More Candy for Christmas!
PEPPERMINT CREAMS (UNCOOKED)
Some people prefer to cook the fondant for peppermints, but it is much easier to make a fondant that does not require cooking. Here is a simple way to prepare it.
Break the white of an egg into a dish, add a few drops of peppermint extract. Stir in a confectioner's sugar, and gradually add more sugar until the mixture can be molded easily. Roll it with a rolling pin, and stamp it into rounds with a small cutter. Place the candies on waxed paper and let them dry.
VANILLA CARAMELS
Bring to a boil, stirring frequently, 1 pound of loaf sugar, three dessert spoonfuls of glucose, and a small teacupful of water. Test it by dropping a little into cold water. If it hardens, add one gill (1/2 cup) of cream and 1/2 oz. of butter.
Boil again, stirring frequently, until a little turns brittle when dropped into cold water.
Flavour with vanilla extract and pour the caramel onto an oiled marble slab. Cut into squares and wrap in oiled paper.
BURNT ALMONDS
Dissolve one pound of brown sugar in a cup of water and stir this in a pan over the fire until it comes to the boil.
Cease stirring for two or three minutes, then add 1/2 pound of blanched almonds and stir quickly until the sugar browns and coats them. Place on a wire sieve to cool, dividing any that may have become joined together.
NOUGAT
Blanch and coarse chop 1/2 pound of almonds and dry them in the oven.
Put 3/4 pound of castor suger with one dessert spoonful of lemon juice into a pan and stir it with a wooden spoon till it colors slightly. Drop in the almonds.
Pour the nougat on to a marble slab, press it into cubes or mark it in squares with a knife dipped in hot water, and break them up when cold.
POPCORN BALLS
Sometimes we make popped corn and wish we knew how to make it look attractive to serve. Here is one way of making it delicious.
Put one cup of granulated sugar, one cup of water, and 3/4 cup of corn syrup or glucose into a saucepan and stir constantly until it is dissolved. Cook until the candy forms a rather soft ball when tried in water, or until the thermometer reads 240'. To test it, roll between the fingers in cold water.
Remove from the fire, add a teaspoonful of vanilla and pour slowly over the popped corn, stirring it well. If you moisten your hands with cold water, it is easy to press a lump of corn into a ball.
COCONUT FUDGE
You will need:
2 cups (one pound) of sugar
2 squares of chocolate
1/2 cup of milk or cream
1 teaspoon of vanilla
1 cup of grated coconut
2 Tablespoons of butter.
Cook the sugar, chocolate and milk together until it forms a soft ball in cold water or until the thermometer reads 240 degrees.
Remove from heat and stir in vanilla, coconut and butter. Beat until thick and creamy, then pour into a buttered pan and cool before cutting into squares.
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