I Can Make Candy from Scratch

Do you ever envy those do-it-yourselfers who seem to make the most tantalizing treats for every occasion? Since I was young, I was in the kitchen at baking time. I love cookie baking especially, but I never managed to get the art of candy making down. While I'm still not great at it, I'm learning. My daughters, though, are really getting the hang of it! Since January is National Candy Month, what better time to look at the art of candy making for a little encouragement and inspiration?

I have a relaxed learning approach to teaching my daughters to cook. I include them in the process when they express interest, and as they gain interest, I let them try their own idea out. My oldest is a bread baker. She started with the bread machine we had several years ago, and when it got ruined, she decided to delve into handmade bread. She's made flatbreads, sweet rolls and a variety of other recipes. My next oldest has explored everything from Paella to tortillas. The next in age is learning to make bread now and also is handling some basic techniques for pancakes, French fries and other snacks.

My grandmother recently passed away, and one of the interesting snippets of memories in the month before her death, shared by my Mom, was the fact that after Thanksgiving, Grandma always started in on homemade candy making, creating wonderful toffees, fudge, divinity and more. She would make batch upon batch, putting them out as she created. My mother said they were wonderful, and remembered fondly being able to help herself to the homemade treats. You can create a memory, or you can even create a heritage of creative culinary endeavors. You can just have a little fun and unwind by exploring candy arts in your kitchen!

Candy making usually attracts all of our attention in December for the holidays. As a child, I watched my Mom make wonderful fudge, and I never quite got the hard ball/soft ball/threads thing down. Let's understand that heating sugar causes a variety of physical changes as various temperatures are reached. The product that you end up with is going to depend on the heat and the handling of the sugar. A thermometer seemed like cheating to me when my Mom didn't require one to make creamy delicious fudge. I changed my perspective after a number of failed fudge-making attempts, and invested in the thermometer shown here.

Honestly, there are a bazillion candy recipes out there. Nearly all of my instruction in cooking has been thanks to two important references. Joy of Cooking is great for various types of cooking. My Fanny Farmer Baking Book is my go-to resource for baked products. The girls get into the cookbooks for ideas, and my oldest daughter uses the basic bread recipe from one of these for a lot of her work. Similarly, there is an excellent candy section, providing options for toffees, fudge, penuche, divinity and more.

There are lots of options for melt and pour candies, and this is a good start for kids or for an unsure adult. Melted almond bark provides the glue for various ingredients.

Working with candy melts and molds is a great way to introduce kids under 10 years of age to safe candy making. Adult supervision is still needed for heating and handling bowls, but filling decorating bags with melted candy will allow enough cooling for younger children to be able to comfortably squeeze candy into molds.

Options are always changing, but here, you'll find some current selections, colors and add-ins for your own candy making adventure!

My husband buys toffee from a coworker each year, but my daughter was inspired to try it herself this holiday season. She ended up with dramatically different results each time. The first effort was good, but there was a hint of bitterness she didn't like in it. The texture, though, was perfect. Simply following directions and measuring the candy temperature at each point was sufficient.

The next recipe she tried was from my Joy of Cooking book. This recipe used cream whereas the first didn't. It was delicious, but not as hard and firm as the previous effort. She wasn't sure if she actually hit the right temperature. I loved this version for flavor, and I liked the slightly soft texture. It may have been an issue of stirring at an inopportune time. Your candymaking directions are important because movement can cause the sugar crystals to change and solidify before you are ready.

The third recipe was from Epicurious and it had perfect texture and flavor. She has yet to email me the recipe!

My point is that your candy making journey will no doubt involve experimentation. Pay special attention to stirring instructions and temperatures. Beyond that, you must learn by doing!

I have a friend who makes and sells artisan mallows online. My daughter just tried an Epicurious recipe for mallows, and they were on par with those we have bought from my friend's shop! Yum!

Handmade mallows are soft and fluffy. They were amazingly easy! If you need something fun to try, this is worthwhile!

Image Credit

All images are used in compliance with creative commons licensing, with the exception of the first image, which is my own.

Peppermint Bark: George (Patti) Larcher at Flikr

Apple Jacks: Mom the Barbarian at Flikr

Toffee: Andrea_44 at Flikr

Marshmallows: Bochalla at Flikr

I've got lots of great ideas brewing, and this lens is just the tip of the iceberg for me! Happy candy making!