Easy Valentine Chocolates

Gourmet Great-Grandma was a professional candymaker and makes the most fabulous fondant! She also has a recipe for a quick, no-cook center that happens to be my hubby's personal favorite. I make it quite often so I don't have to do all the work of turning fondant. Grandma, if you're reading this, we love you and have loved learning some of your chocolate skills--please don't cringe at my sloppy dipping!:) So, if you really want to "wow" someone this year, whip up some homemade chocolates! These two 'shortcut' recipes will have them made in a snap.

Almond Dreams-Gourmet Dad's all-time favorite!
Ingredients:
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 c. softened butter
4 1/3 c. powdered sugar
chopped roasted almonds as desired (at least 1 cup)

Directions:
Warm condensed milk can in hot water for a few minutes. Mix all ingredients, freeze in greased 9 x 13 pan. cut into small squares and dip in chocolate while frozen. (they become very soft and gooey when thawed). Make sure the entire square is covered in chocolate or it will ooze out. It sounds so easy but they are soooooo good!

Tip: a reader mentioned how hard they were to dip because they thawed quickly. What I do is cut off one row of the filling, put the rest back in the freezer, cut that row into squares, and dip them. So, I'm only working with 10-12 pieces at a time and the rest can stay in the freezer. Hope that helps!

Microwave Caramels adapted from Bakespace
Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup Light Karo Syrup (not dark-doesn't set right)
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup SWEETENED CONDENSED milk
1 t. vanilla
Sea Salt (I used a pink sea salt)
Chili Flakes
Toffee Bits
Buttered 8x8 baking dish

Directions:
Melt butter in large microwave bowl. Stir in Karo syrup, both sugars and sweetened condensed milk. Mix until dissolved. Microwave on high 3-1/2 minutes. Stir down and scrape sides of bowl. Microwave on high 3 1/2 minutes. You may have to adjust your cooking times by 15-30 seconds since all microwaves cook differently. Stir in vanilla. Pour into buttered dish and refrigerate until set. When set, remove from fridge and cut into squares.

Dip in melted chocolate and set on wax paper. Add a few chili flakes, sea salt, or toffee bits to the top (if desired). Let set completely.

NOTES: Jessica had a great question about what kind of chocolate to use for dipping, see comments for more info. I personally use Guittard Signature chocolate, you can use most anything. Avoid chocolate chips since they do not harden well after melting.

Now, just in case you want Gourmet Great-Grandma's caramel recipe here it is. I made about 20 batches of these for my wedding!
BJ Caramels
Ingredients:
2 C sugar
1 1/3 C corn syrup
1/4 tsp salt
2 C. cream

1/2 C. milk

Directions:
Add cream and milk together. Add 1 c. of cream mixture to sugar and corn syrup and bring to boil. Simmer on medium low for 25 min. Add half of remaining cream mixture and simmer on medium low for 25 min. Add remaining cream mixture and bring to 237degrees or soft ball. Pour into greased pan and cool. When adding cream turn heat up so mixture is always boiling.

Champion Crayons

Ever since I made Edible Crayons last Valentine's Day, they've been a staple around here. They're so easy to make and look so cute--the kids (and adults) love them! So, we made a few to keep "score" this weekend...can you tell who we're rooting for?:) Don't worry, I made labels for you Cardinal fans, too. Simply print on colored paper (not cardstock, it's too hard to roll around the pretzels), cut, and wrap. These are honestly so easy, my 4 year old makes them all the time and they look great!

Click here for Edible Crayon instructions.

Download crayon labels for the Steelers here.

Download crayon labels for the Cardinals here.

Time-Out Taffy

Sometimes the kids (and adults!) need a little something to keep their hands busy during a football game. How about some good ol' fashioned taffy? It's super-easy to make. You can color it your team's colors and send it home as a souvenir treat! Yum!

Time-Out Taffy
Ingredients:
3/4 cup water
2 cups sugar
1 1/4 cups corn syrup
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter
Flavoring and coloring as desired

Directions:
Place sugar, corn syrup, water, and salt into a medium saucepan and mix well with a wooden spoon. Place over low heat until sugar has dissolved, stirring continuously. Increase the heat and do not stir during the rest of the cooking. Wash the sides of the pan with a brush dipped in water, using an upward motion. This will prevent the formation of crystals which might cause the candy to sugar. After the syrup boils put in the candy thermometer, and when the thermometer registers 265 degrees, remove candy from heat. If you don't have a candy thermometer, you'll know it's done when you drop a little bit into cold water and it becomes brittle. Remove from heat, add 2 tablespoons butter and stir very gently. Divide into however many flavors you want to make and set aside until it's cool enough to handle.

Now for the taffy pulling! Grease hands generously with a stick of unsalted butter to prevent the fresh taffy from sticking to fingers. (you can use cooking spray but it doesn't taste as good)Instruct your taffy pullers to use only their fingertips to lift the edges of the warm, flowing candy up, and then to pull out about 12 inches. Then, they’ll quickly fold the taffy back from the one hand to the other, catching the center, and then pulling again.

If you’re adding food coloring and flavoring, pause briefly after a few pulls to add a drop or two to the mixture, folding the mixture over on the color and flavor. Any food coloring will do and any flavoring oils you want (we like peppermint and raspberry).

When your taffy is very hard to pull and holds its shape when laid out on a platter, it’s ready to cut into pieces. Rub a pair of kitchen scissors with unsalted butter, and then cut the hardened taffy into bite-size pieces. Wrap in squares of plastic wrap or wax paper. Or, just place on a platter and serve them up! Enjoy!

Crayon Wrappers Galore!

9/16/2015 UPDATE

I've had a lot of people asking for crayon labels recently, apparently someone made them on TV.  I designed these 7 years ago so don't have access to all my files anymore BUT do have three labels I uploaded to Google Drive for you to download.  Have fun!

Back to School Crayon Labels HERE

Halloween Crayon Labels HERE

Blank Crayon Labels HERE

I've heard from a bunch of you that Edible Crayons are a hit at your house! I've had requests for different labels, so here you go! These are super-duper easy, my 3 year old can make them (she just needs help cutting the labels). Email me if you ever want something different, I'd be happy to put them on here. Just click on the text to open/download the file. Recipe is here.
Christmas Crayon Labels

Happy Birthday Crayon Labels

Traditional Crayon Labels (these look like Crayola Crayons) from Jenn's blog:

Blank Crayon Labels

Back to School Crayon Labels

BYU Crayon Labels

Ohio State Crayon Labels

Steelers Crayon Labels

Cardinals Crayon Labels

Valentine Crayon Labels

Customize Your own (if you have MS Publisher):

Naughty Coal Treats

Who's been naughty? I love giving coal treats over the holidays, these have been are our family favorite. This year, we decided to experiment and the result was yummy!

I think they'd taste even better and would set up really hard (so you can pack them in treat bags) if you can used chocolate to dip the marshmallows, just make sure to use a black oil-based food coloring to tint the chocolate. I used icing this time since we happened to have some on hand. :)

Naughty Coal Treats
Ingredients:
Large Marshmallows
Caramel candies
1 can Dark Chocolate Icing
Black food coloring
Wax Paper

Directions:
Use scissors to snip the marshmallows in half diagonally.

Put caramel candies in a glass bowl and microwave for 45 seconds. Add a couple Tablespoons milk to help thin out the caramel. Stir, microwave at 20 second intervals until melted.

Using a toothpick or fork, dip the marshmallows in caramel, shake off excess, and place on wax paper to dry (you can put in fridge if you want to dry faster--just put the wax paper on a baking sheet and transfer it all to the fridge). Put icing in a bowl and microwave 45 seconds, until melted. Add a few drops black food coloring. Take caramel marshmallows and dip in icing. Set on wax paper to dry. Serve to your favorite naughty stinker.:)

Runs with Scissors and Eats Crayons...

9/16/2015 UPDATE

I've had a lot of people asking for crayon labels recently, apparently someone made them on TV.  I designed these 7 years ago so don't have access to all my files anymore BUT do have three labels I uploaded to Google Drive for you to download.  Have fun!

Back to School Crayon Labels HERE

Halloween Crayon Labels HERE

Blank Crayon Labels HERE

Last Valentine's Day, I made some edible crayons. They were such a hit that we decided to make them for Back-to-School treats! I made some Back To School crayon labels that you can download here. Just print them out and you're ready to go!

Edible Crayons
Ingredients:
*Pretzel Rods
*Candy Melts (or white chocolate bark/chocolate chips with a little of your favorite food coloring added)*Paper Labels (make them yourself or download mine here. Print on colored paper of your choice)
Instructions:
-Break or cut pretzel rods in half.
-Melt candy melts or chocoalte chips in microwave on medium heat for 1 minute. Stir and continue cooking at 15 second intervals until melted. Stir well. Add a few drops food coloring if desired.
-Dip ends of pretzels in melted candy.

-Place on wax paper or aluminum foil to dry.

-When dry, wrap with crayon label and secure with tape. "CrayonEatr" got the most giggles since our baby is quite the professional. :)

We put some in inexpensive pencil boxes for back to school gifts!

Notes: You can buy Candy Melts in white or brown at Wal-Mart. They're in the craft section in the wedding supplies. Wal-Mart also had white chocolate bark in the baking aisle. For colored Candy Melts, check your local cake supply store or you can get them at http://www.sugarcraft.com/. On sugarcraft.com, do a search for "compound coating". To color melted white chocolate chips or chocolate bark, oil-based candy food coloring is best. If you have regular food coloring, just make sure the chocolate isn't too hot (just warm) when you add it or it might make it clumpy.

SCORE!

I saw the cutest things, edible jewels! What girl wouldn't love a jeweled tiara cake or what boy wouldn't go ga-ga over a jewel-filled pirate treasure chest??! These would make great cupcake toppers or a fun thank-you gift (give a bag full of them with a note saying, "You're a Gem!").
...The only problem is that these little "gems" cost between $12-$26 for a pack of 80. Ack!

So, I did a little hunting around and found out that you can buy a reusable hard candy jewel mold for $1.99 from Sugarcraft!! Go to http://www.sugarcraft.com/ and look for item #8H-5117. So, use this super-easy recipe for microwavable hard candy (below) and you have about 80 jewels for about 75 cents in ingredients. You can whip these little treats out in less than 10 minutes!! I bought two of the molds so I can easily whip up a large batch. The best part? They're reusable! SCORE!

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE fancy flours, they have so many fantastic products and I highly recommend them. However, $1.99 for something I can use over and over again gets my vote.

Microwave Hard Candy
Ingredients:
1 cup granulated sugar
½ cup light corn syrup
Food coloring, whatever color you want.

a few drops orange oil, if desired (or any other flavoring oil)

Directions:
Lightly spray candy mold with cooking spray.
Thoroughly mix sugar and light corn syrup in a 4-cup microwave-safe glass measure. Cover with plastic wrap. Microwave on HIGH for 3 minutes and 15 seconds.
Remove from the microwave and carefully remove plastic wrap. Quickly stir the sugar mixture and then cover with a NEW sheet of plastic wrap. Microwave on high for 3 minutes and 15 seconds.
Remove from microwave, carefully remove plastic wrap and stir with a clean spoon. After boiling has ceased, stir in coloring and then flavoring.
Pour syrup quickly, but carefully onto prepared mold(s). Wait until cooled and they should pop out easily. You can repeat as often as desired. If you are only working with one mold and want to keep your extra syrup from setting up in the mixing bowl, place glass bowl in 300 degree oven while you are waiting to use it.

Modified from Icicle Candy recipe from LorAnn Oils

"C" is for Edible Crayons

Yummy! Crayons!
These are simple to make and are sooo fun to eat. My kids thought it was so funny that they got to eat "crayons" (something we're constantly telling the baby NOT to do!).
In addition, they got to break things, dip things, and use tape. What snack could be more fun to make??!:)
You can put several in a Ziploc baggie with a handmade note saying "You Color my World" for an easy class valentine treat. I'd make a few different colors (red, white, etc) but the girls had too much fun with pink so we just went with it.:) These would also be a great "C" snack for preschool or a great "back to school treat". Have fun!

INGREDIENTS:
Pretzel Rods
Candy Melts (or white chocolate chips with a little of your favorite food coloring added)
Paper Labels (make them yourself or download mine here. Print on colored paper of your choice)

INSTRUCTIONS:
Break or cut pretzel rods in half. Melt candy melts or chocoalte chips in microwave on medium heat for 1 minute. Stir and continue cooking at 15 second intervals until melted. Add a few drops food coloring if desired.
Dip ends of pretzels in melted candy.
Place on wax paper or aluminum foil to dry.
When dry, wrap with crayon label and secure with tape.
You can download the labels I made here.

Easy Chocolates & New Years Dessert

I learned how to make fantastic chocolates from my Grandma. She made over 500 lb. boxes every holiday. Unfortunately, with a lot of kids, it's pretty hard to make a good batch of fondant. So, here are my favorite "cheating" recipes that still taste great. My favorite chocolate for dipping candies is 1 part Guittard Signature Chocolate mixed with 1 part Guittard Burgundy chocolate. Wilbur Chocolate is also good. Just don't use candy melts--they're great for molded candies because they harden well but terrible for chocolates. The caramels and jellies you don't have to dip, you can wrap in wax paper or roll in powdered sugar. Have fun!

Here's the chocoalte extravaganza that the girls and I made for our New Year's dinner tonight. (we used the recipe for Icicle Candy and wrapped it around wooden spoon handles to look like confetti, drew some white chocolate 2008 decorations, and added chocolates on top).

BJ Caramels
2 C sugar
1 1/3 C corn syrup
1/4 tsp salt
Mix 2 C. cream and 1/2 C. milk
Add 1 c. of cream mix to sugar and bring to boil. Simmer on medium low for 25 min. Add 1/2 of remaining mixture and simmer on medium low for 25 min. Add remaining cream mix and bring to 237degrees or soft ball. Pour into greased pan and cool. When adding cream turn heat up so mixture is always boiling.

Jellies
2 c. jam
2 c. sugar
4 envelopes unflavored gelatin
1 1/3 c. water
Dissolve gelatin in water. Blend jam and sugar. Mix and boil 2-3 minutes. Pour in greased pan. Cut into squares or other shapes. Roll in powdered sugar or dip in chocolate.

Truffles
1 ½ lbs. high quality chocolate (any kind)
1 c. cream
Scald cream. Let cool to at least 130 degrees. Melt chocolate and place in bowl with whisk attachment. Add cream and beat. Add flavoring oil if desired (a couple drops). Pour in prepared pan and cool. Roll into balls and dip with desired chocolate. (This Christmas, I made peppermint truffles and dipped them in white chocolate w/ red and green candy pieces on top).

Almond Dreams Recipe--my husband's all-time favorite
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 c. softened butter
4 1/3 c. powdered sugar
chopped roasted almonds as desired (at least 1 cup)

Warm condensed milk can in hot water for a few minutes. Mix all, freeze in greased 9 x 13 pan. cut into squares and dip in chocolate while frozen. (they become very soft and gooey when thawed). Make sure the entire square is covered in chocolate or it will ooze out.

Coal Candy

Can you tell we're on a hard candy kick? We tried this one today. The kids can't participate in the cooking part since it's too hot, but they will definitely love whacking it apart with hammers to make the "coal chunks". Happy Hammering!

Coal Candy

from LorAnn Oils

Ingredients:
2 cups granulated sugar
2/3 cup light corn syrup
¾ cup water
1 tsp. flavoring oil (or as desired)
Black Liquid Food Coloring (as desired)

Directions: Have all ingredients and tools assembled and within easy reach of the stove. Lightly spray an 8" X 8" pan with cooking spray (we recommend PAM). In a 2-quart kettle or large saucepan, mix together sugar, corn syrup and water. Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Insert candy thermometer if using, making certain it does not touch the bottom of the pan.

Bring mixture to a boil, without stirring. Early in the cooking process, you can "wash down" any sugar crystals that form on the sides of the pan with a wet pastry brush. Continue to cook the syrup until the temperature reaches 260 F; add color. Do not stir; boiling action will incorporate color into syrup.

Remove from heat precisely at 300 F (temperature will continue rising), or until drops of syrup form hard, brittle threads in cold water. After boiling action has ceased, add flavor and stir. USE CAUTION WHEN ADDING FLAVORING TO AVOID RISING STEAM.

Pour syrup into prepared pan. Do not refrigerate. Cool completely.
*Using the end of a wooden spoon, or other tool, pound candy into small chunks to simulate coal pieces. For best results, wrap candy in sucker bags or plastic wrap and secure with a twist tie.

*Before pounding, we transferred the slab of candy to a large pan with high sides such as a Dutch Oven and pounded the candy inside of the pan.

Icicle Candy Woo hoo!!

I LOVED to eat icicles as a kid. I came across this fun recipe and tried it--they look so cute and are a great and easy Winter treat. The best part? You can do the whole thing in the microwave and they are super cheap to make! Yea! I usually like to do things that my kids participate in, but this is so hot to work with that you shouldn't do it with kids around. So, turn on your favorite chick flick after they're in bed and whip up a batch--it only takes 15 minutes or less!

Icicle Candy
Ingredients:
1 cup granulated sugar
½ cup light corn syrup
½ tsp. peppermint flavoring (or other as desired. NOTE: if you are using flavoring oil, only use a few drops)
Blue liquid food coloring (as desired)

Directions:Preheat oven to 185 degrees. Lightly spray cookie sheet and a large sharp knife (or pizza cutter—that’s my favorite. The pizza cutter was a lot easier to work with when cutting the hot candy) with cooking spray.
Thoroughly mix sugar and light corn syrup in a 4-cup microwave-safe glass measure. Cover with plastic wrap. Microwave on HIGH for 3 minutes and 15 seconds.

Remove from the microwave and carefully remove plastic wrap. Quickly stir the sugar mixture and then cover with a NEW sheet of plastic wrap. Microwave on high for 3 minutes and 15 seconds.

Remove from microwave, carefully remove plastic wrap and stir with a clean spoon. After boiling has ceased, stir in coloring and then flavoring.

Pour syrup quickly, but carefully onto prepared cookie sheet, tilting sheet slightly to form an 8 inch by 6 inch puddle. As the sugar mixture begins to set up, cut candy into 1/2 inch by 4 inch strips. Return sheet to oven for 1 or 2 minutes to soften for twisting.
Remove 1 strip from sheet and gently twist and pull into icicle shape (you can also wrap them around a pencil if you want). Repeat with the remaining strips, leaving the cookie sheet in the oven to keep strips soft and pliable. If strips get too soft, let them cool a bit until they are a firmer consistency. Cool strips on a rack. Do not refrigerate.

Original recipe from LorAnn Oils