Make Easy Holiday Candy
Pecan Peanut Butter Turtles, Candied Citrus Rind, Giant Kisses
Candy should be as much fun to make, as it is to eat. These three easy recipes are great for gift giving or for party treats.
Homemade candy is a classic treat to enjoy and give as gifts during the holiday season. Unfortunately, some people think candy making is too complex for the average cook. Indeed, only a few degrees lie between the soft ball and hard crack stage, turning smooth fudge treats into a grainy disaster. There are easy holiday candy recipes that don’t even require a candy thermometer. These recipes are every bit as delicious as sophisticated meringue or brittle candies, and the children can help assemble the sweets with adult supervision.
Pecan Peanut Butter Turtles
Ingredients:
- 3 dozen miniature pretzels
- 3 dozen miniature peanut butter cup candies, unwrapped
- 3 dozen pecan halves
Directions:
- Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Place pretzels in rows along the parchment paper, and top each with a peanut butter cup.
- Bake at 250 degrees in the oven for 5 minutes.
- Remove the tray from the oven, and place a pecan half on each candy firmly so that the peanut butter cup fills the space in the pretzel.
- Refrigerate for 30 minutes, or until firm.
Candied Citrus Rind
Ingredients:
- 6 thin-skinned citrus fruits (Navel oranges or Meyer Lemons work well)
- 3 cups granulated cane sugar
- 1 cup superfine sugar
- 8 ounces semisweet chocolate or white almond bark, optional
- Tinted sugar, optional
Directions:
- Quarter the citrus fruits and remove the flesh, saving it to eat or juice. Slice the peels into 1-inch strips.
- Fill a heavy-duty saucepan with a quart of water, and bring to a boil.
- Add the citrus peels and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Drain, and repeat the simmering process three more times to remove all bitter pith from the peels.
- Fill the saucepan with 3 cups of water and 3 cups of granulated sugar. Simmer the rinds over low heat for 2 hours.
- Drain the rinds and place on a wire rack over a piece of wax paper to dry overnight.
- Using tongs, roll the citrus rinds in the superfine sugar. Save the candied rinds in an airtight container.
- Optional: Melt 8 ounces of semisweet chocolate or white almond bark in a heavy saucepan or double boiler over low heat. Dip the candied citrus rinds halfway into the melted candy. Roll the almond bark rinds in tinted sugar. Give as gifts in clear bags tied with curling ribbon.
Makes about 3 dozen pieces
Giant Chocolate Kisses
Ingredients:
- 12 ounce bag of semisweet or milk chocolate chips
- Cooking spray
- Miniature Marshmallows
- Crisped rice cereal, nuts, raisins, flaked coconut, or other add-ins
Directions:
- Melt the chocolate in a heavy saucepan or double boiler over low heat. Remove from heat, and cool for 5 minutes.
- Add nuts, raisins, or other add-ins if desired.
- Take a kitchen funnel, and spray the interior with cooking spray.
- Steady the funnel in a tall cup, and place a marshmallow in the tip.
- Pour the chocolate mixture into the funnel.
- Cool overnight and invert funnel to remove the giant chocolate kiss.
- Wrap with silver or colored foil. Insert a personalized message on a strip of paper into the foil, if desired.
Yield depends on funnel size
Related Article: Holiday Sweets and Candies
