Valentine’s Day is inching closer and closer. And people always say the best gifts are ones given from the heart, but nothing says “I love you†better than something from the heart for the stomach.
So in honor of all those lovey-dovey cherubs hovering by, here is my February candy recipe of the month. I call it my Lots-a-Luv Cookies. These babies are sure to wow anyone you present them to because they aren’t the sort of things you would just hand over to anybody.
I am a sucker for sales. Candy, clothes, puppies (well, I’ve never really seen a puppy sale, but you can bet if there were such a thing, I would be driving home with a car full of them) – you name it, I’ll buy it.
On a recent grocery trip to my local H.E.B., I stumbled across one of their super saver sales where you buy one product and get a whole bunch of others for free. In this case, if you bought a chocolate or vanilla white chocolate coating, you would also receive a bag of pretzels, pecans, and marshmallows on the house.
I didn’t really need any of those things, but I figured I am always in need of chocolate for my recipes, so stocking up seemed like a good idea. Undecided about whether I wanted to purchase the milk chocolate or white chocolate variety, I bought both and thus had two of all the freebies.
Once I got home and the sale-high wore off, I realized I was stuck with a lot of food I don’t usually eat. If only there were some way to combine them all…. Could it be possible? I mean, pretzels, marshmallow, pecans, and chocolate don’t seem like they all gel together, but who has tried them all at once? Putting my culinary wits to the test, I was determined to come up with a confectionery treat that utilized them all. The result? My January candy recipe of the month I call the Kitchen Sink Bar.
Making candy at home is a wonderful holiday activity that can become a tradition for any person, family, or group of friends. While we’ve discovered many CandyAddict.com Awesomely Addictive candies, candy you make yourself can often be tastier and more satisfying than anything you can buy in the store.
You probably can’t remember the first time you bought a lollipop or a piece of fudge, but making your own candy at home is something you (and your children, if you have them) will never forget. If you’d like to make some special holiday memories by making candy this New Year’s Day, we at Candy Addict would like to share our 2008 candy recipes with you.
Some of the recipes are holiday-themed, but don’t let that stop you from enjoying them. Either change them around to fit your New Year celebration or celebrate all the year’s holidays at once! Yum!
From the familiar flavors of peanut butter, powdered sugar, and coconut to unusual combinations involving alcohol to the truly weird, Candy Addict has you covered.
So I haven’t been an official Candy Addict for long, but you may have noticed that I like to make candy as well as eat it. And if you’ve read any of my other posts, you’ve undoubtedly read about my grand affinity for peanut butter candies.
I am delighted to be able to introduce each and every one of you to my absolute favorite candy ever. This candy cannot be bought in a store, at a mall, or from a circus vendor. To my knowledge, this candy can only be obtained from your own kitchen. (Unless someone gives it to you as a gift, but I promise you that I never give this stuff away.)
This candy makes my mouth water just thinking about it. I could eat an entire 1.5 quart plastic container of it in one day. I hide it from my children. To me, the four words that make up this candy’s name are just an alternate way to spell “holiday” or “delicious” or “love.” This candy is peanut butter hard candy.
Certainly there is nothing more fattening satisfying that a piece of rich, smooth, melt-in-your-mouth fudge. Our family has vacationed in the Great Smoky Mountains area several times, and one thing we never fail to do while there is purchase some of the gourmet handmade fudge from one (or more) of the candy shops. I associate other areas with delicious fudge as well, areas such as Amish Country in Pennsylvania and Ohio and the boardwalk of basically any beach. Where there are tourists, there will be fudge.
I was thrilled to discover that the local Sugar Shak sells handmade fudge just as temptingly mouthwatering as any I’ve gotten while on vacation. But at $3.50 a pound, one can’t help but wonder – can’t I make this stuff at home?
Of course you can, but then you’ll have to use a candy thermometer or a cup of ice water to determine when the mixture reaches the soft ball stage. You’ll have to water down the sides of the pot early on to wash away all the sugar grains so that your fudge won’t be crunchy instead of smooth. Right? Right? Wrong!
I have for your confectionery enjoyment a super easy and fast recipe for peanut butter fudge that produces a fudge equal to any gourmet brand you’ve ever tried. I promise.