Martha Washington Candy

Martha Washington candy is a nice, creamy candy made of sweetened condensed milk, butter, maraschino cherries, pecans, powdered sugar, and coconut rolled into a ball and dipped in chocolate. I started by mixing my milk and butter in a mixer until it got creamy. Then I added my powdered sugar 1 cup at a time. Then I added the cherries that I drained and chopped. I like to drink cherry juice with 7up, so this is what I sipped while I mixed in the pecans and coconut shavings.


I then rolled them into balls. I waited an hour while they sat outside, then I brought them in and melted chocolate and dipped the balls, which was a challenge. The author said to use a fork and dip them, but they fell into the pan. I decided to plop one in, and fold the chocolate on. That worked a lot easier. I left some plain, which also tasted good.

Peppermint Patties

The peppermint patties were a blast! The only ones that will eat them are me and my mom, but maybe (just maybe,) DJ, too. My dad doesn't like mint. We started by beating egg whites, then adding powdered sugar and peppermint extract, making a sort of dough. Then I kneaded it over corn starch until it was all combined. Then I rolled it out with a rolling pin until it was 1/4 an inch thick and cutting it with a glass. Then I was supposed to dip them into the tempered chocolate that I had made beforehand, but I didn't know exactly how to dip them without covering my hands in the chocolate. So, I just put a blob on and smeared it around with an offset spatula. Then I let them sit outside for a few minutes, brought them in, flipped them over, put chocolate on the other side, and let them harden for an hour. They turned out great and delicious!

No-Fail Fudge

This recipe really is called "No-Fail" fudge, yet it almost failed, but I think that was my fault. We added Jet-Puffed Marshmallow Creme, chocolate, sugar, butter, salt, and evaporated milk in a saucepan. We added them part at a time, such as the sugar, milk, and salt first until it reached 236 degrees. Then we added the creme, vanilla, and chocolate until everything was melted and mixed together. Then we poured it into a pan to cool and cut it up into squares. I added the creme when it started to harden, but I managed. It was fun, and DJ liked it, too.

Peanut Butter Cups

I made peanut butter cups, and they were perfect! I started by tempering chocolate, then spreading it into paper cups with a clean paint brush. I let those sit for a half-hour, then I filled the cups halfway with a mixture of peanut butter, powdered sugar, and salt to make a sweet peanut filling.

Then I covered them with a thin layer of chocolate, and let them sit in the fridge for an hour. The paper surprisingly peels off perfectly without ripping or sticking to the chocolate. It was fun to make and good to eat!

Hard Candies

The hard candies were delicious! I made flavors of cherry and pineapple. Next time, I'm going to make them root beer flavor! I know they look like those glass "rocks", and a friend at school thought they were. I would make it if you get the chance! They're plain and simple--just water, sugar, corn syrup, and flavoring, then pour them into molds or pull them into ropes and snip them with scissors.

Turkish Delight (Failure)

The Turkish delight was a complete failure. It looked right, but tasted horrible. I wouldn't recomend making that.

Cherry Cordials (Part One)

Today we started the cherry cordials. After letting the cherries dry out overnight, we made fondant out of butter and powdered sugar, with a little cherry juice added. We had to cut the fondant into 60 little pieces, flatten them out and wrap around each cherry.

We let them sit in the refrigerator overnight until firm. We tempered some chocolate, which means heating, cooling then heating again. We then dipped them in chocolate and returned them to the fridge to sit for one week.

The fondant is supposed to turn into liquid around the cherry. Stay tuned for the final result and taste test report!

Turkish Delight (Part One)

The Turkish delight is difficult to make. It does not look like the ones on "The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe". It had to cook on a stove for a while, until it was "golden yellow", and then we added corn starch and water in a separate pan, which looked like lotion.

When we added that mixture to the other one, it looked like liquid soap. I then added rose water and a little bit of red food coloring to it, and scraped it into a pan. When it was cool enough, we tried to put it on a cutting board to cut it. It was too gooey, so we cooked it a little longer. It is now out on the patio to cool, and I will write back soon. So long for now!

Butter Mints

These were pretty much the same as the cream cheese mints, but they don't have cream cheese in them. I actually liked them plain without the peppermint extract in them, but they wouldn't be mints without them. I made these for my mom's cousin's wife's baby shower, so they were green and blue. I really liked them!

Gummy Worms (Failure)

The gummy worms turned out to be rubber worms. My mom and I are about ready to strangle Anita Chu. It is such a waste of ingredients when we use the exact amount and method she wrote in her cookbook and it starts out as a big glob. The recipe calls for "refrigerate until firm", well it never even needed to go in the fridge. I couldn't even cut through it with the pizza cutter! We had to drown our sorrows in peanut butter balls, which actually turned out. Does anyone need a new mouse pad? Because our sheet of "rubber worms" would work perfectly.

The Shipment has Arrived!

My mom and I ordered some things that we needed, and it finally came today! I ordered real chocolate, hard candy molds, gelatin, rose water, flavorings (pineapple, cherry, and root beer), and a couple of new thermometers (candy and chocolate tempering). Stay tuned for more exciting adventures!

Peanut Butter Balls

I made peanut butter balls by mixing peanut butter, butter, vanilla extract, salt, and powdered sugar in a mixer, then forming it into balls.

Then, I dipped them in dark chocolate, and it tastes great, but I even like them plain!

Meringue Mushrooms

Meringue mushrooms are not mushroom flavor. They are just meringue made into mushroom-like shapes, as you can see:

I have to post a vote: Which do you like better?

A) Sprinkled with cocoa

B) Flamed

C) Cocoa then flamed

D) None of the above

English Toffee w/ Chocolate & Almonds

English toffee tastes GREAT covered in chocolate! I'm just not a fan of the almonds. If you do make it, I recommend using dark chocolate. It brings more zing! to it, you know? It was also very easy to make, and it didn't take long at all. YUMMY!!!

Candy Corn (Faliure)

I tried candy corn, and it did not work one bit. I made the dough, put it on a marble slab, and tried to knead it out. FAIL.

The dough got really hard really quick, and it turned into a block. It didn't taste good either, and it was too dry. I tried it again with less sugar, but that only helped the taste. I took a second look at the photograph of it in the picture, and that's when I registered the fact that they probably used clay. I looked up and said, "Thanks a lot, Anita Chu."

Divinity

I made a Christmas treat called divinity tonight. If you don't know what it is, just call it "fluffy marshmallows"; which is pretty much what it is. I started by bringing a mixture of sugar, corn syrup, water, and salt to a boil in a sauce pan. Meanwhile, egg whites were being beaten in a blender until they had stiff "peaks". I then added the boiling liquid to the egg, and blended it some more. Then, vanilla extract was added to the mixture, turning it into a frothy substance. I scooped up the fluff with a spoon, and scraped it off of with another spoon onto a baking sheet (covered with a Silpat) into little blobs.

I let them sit for an hour and a half, and they turned out perfect! As you can see, I enjoyed licking the spatula and whisk.


I highly recommend making it and putting it into your coffee or hot chocolate.

Butterscotch Drops

Today I made butterscotch! I started by mixing water, sugar, brown sugar, salt, butter, and white vinegar together in a sauce pan, and when it reached 270 degrees, I added vanilla extract. I then poured the mixture onto a Silpat, and scored it with a paring knife as soon as it was cool enough. There were a few spots in it where there was undissolved sugar, so it caught in the knife and dragged through the rest. I think that the look can change the taste sometimes, but that's if it's burnt. In this case, it tasted fine. I highly recommend making it if you have the time and ingredients.

Cream Cheese Mints

The cream cheese mints were a blast to make! I started by blending cream cheese and butter together, and then added powdered sugar and a little bit of pink food coloring in it. I then rolled the batter into logs, and then cut them into little pillows with a paring knife as shown:


I then let them sit over night, and in the morning they were harder, and tasted like the actual ones that you could buy at the store. I might try the butter mints next, but until then, I will keep an eye on the rock candy's progress.

Rock Candy-- AGAIN

I'm retrying the rock candy, because we found a recipe on the internet for it. It said to use a pipe cleaner or string for the base. The string wanted to stick to the surface, and the pipe cleaner looks like the fuz would fall off into the water. :( I just don't get it.

Lemon Drops

Today I made lemon drops. I know that they're supposed to be shaped like lemons, but I needed a mold for that. I boiled sugar and water until it reached the required temp, and then I poured the mixture onto a greased pan. I then added citrus acid, lemon extract, and yellow food coloring to it. I folded it a few times with a bench scraper, and then I separated it into two ropes. I cut the pieces into little squares, and covered them in powdered sugar. They tasted very sweet, and a tiny bit sour.