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Old-school candy recipes

OurWildKingdomOurWildKingdom member
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edited July 2016 in Wedding Cakes & Food Forum
Look what I found on Pinterest! I adored these as a kid, and I just might have to make some for the wedding.

http://www.cheaprecipeblog.com/2013/07/old-fashioned-cream-cheese-mints-recipe-2/

What are your favorite old-fashioned candy recipes? The easier, the better.
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Re: Old-school candy recipes

  • TrixieJessTrixieJess member
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    I have a Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook from 1958, it has tons of candy recipes.
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  • spockforprezspockforprez member
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    I like making saltine cracker toffee. 

    Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a baking dish or cookie sheet with foil and grease or spray with cooking spray. Line bottom with saltine crackers. 

    Bring to boil equal parts butter and brown sugar (I usually use a cup of each but you can adjust based on the size of your dish) and boil for 3 minutes without stirring. Pour over saltines and bake for 5 minutes.

    That's the basic recipe. From there you can do all kinds of stuff. I like to add 2 cups of chocolate chips and cover with foil for 3 minutes so it melts, then spread it out. We put crushed potato chips on top once - tasty, but didn't stick well. We've done chopped walnuts. We've added a peanut butter layer (not my fave, didn't harden very well and the flavor overpowered the caramel). You can add coarse salt on top for a salted caramel toffee. All kinds of options! 

    Once you add your toppings or whatever you're doing, pop in the freezer for an hour, then break into pieces. Warning: addictive. 
    Daisypath Anniversary tickers
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  • OurWildKingdomOurWildKingdom member
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    Yum, @spockforprez! That sounds delish!
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  • OurWildKingdomOurWildKingdom member
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    TrixieJess said:
    I have a Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook from 1958, it has tons of candy recipes.

    I collect vintage cookbooks -- I should check them too!
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  • ei34ei34 member
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    Here's my favorite basic fudge recipe:

    http://chocolatechocolateandmore.com/3-minute-fudge/

    What's great is it's easy to tweak.  You can sub a different extract for vanilla, like peppermint at Christmas or coconut over the summer, or strawberry/raspberry any time.  And right after pouring it into the dish to set, you can sprinkle chopped walnuts or almonds, or mini M&M's.  Or you could drizzle caramel or melted peanut butter over the top.

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  • OurWildKingdomOurWildKingdom member
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    edited July 2016
    Keep them coming! The more I read about candy buffets, the more I think it would be nice to offer some candy in addition to cupcakes and cookies (the cookies are our favor). I'll be making the candy myself, and candy thermometers intimidate me a bit, so simple (like the recipes @spockforprez and @eileenrob posted above) is a very good thing.
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  • missfrodomissfrodo member
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    My favorite is a Christmas recipe for the white chocolate peppermint bark (I know "bark" tends to have dark chocolate, but I really like it with just the white chocolate and crushed peppermints).  I just googled how to melt the white chocolate and to get my proportions right; all you do is melt the white chocolate, mix it with the crushed mint, and spread it on a baking sheet, then let it dry.  As a kid, my mom would make this and use cookie cutters to cut shapes out before it completely hardened (we put some red dye in it and cut hearts for Valentine's Day).  
    The other thing we actually did at our wedding--chocolate covered Oreos.  The hard part is tempering the chocolate, because you need to use real chocolate (I use Hershey's Symphony usually, those giant bars).  Never ever use the fake "chocolate" coins as a replacement for milk chocolate!!!  It's disgusting!
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  • OurWildKingdomOurWildKingdom member
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    How do you temper chocolate, @missfrodo? I've always used chips and, rarely, baking chocolate.
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  • STARMOON44STARMOON44 member
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    Why? Don't do this. Honestly, why? You don't how to make candy, you're intimidated by candy thermometers, and this is completely unnecessary. You are having a very nice simple afternoon wedding. Do that. Enjoy it. Explore the world of candy someday when you don't have a hundred other things going on. 
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  • OurWildKingdomOurWildKingdom member
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    edited July 2016
    STARMOON44 said:
    Why? Don't do this. Honestly, why? You don't how to make candy, you're intimidated by candy thermometers, and this is completely unnecessary. You are having a very nice simple afternoon wedding. Do that. Enjoy it. Explore the world of candy someday when you don't have a hundred other things going on. 
    Because my DIY philosophy is "go big or go home."  ;)

    All kidding aside, I just like doing things from scratch. I thought about making the cookies from scratch till I remembered that we have a food-service supply store that has large quantities of frozen dough, and the quality is comparable to homemade. 

    It's true that I will have a lot of other things going on, though. I'm making bouquets, centerpieces, and an arch, and possibly chair covers as well. Plus I have to look presentable and keep up the rest of my life.
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  • STARMOON44STARMOON44 member
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    OurWildKingdom said:
    STARMOON44 said:
    Why? Don't do this. Honestly, why? You don't how to make candy, you're intimidated by candy thermometers, and this is completely unnecessary. You are having a very nice simple afternoon wedding. Do that. Enjoy it. Explore the world of candy someday when you don't have a hundred other things going on. 
    Because my DIY philosophy is "go big or go home."  ;)
    I mean, knock yourself out. But it adds nothing, people won't appreciate it enough, and it's a huge amount of work. 
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  • OurWildKingdomOurWildKingdom member
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    edited July 2016
    It may become one of those things I end up saying "Screw it," to. I'd like to think our crowd would appreciate it, but that may be my ego talking.  :)
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  • missfrodomissfrodo member
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    OurWildKingdom said:
    How do you temper chocolate, @missfrodo? I've always used chips and, rarely, baking chocolate.
    I use my mom most of the time, honestly.  You basically melt it in a double boiler (a glass bowl over a pot, with water just barely touching the glass), then stir it until it's no longer super glossy--it can take a while, maybe ten minutes or so.  My mom works in portions, so she never has too much chocolate in the tempering bowl at once; if it gets too hard to work with (it will cool off fast), she just adds more warm chocolate from the double boiler.  You can also use a thermometer and try to get it to reach certain temperatures (I just google the temps).  If it doesn't temper properly, you'll get white streaks in your chocolate.  I had some streaks in mine when I did it by myself, but it still tastes good, just looks a little funky.  I also swirled white chocolate over the tops of the Oreos, so it would look fancy and distract the eye from any imperfections in the milk chocolate.  Biggest thing with tempering, is you can't get a drop of water in the chocolate or it will seize up and you'll lose the whole bowl.  
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  • kaos16kaos16 member
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    missfrodo said:
    OurWildKingdom said:
    How do you temper chocolate, @missfrodo? I've always used chips and, rarely, baking chocolate.
    I use my mom most of the time, honestly.  You basically melt it in a double boiler (a glass bowl over a pot, with water just barely touching the glass), then stir it until it's no longer super glossy--it can take a while, maybe ten minutes or so.  My mom works in portions, so she never has too much chocolate in the tempering bowl at once; if it gets too hard to work with (it will cool off fast), she just adds more warm chocolate from the double boiler.  You can also use a thermometer and try to get it to reach certain temperatures (I just google the temps).  If it doesn't temper properly, you'll get white streaks in your chocolate.  I had some streaks in mine when I did it by myself, but it still tastes good, just looks a little funky.  I also swirled white chocolate over the tops of the Oreos, so it would look fancy and distract the eye from any imperfections in the milk chocolate.  Biggest thing with tempering, is you can't get a drop of water in the chocolate or it will seize up and you'll lose the whole bowl.  
    In my experience making chocolates, and my mom used to own a chocolate shop, you do NOT want the water to touch the upper bowl that the chocolate is in.  The bowl on top of bowl setup is done to trap the steam between the two bowls but you need enough space that the water doesn't touch the bottom.
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  • OurWildKingdomOurWildKingdom member
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    edited July 2016
    kaos16 said:
    missfrodo said:
    OurWildKingdom said:
    How do you temper chocolate, @missfrodo? I've always used chips and, rarely, baking chocolate.
    I use my mom most of the time, honestly.  You basically melt it in a double boiler (a glass bowl over a pot, with water just barely touching the glass), then stir it until it's no longer super glossy--it can take a while, maybe ten minutes or so.  My mom works in portions, so she never has too much chocolate in the tempering bowl at once; if it gets too hard to work with (it will cool off fast), she just adds more warm chocolate from the double boiler.  You can also use a thermometer and try to get it to reach certain temperatures (I just google the temps).  If it doesn't temper properly, you'll get white streaks in your chocolate.  I had some streaks in mine when I did it by myself, but it still tastes good, just looks a little funky.  I also swirled white chocolate over the tops of the Oreos, so it would look fancy and distract the eye from any imperfections in the milk chocolate.  Biggest thing with tempering, is you can't get a drop of water in the chocolate or it will seize up and you'll lose the whole bowl.  
    In my experience making chocolates, and my mom used to own a chocolate shop, you do NOT want the water to touch the upper bowl that the chocolate is in.  The bowl on top of bowl setup is done to trap the steam between the two bowls but you need enough space that the water doesn't touch the bottom.
    Good to know! I guess I've tempered chocolate before, just didn't know what the term meant. Thanks @missfrodo! I also didn't know about the upper bowl not touching the water, thanks @kaos16!
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  • missfrodomissfrodo member
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    OurWildKingdom said:
    kaos16 said:
    missfrodo said:
    OurWildKingdom said:
    How do you temper chocolate, @missfrodo? I've always used chips and, rarely, baking chocolate.
    I use my mom most of the time, honestly.  You basically melt it in a double boiler (a glass bowl over a pot, with water just barely touching the glass), then stir it until it's no longer super glossy--it can take a while, maybe ten minutes or so.  My mom works in portions, so she never has too much chocolate in the tempering bowl at once; if it gets too hard to work with (it will cool off fast), she just adds more warm chocolate from the double boiler.  You can also use a thermometer and try to get it to reach certain temperatures (I just google the temps).  If it doesn't temper properly, you'll get white streaks in your chocolate.  I had some streaks in mine when I did it by myself, but it still tastes good, just looks a little funky.  I also swirled white chocolate over the tops of the Oreos, so it would look fancy and distract the eye from any imperfections in the milk chocolate.  Biggest thing with tempering, is you can't get a drop of water in the chocolate or it will seize up and you'll lose the whole bowl.  
    In my experience making chocolates, and my mom used to own a chocolate shop, you do NOT want the water to touch the upper bowl that the chocolate is in.  The bowl on top of bowl setup is done to trap the steam between the two bowls but you need enough space that the water doesn't touch the bottom.
    Good to know! I guess I've tempered chocolate before, just didn't know what the term meant. Thanks @missfrodo! I also didn't know about the upper bowl not touching the water, thanks @kaos16!
    And that's why I let my mother do it...I've totally burnt chocolate by setting the bowl in the water!  Thanks for the fix, kaos16!
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  • MesmrEweMesmrEwe member
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    OurWildKingdom said:
    TrixieJess said:
    I have a Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook from 1958, it has tons of candy recipes.

    I collect vintage cookbooks -- I should check them too!
    If the cookbook is younger than 35 - it's not worth buying!  The Betty Crocker one of the same vintage (right around 1965) is also good! 
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  • TrixieJessTrixieJess member
    First Anniversary First Comment First Answer 5 Love Its
    MesmrEwe said:
    OurWildKingdom said:
    TrixieJess said:
    I have a Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook from 1958, it has tons of candy recipes.

    I collect vintage cookbooks -- I should check them too!
    If the cookbook is younger than 35 - it's not worth buying!  The Betty Crocker one of the same vintage (right around 1965) is also good! 
    I inherited a bunch from my grandmother, great-grandmother and mother. My great-grandmother and grandmother used to be Wedding and Birthday Cake makers in the small town where they are from. 
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  • MesmrEweMesmrEwe member
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    TrixieJess said:
    MesmrEwe said:
    OurWildKingdom said:
    TrixieJess said:
    I have a Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook from 1958, it has tons of candy recipes.

    I collect vintage cookbooks -- I should check them too!
    If the cookbook is younger than 35 - it's not worth buying!  The Betty Crocker one of the same vintage (right around 1965) is also good! 
    I inherited a bunch from my grandmother, great-grandmother and mother. My great-grandmother and grandmother used to be Wedding and Birthday Cake makers in the small town where they are from. 
    Chances are they made notes in there - those are key in determining how to get the recipe to turn out "just like grandma used to make"!! I love some of those notes in the old cookbooks I purchased...
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