Its that time of year again. The Holidays are upon us. No matter your background some holiday is looming. For most of us it is Thanksgiving and Christmas. It means lots of get togethers and not much time. Want to impress your friends and family with your culinary skills but, don't have many, here are a number of easy and fairly healthy candy ideas and can be whipped up in a jiffy with just a few ingredients and your microwave. No cooking, really!
Now, I said relatively healthy as we will be using no sugar, shortening, corn syrup or preservatives. All the ingredients have been shown to be beneficial in moderation (with the exception of the marshmallows and Lorna Doones). So just don't scarf these down by the handful and you will be fine.
You will need a few basic ingredients. First a good melting chocolate. I prefer Ghirardelli and get mine in 2.5 pound blocks at Sam's. One block will go a long way. I buy one white chocolate and one dark chocolate. Depending on your choice you will need pecans, almonds, cashews, dried cranberries, dried pineapple, coconut and or marshmallows and Lorna Doones. (forget the healthy on this one.)
First the Mounds Clone
This candy is very easy to make. Take your coconut and using a melon baller make small balls of scoops of coconut. Place them on a piece of waxed paper on a cookie sheet then press down slightly to make two sides that are flat. Once you have about 20 or so of these place the cookie sheet in the icebox for about 30 minutes. Once the coconut chunks have chilled take about 3/4 of a pound of chocolate (three strips of the Ghirardelli) and break in small pieces. Place in a glass bowl and put in the microwave for 4 minutes at 1/2 power. At about 2 minutes begin to stir the chocolate every 30 seconds. by the end of the four minutes you should be ready to make your candy if the chocolate is not completely melted add time in 20 second intervals until the chocolate stirs easily and is completely melted. You have a limited amount of time to work so move your melted chocolate to the area with your coconut and start the magic. Drop a chunk of coconut in the chocolate and gently roll it around with a spoon dipping it out and placing it on the waxed paper. Repeat for all of your coconut chunks. Take any remaining chocolate and drizzle it over the candy you have just made. Viola Mounds.
Prefer Almond Joy
Follow the directions above but add an almond to the mound of coconut your form in to the coconut chunks and you have Almond Joy.
How about Chocolate Covered Pecans
Melt your chocolate as above. Add a cup or so of whole pecans and scoop out three or four pieces at time onto waxed paper.
Chocolate Covered Papaya
Same a chocolate covered Pecans. You can use large chunks and spoon them out one at a time or small chunks and spoon out several into a cluster.
Chocolate Covered Dried Pineapple
Same as Chocolate Covered Pecans and Papaya.
Chocolate Covered Marshmallows.
I used the big ones and found they were best cut in half but this will work with the small ones as well and just spoon them out in twos or threes in a small clump.
Here is the recipe that got me started in the madness. I found this in a Southern Living a few years ago. Made it and gave it to friends and every one waits for the holidays to get some in their goodie box.
White Chocolate Holiday Clusters
For this you will need salted cashews, dried cranberries and white chocolate.
I a bowl mix one cup of cashews with one cup of dried cranberries. Melt one cup (3/4 lb of white chocolate) and pour in bowl. Mix well and with table spoon scoop out small mounds onto wax paper. Let chocolate set (you can accelerate by putting your waxed paper on a cookie sheet and slipping it in the refrigerator. Makes about 24 clusters.
All of these are super simple and take less than 15 minutes start to finish including clean up with the exception of the mounds because of the time to refrigerate the coconut. However your friends won't know that because people believe candy is hard to make. And it can be but not these.
Now a couple of notes. All of the above done in dark chocolate including the mounds and almond joy clones can be done in white chocolate. However the Cashew clusters do not work well in dark chocolate. They taste fine but don't look great. Lets just say Pam christened them "Reindeer Poop". Especially the ones I tried in butterscotch flavored chocolate.
Now for the final and sneakiest one of all.
Black and Whites
For this you will need a package of Lorna Doones and 1/2 1lb white chocolate and 1/2 lb dark chocolates.
Prepare your cookie sheet with waxed paper and open cookies because you will have to move fairly quickly on this so the chocolate does not set up on you. Melt the dark chocolate. Dip one end of the cookie in the dark chocolate and place it on the cookie sheet. Repeat for all cookies. Place in refrigerator for about 5 minutes. Melt white chocolate. Dip the other end of the cookie in the white chocolate and place on Cookie sheet. Repeat for all cookies. Place in refrigerator for 5 minutes. Put in container and you are ready to go. Watch these disappear.
Look out you now too are on the slippery slope of candy making madness. What else can you cover (The candy makers call it enrobed); Pretzels, Oreos, Animal cookies, dried banana, chunks of brownies, Chocolate chip cookies. Who knows what you will come up with, let me know what your creations are.
Bruce
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