Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Mmmm...Tasty Tuesday

Hello and welcome to 2012!  The recipe I'm going to share with you today has been handed down to me from my beautiful mama, Deane, writer of the Who is God? blog.  I'm not sure if she got it from her mom (my grandmother, Nanny) or not.  This particular recipe is not your typical one in that it doesn't have exact measurements, etc.  It can be a pain to make, but when made correctly...MMMMMMMMMMM!!!

Home-made Candy is what we always called this when I was growing up but it is probably more likely to be 'Fudge.'

Here goes...I hope you can understand the 'directons.'  Again, remember, I do not use regular, standard measuring devices in this recipe.  I am coming from the old-school time when a cook would use her morning coffee cup as a cup measure, etc.

3 c. sugar
1 heaping (serving size) table spoon cocoa

**Mix this together well, breaking up any clumps

2 '1/2' pint containers of heavy whipping cream
1 'running over the edge just a little bit' (serving size) table spoon white Karo Syrup

**Mix this all together and put on a med-hi flame (coil, for you electric range users).  Once the mixture comes to a rapid boil, lower the temperature to just keep it boiling but not boiling hard.

**While this is boiling, get a pan, I use a 7" x 11" pan, and coat it with oil.  Just drop a few drops of oil into the pan and then take a paper towel to spread it around and coat the entire pan.

**Let the mixture boil this way for a short bit until you get a 'soft ball' to form when you drop a bit of the liquid into a 'COLD' cup of water.  By 'soft ball' I mean that when you drop some of the liquid into the cold water, it will drop to the bottom of the cup.  When you put your hand in to fish it out, you can form a 'soft ball' with it.

**Once you get a soft ball, remove from the stove top and set aside.  Cut 1 stick of butter into pats and drop into the mixture.  Add 1 capful of vanilla.  Let this cool for about 10-15 minutes.  Now, take a mixer and slowly, at first, so as to not splash butter every where, begin to beat this mixture.  You will continue doing this until the mixture becomes thick and begins to lighten in color.  The longer you beat it, the more chance you have of your candy 'turning to sugar.'  This is how my mama likes it, but I prefer that it not turn to sugar.  It's not bad if it does, but I like the smoother texture.  Once the batter begins to thicken, I will add about 1 cup of walnuts to it and mix that for a couple of minutes.  If you don't like walnuts, you can omit them or add the nut of your choosing.

Now, pour the mixture into your prepared pan.  Spread it out if needed.  Place the pan in the refrigerator until hard.  But, if you are like my family...we rarely wait that long, we usually will be scooping the candy out with a spoon and eating it with a fork.  (*smiles*)


I know this may sound confusing and hard, but it truly is not.  I started making candy when I first got married and I probably ruined the first 2 or 3 batches I made.  If you cook it too long, it turns to sugar; if you beat it too long, it turns to sugar; if you don't cook it long enough, it won't harden; if you don't beat it long enough, it won't harden; if you...by chance...get any water in the mix, it will not harden!  There are a lot of factors with this recipe, but it is so worth the trials and errors. 

As a little girl, Mama would make the candy and then she would make popcorn...salty popcorn.  Now there is nothing better than popcorn & candy!  Yummm!!!

I hope you try this recipe.  And remember, if your first attempt or two bombs...try again.  You will eventually get it right and you will fall in love with it!  I promise!

Have a grand 2012.

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