Fun Bits and Pieces
This is my fun page in which I add useful bits and bobs about American candy that I have come across during my years of research. There will also be useful recipes or fun activities that you can do but there will be more up-to-date activities and fun on my facebook page.
Candy Cane Bark
I have my own personal favourite candy cane bark, and that's the King Leo's Chocolate Peppermint Bark - made with rich dark chocolate covered with creamy white chocolate then sprinkled with crushed peppermint bits made with 100% pure peppermint oil - ultimate decadence. However, if you fancy making your own, you will need -
2 x 1lb bags white chocolate chips
12 candy canes broken into bits
9.5 x 11.5 baking pan
Wax paper
Double boiler
Air-tight container
In a double boiler on low heat, melt 2 bags of white chocolate chips, stirring until all the pieces are melted.
Line a baking pan with wax paper and evenly sprinkle the broken bits of candy cane over the wax paper.
Pour the melted chocolate over the candy cane bits and allow to cool.
When cool, break into large chunks and store in an air-tight container.
Little tip you can also add a layer of dark chocolate over the white chocolate before breaking it up, as King Leo's do. If you want to, use the same amount of dark chocolate chips as you used for the white. I have found though that milk chocolate doesn't truly work with this recipe as it doesn't set off the crushed peppermint as well as dark or white chocolate does. Enjoy!
Invisible candy lollies:
Ingredients
Makes 1 dozen
2 cups sugar
2/3 cup light corn syrup
Assorted candies, such as candy corn, crunchy gummy bears and jelly beans. Don't limit your fun, so use your imagination. Ideal for Easter, summer holidays, Halloween and Christmas. Just alter your candies.
Directions
1. Line three baking sheets with nonstick baking mats or parchment paper. Prepare an ice-water bath; and set aside.
2. Bring sugar, corn syrup, and 1/4 cup water to the boil in a small saucepan, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Don't stir after this, but occasionally wash down sides of the pan with a pastry brush dipped in cold water to prevent crystals from forming; then boil until mixture turns golden and registers 300 degrees to 310 degrees (hard-crack stage) on a candy thermometer, usually takes 5 to 7 minutes.
3. Immediately set pan into ice-water bath to stop the cooking (syrup will steam vigorously); allow to sit for about 20 seconds. Swirl the pan for 2 minutes more to cool.
4. Working quickly, pour the syrup onto the baking sheets, forming circles (3 to 31/2 inches in diameter) and remember to include spacing pours about 4 inches apart.
5. Press in lollipop sticks.
6. With your fingertip or a wooden skewer, lightly press your choice of candies into the syrup.
Leave to stand until completely hardened and cooled.
Tootsie Roll Ice Cream Sauce: Dee-licous!!!
Equipment -
Table knife, Cutting board, Two pots: one slightly smaller so that it can fit inside the other, Wooden spoon
Ingredients -
35 Tootsie Roll Midgees (or 4 large tootsie rolls cut)
1/4 cup of water
1 extra cup of water
Directions-
Using the cutting board, cut up each Tootsie Roll Midgee into three or four pieces.
Place the Tootsie Roll pieces and 1/4 cup of water in the smaller of the two pots. Pour the extra 1 cup of water into the bigger pot. Place the smaller pot into the bigger pot (it will float on the water).
Heat on stove, on medium heat, until Tootsie Roll pieces melt.
Stir them together with the water.
Let the mixture cool and then pour on top of ice cream.
THE TOOTSIE ROLL
The Tootsie Roll story began in 1896, when Austrian-born Leo Hirshfield opened a tiny candy shop in New York City. Taking full advantage of his confectioner’s background, Hirshfield personally blended, cooked, and peddled a variety of products, including an individually wrapped, oblong, chewy, chocolate candy that quickly became a customer favourite. Sold at a penny apiece and affectionately named after Hirshfield’s five-year old daughter, Clara, whose nickname was “Tootsie,” Tootsie Rolls propelled Hirshfield’s modest corner store into a burgeoning candy enterprise that has evolved in little more than a century into the multinational corporation, Tootsie Roll Industries.
Tootsie Roll, offers a perfectly-balanced cocoa taste, lined with a subtle, fruit-flavoured undertone—all incorporated into a delicious treat.
Leo’s recipe required the incorporation of the previous day’s Tootsie Rolls into each newly cooked confection, a graining process that Tootsie continues to this day. As such, there’s (theoretically) a bit of Leo’s very first Tootsie Roll in every one of the sixty four million Tootsie Rolls that Tootsie produces each day. And with at least one variety still selling for just a penny apiece, it’s no wonder that Tootsie Roll has remained America’s favourite candy.
Available in eight popular sizes and varieties: Midgees, Mini-Midgees, 5-Cent, 10-Cent, 20-Cent, Giant Bar, Count Good Bag, and Snack Bar.
Tootise Roll also brought out a new range called the Tootsie Fruit Rolls:
Offering the same look and chew as the original Tootsie Roll in fruit-flavoured varieties, Tootsie Fruit Rolls are equally tasty candy treats. The individually-wrapped, bite-sized candies are available in five great-tasting flavors: Cherry, Lemon, Orange, Vanilla, and Lime.