exactly where your slices are. I roll the squares in sugar twice...it was optional to do so, but I find that after standing, the sugar started to melt off the gumdrops. These are really good.
From Food Network's Giadia De Laurentis
Hazelnut Crunch
1-1/2 cups sugar
1 cup water
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/3 cup dark corn syrup
2-1/2 cups coarsely chopped toasted hazelnuts (I prefer almonds)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
Line a heavy large baking sheet with parchment paper. Stir the sugar, water, and light and dark corn syrups in a heavy large saucepan over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Increase the heat to high and boil without stirring until a candy thermometer registers 260 degrees F, about 20 minutes.
Reduce the heat to medium low. Mix in the hazelnuts (or almonds), butter, and salt (the mixture will be very thick and nutty), and cook until the thermometer registers 295 degrees F, stirring constantly, about 15 minutes.
Quickly stir in the baking soda. Immediately pour the caramel onto the prepared baking sheet, spreading it as thinly as possible. Let stand until hard.
Break brittle into pieces and store in an airtight container at room temperature.
Best-Ever Nut Brittle
TOTAL TIME: 20 minutes, plus cooling time
Yields: 2 pounds
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup water
1 stick unsalted butter
1/3 cup light corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
12 ounces roasted salted peanuts, cashews, pistachios and/or pecans
Fleur de sel or crushed Maldon sea salt
In a large saucepan, combine the sugar, water, butter and corn syrup and bring to a boil. Cook over moderately high heat, stirring occasionally, until the caramel is light brown and registers 300° on a candy thermometer, 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and carefully stir in the baking soda. The mixture will bubble.
Stir in the nuts, then immediately scrape the brittle onto a large rimmed, nonstick baking sheet.
Using the back of a large spoon (oil it lightly if it sticks), spread the brittle into a thin, even layer.
Sprinkle with salt. Let cool completely, about 30 minutes. Break the brittle into large shards.
Note: The brittle can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 month. If you can stay away from it. There’s something about the sweet and saltiness. Decadent!
This recipe is from Best of Country Cooking 1999 and we love these nuts! I use all pecans and double the recipe when I make them. They don't really taste like much when you first take them out of the oven, but after they've cooled down and stored for a couple of hours? Good stuff!! I've made other spiced nuts and they're all good, but for some reason, this is our favorite.
Spiced Nuts
3 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/8 teaspoon chili powder
1 cup whole unblanched almonds
1 cup pecan halves
1 cup pistachios or macadamia nuts
In a large bowl, combine the first six ingredients, mix well. Add nuts and stir well until coated.
Spread evenly in an ungreased 15 x 10 x 1-inch baking pan. Bake at 325 degrees F for 15-20 minutes, stirring two or three times. Spread on a waxed-paper lined baking sheet. Cool. Store in an airtight container. Makes 3 cups.
Note: Since we like more of the "spiciness", I'll add more spices and about 1-1/2 teaspoons brown sugar in addition to the tablespoon of brown sugar called for in the recipe. You may have to roast them longer than 15-20 minutes. I do mine for about 30 minutes, largely because I double the recipe.
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