RECIPE: Rock Candy Shards

As a kid, I remember making red anise flavored candy in my mom's kitchen... her instructing me... me following her directions.

This is another one of those recipes she learned in her 7th grade "home ec" class... and she handed it off to me. But it's been over 20 years since she and I have made this together. So, in light of celebrating old traditions this time of year I figured I would try my hand at it again...

Here's where I started...



I chose to use anise flavoring (tastes like black licorice)... but you do any flavor you prefer. For instance, I colored this red... but if you chose to do mint you could color it green. See where I'm going with this?

But first things first.... let's prep the tray this is going on once it's done.





So, we're going to need the candy thermometer again... ready? Over medium-high heat bring the sugar mixture to a boil and allow it to keep boiling gently until it reaches the hard crack stage (300-310 degrees F). This takes 10-15 minutes... keep stirring.









Take the pan off the heat and add your flavoring...



Then the food coloring gets added... add about 8-15 drops. (I wish I would have used a bit more for this batch.)





Making quick work, pour the micture onto the jelly roll pan and allow to cool completely.







Once it has cooled completely (a few hours) you can turn the pan over onto a kitchen towel and break the shards apart with a kitchen knife.



As a kid, I remember THIS being my favorite part...

As an adult, enjoying the rock candy is my favorite part.

Rock Candy Shards
Recipe courtesy Janie Haraldsen

Ingredients
2 tablespoon butter, softened
¾ cup water
2/3 cup light corn syrup
2 cups granulated sugar
1 teaspoon flavoring extract (I used anise/black licorice)

Red food coloring

Instructions
With butter, lightly coat a jelly roll pan - set aside. In a heavy saucepan, with a candy thermometer inserted, combine water, corn syrup & sugar. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat - stirring continually, dissolving all sugar crystals. Stir the whole time until the thermometer reaches the hard crack stage - 300 degrees F.

Remove from heat, stand back & carefully stir in anise extract & few drops of red food coloring (it WILL sizzle). Pour into prepared pan & let cool completely.

Lay out clean dish towel, turning out hardened candy on it. Wrap up gently and crack with the big end ofa butter knife. Store in a cool, dry container.

enjoy your time in the kitchen...

Martha Stewart is laughing at me...

Had a busy morning... then came home and googled for some holiday candy recipes. These looked easy enough.

(Disclaimer: picture swiped from Martha Stewart Living website... thanks for making it look so pretty, Martha.)

Hindsight - I wish I would have known how messy making marshmallows was... I've been cleaning up the kitchen for longer than it took to make the marshmallows. But there's more to that story... keep reading!


Feeling over-confident, I was all prepared with my ingrediants and my instructions (printed right from Martha Stewart's website). I read through it. And it seemed innocent enough.

So I followed Martha's steps... one by one... she sure makes it look easy.



Maybe I bit off more than I could chew...



Maybe I was too confident...



It was a bit of a juggling act... boiling sugar mixture on one burner, gelaltine melting away in a double-broiler on the other burner. And egg whites in the mixer...



But everything seemed to be going okay... until...


This happened when I added the gelatine mixture to the sugar mixture... and at the same time I realized I added the food coloring to the sugar mixture instead of the peppermint extract. What the ?!


And then... that's when I heard Martha Stewart laughing at me... (is THIS what I get for dressing up as Jailbird Martha a few Halloween's back?!)


I put down my whisk and took a step back... should I quit? Should I dump it all, give up hope and walk away? Or start again?


Or simply keep going?



Keep going I did... but feeling totally deflated. (Afterall, marshmallows are supposed to be white but they're still going to taste the same, right?!) On a more positive side, I did get to use the whisk attachment for the first time. THAT part was exciting!

And it whipped and whipped... for about 10-12 minutes.


I transferred it to a lined baking dish to allow it to cool... and went on about following Martha's instructions. (Martha is looking over my shoulder, laughing at my pink marshmallows.)



Using a few drops of red food coloring, I "made fast work" ('cuz Martha told me to) of swirling the coloring around the pink marshmallow mixture before it cooled too much.




I will let this set-up over night and then cut into squares tomorrow for packaging. As Martha's website suggests, it should go nicely with hot chocolate.


On another postive note, isn't this just a beautiful sight?! Pink IS prettier here than white would've been. Maybe this isn't so bad afterall...



However, I can still hear her laughing... and in all fairness, here is the link to her recipe:

Candy Cane Marshmallows <--- good luck!!!!! (tee hee hee!)

enjoy your time in the kitchen...

RECIPE: Candied Pecans

I think I'm turning into a nut girl... I always used to say "I don't like nuts!"


But I've discovered that I really do... I REALLY do! Here's my newest nut love! So to my 3 faithful readers, I'd like to introduce you to the yumminess that is candied pecans...

Here's where I started... whisking an egg white.



Then add the flavor that I'm fallen in love with for this time of year... nutmeg, cinnamon, sugar and kosher salt.





Whisk, add nuts...





... toss until they're well-coated...



... and transfer to a greased baking sheet, using forks (so as to leave the extra sugar mixture behind in the bowl).

Slide this into the preheated oven (300 degrees F) and allow them to bake for about 20 minutes. Using a spatula, toss the pecans slightly... and continue baking for another 15-20 minutes.



Set aside to cool and then enjoy ... to the fullest.



The meringue-like layer coating these pecans is part-sweet, with a hint of salt...



Oh, and did I say they resembled candy?! Yes, that's what they are... candy! You and your family members can thank me later... that is, if you decide to share any of them.



Candied Pecans
Recipe courtesy Lori Tisdale

Ingredients
1 large egg white
½ cup sugar
1 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 cups pecan halves

Instructions
Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Brush large rimmed baking sheet with butter.

In large bowl, whisk egg white until foamy. Whisk in sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon and salt – whisk until mixture is thick. Stir in pecans until well-coated. Transfer nuts to cookie sheet. Using forks separate nuts so they are in a single layer. Discard remaining coating.

Bake nuts for about 20 minutes. With a spatula toss the nuts well – this will help them bake evenly. Continue to bake for another 15-20 minutes. Allow to cool completely on baking sheet. Transfer to air-tight container; store at room temperature. Consume within 4-5 days.




enjoy your time in the kitchen...