Christmas Candy

Coco Dietz

Chocolate Caramel:

1 Cup Sugar

1 Cup Light Corn Syrup

¼ Cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder

¼ Teaspoon Salt

1 Cup Cream

¼ Cup Butter, softened, no substitutes

1 Teaspoon Vanilla

Combine sugar, corn syrup, cocoa, and salt in a heavy saucepan. Cook over medium heat until sugar is dissolved. Combine cream and butter and set aside in a small bowl. Heat the sugar mixture to 245 degrees on a candy thermometer, stirring constantly. Add the cream mixture slowly. Bring the temperature back up to 245 degrees. Remove from heat , add vanilla and stir until blended. Pour into an 8×8” square pan, buttered well. DO NOT SCRAPE PAN. Allow to cool completely. Cut into ¾”squares with a sharp knife with a sawing motion. Yield: 8 Dozen

English Toffee:

1 ¾ Cup Sugar

⅛ Teaspoon Cream of Tartar

1 Cup Cream

½ Cup Butter

1 Teaspoon Vanilla, or 1 Tablespoon Rum

Chocolate Chips

Chopped Nuts

Combine sugar, cream of tartar, and cream in a large heavy saucepan. Stir over high heat until the sugar is dissolved. Stir and boil for 3 minutes more. Add the butter and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture reaches the soft crack stage (270 degrees). Remove from heat. Add vanilla or rum. Pour into a buttered pan and allow to cool. To cover with chocolate, sprinkle with chocolate chips and melt them in the oven and sprinkle nuts on top before it cools.

Peanut Butter Fudge:

1 Cup Undiluted Canned Milk

2 Cups Brown Sugar

2 Cups Sugar

1 Stick of Butter

1 Cup Peanut Butter

1 Teaspoon Vanilla

Cook milk, sugars, and butter to a soft ball stage. Remove from heat and add peanut butter, beat well. Add vanilla. Pour into a buttered 13x9x2” pan and cool.

Homemade Mints:

4 oz Cream Cheese, softened

½ Teaspoon Peppermint Oil

Food Coloring

3 ⅓ Cup Confectioners Sugar

Sugar

Mix cream cheese, peppermint oil, and food coloring. Add confectioner’s sugar, kneading well. Shape into marble sized balls and roll in sugar. Press into rubber candy mold; remove immediately.

Chocolate Turtles:

2 Cups Sugar

2 Cups Light Corn Syrup

1 Stick of butter

2 Cups Whipping Cream

½ Can Sweetened Condensed Milk

16 oz Pecan Halves

1 lb Dipping Chocolate, melted

Boil sugar and corn syrup in a covered saucepan for 2 minutes. Stir butter. Cook cream and sweetened condensed milk on top of a double boiler over hot water until heated through. Do not boil. Add to corn mixture 2 T milk mixture at a time, stirring constantly. Cook to soft-ball stage. Arrange pecan halves, in pairs, on buttered serving dish. Drizzle cream mixture by tablespoons over pecans; cool. Shape cream mixture around pecans, covering completely. Dip in chocolate.