MARASCHINO CHERRY CANDY
RECIPE:
20 maraschino cherries, ground (almost 2 T.)
4 tablespoons softened butter, margarine, or spread
1/4 c. lightly toasted almond slices or slivers, ground
2 tablespoons cherry juice from jar of cherries
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3.5 cups powdered sugar, unsifted
Chocolate coating: 11.5 oz. bag of milk chocolate chips melted together with 2 oz. of finely chopped paraffin wax.
Grind cherries in blender and place in large mixing bowl. With hand mixer on low speed, beat together ground cherries, softened butter, cherry juice, vanilla, and ground nuts until well combined. Slowly beat in powdered sugar, one cup at a time, until mixture has come together. At this point the dough shouldn't be too moist. If it is, add powdered sugar, one tablespoon at a time until less moist and ball will hold its shape. Form two to three teaspoon-sized pieces of dough into balls. Place on lined baking sheet with at least 1/4" sides. Refrigerate for one hour or freeze for thirty minutes.
Prepare chocolate coating, detailed below. Slide one toothpick about 2/3 of the way into the side of each chilled ball. Dip balls, one at a time, into chocolate mixture and return to baking sheet, then place in refrigerator to chill for 30 minutes. Remove toothpicks and store candy in air-tight container in refrigerator. You cans store at room temperature but candy will soften slightly.
Coating: Place contents of an 11.5 oz. bag of milk chocolate chips with 2 oz. of chopped paraffin wax in a small bowl of any material over a small pot of simmering water, making sure the bottom of bowl doesn't touch simmering water. Stir occasionally. It takes about ten minutes for mixture to melt completely. Make sure all wax pieces have melted completely before dipping chocolate into it.
I pour the melted chocolate into a small mug since it's deep and easiest to dip the candy into. I prefer the hole to be in the side instead of the top since it looks better.
PEANUT BUTTER BALLS
RECIPE:
1/2 c. creamy peanut butter (I used Jiff)
1/2 t. pure vanilla extract (I used Kroger brand)
3 T. melted butter, margarine, or spread, still hot (I used Blue Bonnet spread)
1 T. cold milk or water
2 c. powdered sugar
Chocolate coating: 11.5 oz. bag of milk chocolate chips melted together with 2 oz. of finely chopped paraffin wax.
Combine peanut butter, melted butter, milk/water, and vanilla together in large mixing bowl. With hand mixer, mix until fully combine, making sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula to incorporate all powdered sugar. Mixture will be creamy.
Slowly beat in 1 C. powdered sugar until fully combined. Slowly beat in remaining cup of powdered sugar and mix until combined and there are no traces of white sugar remaining. Mixture will be thick yet creamy and won't quite come together.
Using about two teaspoons of mixture, quickly roll into balls and place them on wax paper/foil/plastic wrap-lined baking sheet that has at least 1/2" sides. The mixture will be firm enough to not stick to your hands. Place baking sheet of candy into refrigerator to firm up for about two hours, or place in the freezer for one hour. When ready to dip into chocolate, quickly place a toothpick about 2/3 of the way into the top or side of the candy, dip ball down into chocolate and tilt the candy after pulling out of chocolate so excess chocolate can run off. Place candy back onto cold baking sheet. When finished dipping, place finished candy back into the refrigerator for at least thirty minutes. Remove toothpicks and store candy in an airtight container in refrigerator.
FOOTNOTE: This is my own recipe that's inspired by one called Mildred's Peanut Butter Balls. I got the recipe in the late 90's out of my mother's magazine, possibly Better Homes & Gardens, Family Circle or Woman's Day but I no longer have it. That's where I got the peanut butter, vanilla, and powdered sugar measurements from. The idea to use melted butter came from a recipe off of a cooking website, probably Allrecipes.com, but not sure which recipe. The chocolate/paraffin wax ratio I came up with on my own from experimenting with it a couple years ago.
COCONUT, ALMOND, AND CHERRY CANDY
Recipe Yield: 28 large
RECIPE:
28 maraschino cherries, at room temperature and patted dry (these can be made without the cherry!)
3 T. hot melted butter, margarine, or spread
1/4 c. sliced or slivered almonds, toasted at 300 degrees F for 3 minutes, finely chopped or ground in food processor
4 c. powdered sugar, unsifted
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon pure almond extract
1 c. sweetened flaked coconut, ground in food processor about 5 seconds
2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons cold water
Combine all ingredients except cherries and water in large mixing bowl. With hand mixer on low speed mix until ingredients are well combined. Add water and mix on medium speed until well combined, using a rubber or silicone spatula to scrape sides and bottom of bowl as you go along. Mixture should look like very thick frosting. It will hold its shape when rolled into a ball and won't stick to your hands.
Using about 1 tablespoon of mixture, roll into ball then press your thumb 2/3 of the way into it to make an indentation. Insert a cherry then pinch the dough up over it, covering it completely, and roll into ball. Place balls on foil, plastic wrap, or wax paper-lined baking sheet that has sides. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for about one hour. Remove from refrigerator, place a toothpick 2/3 of the way into the side of each ball and place candy back into refrigerator while you prepare the chocolate coating, which will take about ten minutes to melt.
FOOTNOTE: This recipe is completely my own.
PARAFFIN WAX: Once melted with chocolate, cooled, then refrigerated and remelted in microwave, it doesn't thin out to its original consistency. It's almost just as thick as plain melted chocolate.
For these recipes, you can just press mixture out into bottom of lined 8" square pan. For the coconut cherry candy, leave out the whole cherries. Make sure your foil, plastic wrap, wax or parchment paper hangs over the sides of the pan for easy removal of candy later.
Melt 1 c. milk chocolate chips in microwave, stirring after 30 seconds intervals, just until chocolate is melted. Overheating chocolate will cause it to seize up (harden) and you'll have to throw it out. Pour hot chocolate over unchilled candy mixture, spreading it out evenly. Chill mixture for 30 minutes. Remove from refrigerator, lift candy out of pan, place on counter and cut into small pieces. Store candy in an air-tight container.
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