Looking for a new special gift for friends and family? Add handmade candies to your gift-giving repertoire. It’s easier than you think.
Choose the right “chocolate”
If you’ve tried hand-dipping candy centers with no success, it may be your chocolate. Hand-dipping candy requires using a compound coating or confectionery coating, which provides a rich, velvety chocolate or vanilla flavor with superb melting and dipping qualities. These can be purchased in groceries, online or in specialty chocolate stores, typically in 1- or 2-lb. bags of wafers. The vanilla flavor comes in a variety of colors and flavor can be added with a few drops of oil or an oil-based extract, such as peppermint or rum, also readily available in grocery or drug stores.
Prepare candy centers
Mint or bourbon-flavored centers can be prepared with the following ingredients:
- 2 lbs. confectioner's sugar
- 8-ounce pkg. cream cheese
- 1/3 C. butter, softened
- 1 1/4 tsp. creme de menthe (for mint balls) or 1/4 C. bourbon (for bourbon balls)
Mix the ingredients together in a bowl using a spoon or your hands until mixture is combined. Knead until smooth. Roll into balls about the size of a walnut, place about an inch apart on a cookie sheet and refrigerate until ready to dip in coating. If filling is too soft to roll into balls, refrigerate for several hours to stiffen.
Even easier, almost any small food can be stirred into melted chocolate coatings for great handmade candy. Try stirring any of the following into a pound of melted chocolate coating: crushed pretzels, cereal (i.e., Rice Krispies), crushed peppermints, coconut, nuts, raisins, marshmallows, candied fruits or any combination of items. Then, drop chocolate mixture by spoonfuls into paper candy or muffin cups or onto waxed paper to set.
Melt the “chocolate”
Chop the coating into uniform pieces to expedite the melting process. Melt the coating in a glass bowl over a pan of boiling water or in the top of a double boiler. Dry all utensils and pans thoroughly before adding the coating, and be careful not to let water or steam touch the coating, which can cause it to clump and become gritty. Gently stir the coating as it melts. When the coating is smooth and lump-free, you are ready to dip candy centers. Dip balls in melted coating one at a time either by hand or using a spoon or fork and place on waxed paper or a cookie sheet to set.
Prepared candies make great gifts placed in candy or muffin papers and placed in decorative tins or boxes. Next time you’re looking for a fun handmade food gift, try your hand at making candy.
