Does anyone have any good homemade candy recipes for gift giving?

-- Kathy (DavidWH6@juno.com), November 28, 2000

Answers

This is the only candy I make (since I am totally useless at it - I can't even make fudge) Melt chocolate bark with some peanut butter baking chips. Dump in a couple cans of potato sticks. Spoon out onto wax paper to cool. They taste good and don't cost much to make if you get the bark on sale.

-- Linda Al-Sangar (alsangal@brentwood-tn.org), November 29, 2000.

PEPPERMINT BARK: melt 2 1/2 lbs. white choc. in double boiler. Crush 12 candy canes in a plastic bag. Stir candy canes into melted choc. with 1/2 tsp peppermint flavoring. Spread thin on wax paper on cookie sheet. Refrigerate, when cool break into pieces. DW I have forgotten the flavoring and it's still good.

-- DW (djwallace@ctos.com), November 29, 2000.

Okay, this one is a cinch. FIVE MINUTE FUDGE

2/3 C. (small can) undiluted evaporated milk (NOT condensed!) 1 2/3 C. sugar 1/2 teasp. salt Mix these together in a heavy saucepan. Heat to boiling,stirring to dissolve sugar, then cook 5 minutes, continue stirring to prevent burning. Remove pan from heat -- immediately add; 1 teasp. vanilla 1/2 cup chopped nuts 1 1/2 cups diced or mini marshmallows 1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips Stir 1-2 minutes until marshmallows are melted. Pour into buttered 9" square pan, or other smaller gift pans.

You can use mint-flavoured chocolate chips instead if you so desire for chocolate mint fudge. For another tasty variation, I add 1 T. dry instant coffee powder while it is cooking, then 1.tsp. rum extract, a dash of cinnamon, & use pecans for a kind of Mexican flavour. I tried dicing up candied orange peel to add, and the flavour was good, but the chewy bits made unattractive liquid areas -- orange extract would be better. You can get creative with this.

My cousin's wife likes to give out chocolate-dipped pretzels and potato chips that she makes by melting chocolate coating (grocery store) and dipping them in herself. I don't care for those much, other people like them a lot.

CINNAMON FROSTED PECANS

For 1 lb. of Pecan halves, whip 1 egg white til stiff. Mix the two together to coat the nuts. Add 1 cup white sugar with 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon mixed into it, and mix well. Spread nutmeats out on waxed paper on a cookie sheet, and bake in a very low oven temp until thoroughly dry. This gives them a delicious crunchy coating.

GLAZED POPCORN AND NUTS

3 QT. popped corn 3 C. unsalted nuts 1 C. firmly packed brown sugar 1/2 C. butter 1/2 C. Karo syrup (dark or light) 1/2 tsp. salt 1/2 tsp. vanilla 1/2 tsp. baking soda

In large roasting pan, put popcorn and nuts -- place in 250 F. oven. In heavy 2-qt saucepan, stir next 4 ingredients over medium heat to boiling. Boil 5 minutes WITHOUT stirring. Remove from heat, add vanilla, & soda, stir. Pour over warmed popcorn mixture, stir well to coat. Bake at 250 F, stirring occasionally, for 1 hour. Cool. Break apart. Makes 4 quarts. Yummy -- but addictive.

RUM BALLS -- Cookie or Candy? You decide!! (no bake!)

2 C. vanilla wafer crumbs 1 C. fine chopped nuts 2 1/2C. confectioners sugar 2 T. cocoa powder 2 T. light corn syrup 1/3 C. dark rum

Prepare vanilla wafer crumbs in food processor, blender, or by rolling pin with wafers in plastic bag. Combine crumbs, nuts, 1 cup confectioners sugar, cocoa, corn syrup and rum in bowl. Mix well, add a little more rum (carefully!) if needed, until it is the consistancy to shape into small, firm balls, about 3/4" diameter (I use a melon baller to portion control). Sift the remaining sugar into a shallow dish. Roll the balls in sugar (works best if you don't let them get too dry -- I only shape 5 or 6 before rolling). Let sit on waxed paper while working to dry a little. Store in an airtight container until needed -- better if they can sit a week to 'ripen' the flavour before serving. These are an 'always favourite' in cookie mixes, altho they can also double as candy.

-- Julie Froelich (firefly1@nnex.net), November 30, 2000.

This is kind of a cross between a cookie and a candy. Take a snack cracker like a Ritz spread with a nice thick layer of peanut butter, put another cracker on top. Dip into melted dipping chocolate and place on wax paper to cool. I gave those a couple years ago and have people beg me to make them again. diane

-- diane (gardiacaprines@yahoo.com), November 30, 2000.

BUCKEYES-traditional candy,also can be peanut butter eggs for Easter

1 1/2 cup peanut butter 1/2 cup margarine 2 oz chocolate square or morsels 1 lb or abt.3 1/2 cup sifted confectioner's sugar 1 tsp vanilla 2 TBS.shortening for chocolate part

melt 1/2 cup margarine & mix with sugar & p-butter & vanilla.Form into 3/4" balls or eggs.Melt choco and 2 TBS. shortening in a double boiler or microwave.Dip balls into melted choco.Very rich candy.Definitely not for the calorie counter.

-- sharon wt (wildflower@ekyol.com), November 30, 2000.

Kathy, This one is an easy one, as I'm terrible at candy making! : ) Melt one package of almond bark, and mix with chopped peanuts and rice crispies, then cool "blobs" of it on waxed paper. I hate to say this, but I can't find the ingred. measurements, so just stir them in until it look really lumpy, and that should do it. (*G*)

-- Kristin, in C. Alabama (positivekharma@aol.com), November 30, 2000.