The Candy Cookbook (11 page)

To above recipe for Marshmallows add half a cup of finely chopped walnut meats with vanilla and cornstarch. These may be dipped in melted coating chocolate if desired.

Put a marshmallow on the end of a long skewer, hatpin, or sharp pointed stick, and hold over a bed of glowing coals in the fireplace or out of doors, turning the marshmallows over and over, until golden brown on the outside and soft inside. Eat at once.

Put marshmallows in a strainer, and dip quickly in and out of a kettle of water at a temperature of about 100°F (37.7°C). Drain and put on marble slab covered with roasted coconut. Mix thoroughly until each marshmallow is completely coated.

Sprinkle shredded coconut on a tin baking sheet, put in the oven, stirring occasionally, and roast until a delicate brown.

Put gelatine in saucepan, add cold water, and let stand 5 minutes. Add sugar and corn syrup, put over fire, and stir constantly until mixture has boiled 8 minutes. Beat the egg white until stiff, add syrup slowly while beating, and then add remaining ingredients.
Mix one tablespoon each of cornstarch and confectioners’ sugar, and sprinkle in a bread pan. Pour in mixture, and when quite firm cut in bars and wrap in wax paper.

Soak gelatine in cold water 5 minutes, dissolve in boiling water, and strain through a fine wire strainer. Add oil of wintergreen, and gradually stir in sifted confectioners’ sugar until mixture is stiff enough to knead. Put candy on a board or marble slab dredged with confectioners’ sugar, and knead until smooth, then roll as thin as cardboard, and cut out in discs or fancy shapes. For children’s parties the initial of the first name of each child may be cut out of the thinly rolled candy. With fancy cutters or a model cut from cardboard, birds and animals may be cut out, and used for favors.

Prepare mixture as for Wintergreen Wafers, omitting the oil of wintergreen. Substitute the following combinations of color and flavor, dividing the mixture into several portions, and coloring and flavoring each portion differently. Finish like Wintergreen Wafers.

With oil of clove use scarlet color paste

With oil of cinnamon use rose color paste

With oil of lime use green color paste

With orange extract use orange color paste

With lemon extract use yellow color paste

With melted chocolate use vanilla extract

Soak orange peel in cold water to cover overnight, then boil 1 hour, changing the water every 15 minutes. Drain, and grind the peel to a pulp, then add sugar, half a cup of orange juice, and one fourth cup water, and boil, stirring occasionally to prevent burning, until thick and syrupy. Add gelatine soaked in remaining one fourth cup orange juice, mix well, add orange extract, and drop from tip of teaspoon on to a buttered marble slab or oiled paper. Before wafers have time to stiffen, place a nut meat in center. A small amount of mixture can be combined with finely chopped pecan nut meats and candied cherries, and used as a filling between two wafers. Wafers can be dipped in melted coating chocolate if desired.

Cover shelled almonds with boiling water, let stand 2 minutes, drain, cover with cold water, again drain. Brown skins can be easily slipped off with the fingers. Dry the nuts on a towel or piece of cheesecloth. Pistachio nuts and English walnuts may be blanched in the same way.

Beat the white of one egg slightly, add nut meats of many kinds, and stir until they are entirely covered with the egg. Remove nuts from the egg and put in a dripping pan, sprinkle with salt and bake in a hot oven until nuts are heated through. Keep oven door open while baking, and stir nuts often, that they may not burn.

Cover almonds with boiling water, let stand 2 minutes, drain, cover with cold water, again drain, and remove brown skins. Dry on a towel. Heat oil in very small frying pan; when hot, put in enough almonds to cover bottom of pan, and stir until delicately browned. Remove with spoon or small skimmer, taking up as little oil as possible. Drain on brown paper, and sprinkle with salt. Repeat, until all are fried. Cottonseed oil, peanut oil, or half lard and half clarified butter may be used instead of olive oil.

Remove skins from peanuts and fry same as salted almonds.

Use whole nut meats and fry same as Salted Almonds. Be careful that they do not remain in the fat too long. As they are dark, the color does not show when they are sufficiently cooked.

Prepare salted nuts, and when sprinkling with salt sprinkle also with powdered clove, powdered cinnamon, or a mixture of spices. Popcorn may be prepared in the same way. Use instead of salted nuts.

Blanch and chop almonds, spread on white paper, and add a few drops of color. Rub together until pieces are all colored alike, then dry carefully, and keep in covered glass jar. Green chopped almonds may be used instead of pistachio nuts, if the latter are not obtainable.

Remove brown skins from peanuts, put nuts in a saucepan, and keep in a warm place. Put sugar and water in another saucepan, stir until sugar is dissolved, and boil without stirring to 238°F (114.4°C), or until candy forms a soft ball when tried in cold water. Hold pan of peanuts several inches above the fire and shake vigorously while slowly pouring syrup over the nuts. Occasionally stir the nuts, then add remaining syrup drop by drop until all is used. Nuts should be evenly covered with a coating of sugar. If coating is not thick enough, more sugar and water may be boiled and added as before.

Proceed as in making Sugared Peanuts, blanching the almonds or not, as preferred.

Wash and stone as many dates as are needed and stuff with any of the following:

English walnut meats, broken in pieces

Pecan nut meats, broken in pieces

Salted peanuts, chopped

Peanut butter

Candied ginger, cut fine

Candied pineapple, cut fine

Roasted almonds

Brazil nuts, brown skin removed

After stuffing, roll the dates in granulated or confectioners’ sugar, and arrange on a doily, or pack in layers in a box between wax paper.

Wash and dry dates, remove stones, and sauté in butter on both sides. Stuff dates with chopped nuts flavored with vanilla, and roll dates in shredded coconut. Wrap in wax paper and twist the ends, or pack in layers in a box lined with wax paper.

Use figs that come in boxes, baskets, or in glass jars. Wash them, dry on cheesecloth, make an opening in each, and stuff with half a maraschino cherry, and one nut meat broken in pieces. Roll in granulated sugar, and put in paper cases.

Use figs that come in boxes, baskets, or in glass jars. Wash them, dry on cheesecloth, make an opening in each, and stuff with salted almonds finely chopped. Roll in granulated sugar, and put in paper cases.

Use figs that come in bags, baskets, or glass jars, rather than pressed figs; wash and dry them, make an opening in each, stuff with half a marshmallow and a chopped walnut cut fine. Roll in granulated sugar, and place in paper cases.

Selected prunes may be purchased in glass jars, with from twenty-eight to forty-five prunes in a pound. Remove stones, stuff half the prunes, each with another prune, and roll in confectioners’ sugar. If preferred, fondant or chopped salted nuts may be used for stuffing.

Take a large bunch of raisins, and without removing them from the stem, slit each raisin, remove seeds, and put in opening a tiny ball of fondant – white, pink, or green – flavored with vanilla, rose, or almond.

Tie with a ribbon. Use to garnish a loaf of fruit cake or top of box of candy.

Steam stem raisins, leaving them in small clusters. When soft, make a tiny cut with a sharp pointed knife at the end opposite the stem, and remove the seeds. Blanch Jordan almonds, cook in hot olive oil until delicately browned, sprinkle sparingly with salt, and insert an almond in each raisin, letting it protrude from the end.

Wash raisins, dry them, and put through a meat grinder with the nuts. Mix well, season with salt, shape in small cakes, and wrap in paraffin paper. These are excellent on a picnic, or to keep on hand in the automobile when refreshment is wanted during an emergency. They may be sent to soldiers on duty, as they contain concentrated nourishment, and will keep indefinitely without spoiling.

Wash and stone the dates, wash figs, and remove stems, and put with the nuts through meat grinder. Mix together thoroughly, and press firmly three fourths inch thick into a small buttered pan. Cut in squares and wrap in wax paper, or shape in small balls and roll in confectioners’ sugar.

Put walnuts, figs, and almond paste through meat grinder, add orange rind, salt and enough orange juice to make mixture of consistency to handle.

Knead on a board or marble slab sprinkled with sugar, cut in circles, brush with chocolate melted over hot water, and decorate with pieces of almonds.

Remove stones from dates, and put dates and peanuts twice through meat grinder, using nut butter cutter. Mix thoroughly with salt, and pack in glass jars. When wanted for use add cream, and work with a spatula until the consistency of butter. Use in candies in place of peanut butter, or use as a sandwich filling.

Use roasted peanuts, which may be purchased by the pound ready shelled. Remove brown skins, and put twice through the meat grinder, using nut butter disc. Add half a teaspoon of salt to each pound of nut meats. When wanted for use add heavy cream or butter, mixing thoroughly.