Pumpkin Fudge

Category: Candy > Fudge > Pumpkin Fudge

Continuing on with the pumpkin theme, I made some pumpkin fudge. Again, it you are not a fan of pumpkin, you might want to skip this recipe. Otherwise, you'll probably like it.



Recipe:

• 3 cups Sugar
  
• 1 cup Milk
  
• 3 tbsp. Light Corn Syrup
  
• 1/2 cup Pumpkin Puree
  
• 1/4 tsp. Salt
  
• 3/4 tsp. Cinnamon
  
• 1/4 tsp. Ginger
  
• 1/4 tsp. Nutmeg
  
• 1-1/2 tsp. Vanilla
  
• 1/2 cup Butter
  

Butter a 8x8" pan and set aside.

In a 3 quart saucepan, mix together sugar, milk, corn syrup, pumpkin and salt. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to medium and continue boiling. Do not stir.

When mixture registers 232 degrees on candy thermometer remove pan from heat. Allow to cool to 150 degrees and stir in spices, vanilla, and butter.

Beat mixture until it is very thick and loses some of its gloss. Quickly pour into a greased pan. When firm, cut into pieces and serve.

Baking Tips:

• Remember to use a wooden spoon so it doesn't melt.
  

Old Fashion Fudge

Category: Candy > Chocolate > Fudge

Let's talk a little bit about the difference between chocolate, chocolate cake, brownies, and fudge.

Chocolate comes from the cocoa bean. In its pure form, it is bitter rather than sweet. It is the addition of sugars that gives chocolate the flavor that we know and love.

Chocolate cake is a cake that has had chocolate added to it.

Brownies are like a chocolate cake but lack leavening to make it rise. Hence it is more dense and chewy.

Fudge is a milk-based candy. Fudge is usually associated with chocolate but you can make fudge that doesn't have any chocolate in it. If you see a recipe for fudge and it doesn't have any milk in it (evaporated, condensed, whole) then you are not looking at a true fudge recipe.

There are two types of fudge. The first type is the old fashioned original type. It is called crystallized fudge. It is made from sugar and requires that you heat it just right or it won't set correctly.


Picture of Fudge cooking.


The second type is call "No-Fail" or "Easy" fudge. It is made from marshmallow cream and a lot easier to make than the first type because it comes out right almost every time.

Crystallized fudge tends to be a little softer and crumblier than the marshmallow cream fudge. I don't really think crystallized fudge is all that hard to make. You just need a candy thermometer to make sure the temperature is correct and a little patience so that you don't rush things too quickly.



Recipe:

• 2 cups Sugar
  
• 1/2 cup Cocoa Powder
  
• 1 cup Milk
  
• 4 tbsp. Butter
  
• 1 tsp. Vanilla
  
• 1/2 tsp. Salt
  
• Little Extra Butter for Greasing the pan.
  

Grease an 8x8 inch square baking pan with butter. Set aside.

Combine sugar, cocoa and milk in a medium saucepan. Stir to blend, then bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Reduce heat and simmer. Do not stir again. Place candy thermometer in pan and cook until temperature reaches 238 degrees.

Remove from heat and allow to cool to 150 degrees. Add butter and vanilla extract. Beat with a wooden spoon until the fudge loses its sheen. Do not under beat.

Pour into prepared pan. Mixture will be thick and hard. Press into edges of pan with a spatula. Let cool.

Baking Tips:

• Because you need to bake Fudge to extreme temperatures, remember to use a wooden spoon.
  

Peanut Brittle

Category: Candy > Nuts > Peanut Brittle

I just want to state, for the record, that all the recipes I post have been tested by myself. Which is more than I can say for about half the recipes posted online. If you have a recipe from a cook book vs. a recipe online and don't know which to go with, go with the one in a published cook book.

Recipes posted online don't need to be verified by anyone. I'm not saying people intentionally post bogus recipes but one typo is all it takes to make a wonderful recipe turn sour.

Why am I saying this? Well for one thing, I don't want people to get frustrated if they try a new dish and it comes out bad. It probably isn't that you did something wrong, it might be the recipe. The second reason is because I chose to follow a poorly written peanut brittle recipe that forced me to trash my first batch and start all over. Something that would never had happened if the recipe I followed was a tad bit better written.

So, what went wrong with my peanut brittle? Well, in order to make peanut brittle you have to boil the mixture to 300 degrees. Needless to say, that is very hot. I was stirring my mixture with a plastic spoon, I always use plastic spoons, and was horrified when it started to melt all into the mixture. I felt like an idiot for not thinking ahead that the spoon might melt, but was more upset that the recipe I was following didn't take 2 seconds to say to use a metal or wooden spoon. It really is little things like that that distinguish a well written recipe from a poorly written one.

In the end though, my second batch of peanut brittle turned out really well and was gone before I knew it.



Recipe:

• 1 cup Sugar
  
• 1/2 cup Light Corn Syrup
  
• 1/4 tsp. Salt
  
• 1/4 cup Water
  
• 1-1/2 cups Unsalted Peanuts
  
• 2 tbsp. Softened Unsalted Butter
  
• 1 tsp. Baking Soda
  
• 1 tbsp. Butter
  

You will need a candy thermometer to make peanut brittle.

Take the 1 tbsp. Butter and use it to grease a cookie sheet. Set cookie sheet aside. Measure out the Baking Soda and 2 tbsp. Butter and set it aside, ready to use in the future. In a 2 quartz sauce pan, add the sugar, corn syrup, salt, and water. Over medium heat, stir mixture until sugar is dissolved and bring to a boil.

Once your mixture is boiling, set the candy thermometer in place. Make sure the tip of the thermometer is not touching the bottom of the pan or your reading will be inaccurate. Once you reach 200 degrees, stir in the peanuts.

Using a metal or wooden spoon, stir frequently until temperature reaches 300 degrees. You want to stir it frequently so the mixture and peanuts do not burn. Turn the heat up to medium-high or high-low to help you get to 300 degrees which will take a while.

Once you reach 300 degrees, remove from heat and immediately stir in the butter and baking soda that you had set aside. When you add the baking soda, the mixture will foam up. You only need to stir it a little bit. Quickly pour the mixture onto the cookie sheet. You can tilt the cookie sheet to help it spread a little bit but you don't want to take anything and spread it yourself. Doing so will deflate the air bubbles and make less crunchy peanut brittle.

Allow the peanut brittle to cool, about 1 hour, and then snap it into pieces. Enjoy.

Baking Tips:

• You can substitute a little bit of dark corn syrup for the light corn syrup to make the peanut brittle darker.
  
• When breaking the peanut brittle apart, be careful. The peanut brittle can be a little sharp.
  
• A lot of recipes call for Karo syrup. Karo is a name brand for corn syrup. If a recipe calls for Karo, you can use any corn syrup.
  
• You must reach 300 degrees. If you don't, your peanut brittle will not turn out right, which is why having a candy thermometer is so important.
  

Truffles

Category: Candy > Chocolate > Truffles

Chocolate truffles are very rich chocolate (ganache) in the shape of balls and covered with multiple different coatings. I chose to use cocoa powder, oreo crumbs, chocolate sprinkles, and mixed nuts. Cocoa powder is often popular because it resembles dirt to look like real truffles dug up from the ground.



Recipe:

• 3/4 Heavy Whipping Cream
  
• 2 tbsp. Butter
  
• 8 oz. Semi-Sweet Bakers Chocolate
  

Chop your chocolate and place it in a large bowl. Set aside. In a medium size pot, add your butter and melt it over medium heat. Add your cream and bring it just to a boil, stirring often. As soon as your cream starts to boil, pour it over your chocolate. Let it sit for a few minutes and then stir with a spoon until you have a smooth consistency. Place the ganache in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours.

Once the ganache is chilled, take out your materials you want to roll your truffles in and place them in individual bowls. Spoon out a small amount of ganache and roll it into a ball. Roll it in your covering. Place it on a baking sheet. Once you are done rolling and covering all your truffles, place back in the refrigerator to chill for at least another hour before serving.

Baking Tips:

• After you add the cream to the chocolate to melt, when you start stirring it, try not to lift the spoon out of the bowl. This way you will reduce the amount of air you get in the ganache.
  
• You can add flavoring to the cream, when you are heating it up, to create additional flavors to the chocolate. For example, rum, raspberry extract, orange extract.
  
• Other items you can use to cover the truffles with include Coconut, Chocolate Chips, Powder Sugar, Sugar or Sugar Sprinkles.