Blond Brownies (we call them Beigies) Vickie Cardon

Preheat oven to 350 and grease a jelly roll pan

Sift and set aside-

3 3/8 cups of flour

3 ¾ tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

Cream well–

2 5/8 cups brown sugar

2 ¼ sticks butter

2 tsp. vanilla

5 eggs

Then blend in flour mixture – add chips and/or nuts to taste

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes

-Debbie Cardon

Jane's Candy Recipes

Caramels

INGREDIENTS
1c light Karo
2c sugar
3c heavy cream
1t vanilla - real
dash of salt

In heavy, straight-sided pan, combine Karo, sugar, salt and 1c cream. Turn stove to medium/high. Stir well with a long wooden spoon. When boiling, insert thermometer. Continue to stir while cooking to soft ball (230° F). Add second cup of cream and cook to soft ball. Add final cup of cream and cook to soft ball. Add vanilla. Stir well. Pour into lightly buttered pan. Cool. Cut. Wrap.


Penuche

INGREDIENTS
3c sugar
1c brown sugar
2c heavy cream
1/4c light Karo
dash of salt
2t vanilla

In heavy, straight-sided pan, combine all ingredients, except vanilla. Stir well. Turn stove to medium/high heat and stir until boiling. Remove spoon. Insert thermometer. Cook to soft ball (230°). Remove thermometer. Pour immediately into lightly buttered pan. DO NOT disturb. Test for coolness by touching w/back of hand. When cool, begin beating. Add vanilla while beating. When candy hardens, knead until softened.


Vinegar Taffy

INGREDIENTS
2c sugar
1/2c vinegar
1/4c water

Combine all 3 ingredients in a heavy, straight-sided pan. Turn stove to medium/high heat and stir until boiling. Make sure sides of pan are free of sugar. Remove spoon and add thermometer. Cook, without stirring, to hard crack (300°F). Pour onto lightly buttered pan. Add coloring. As candy cools, lift corners toward center. When cool enough to handle (but still really hot?) place on end of knife and let it stretch. Let it fall straight down and then bring back to handle. Continue until it begins to harden. Let candy hang from knife until completely cool. Carefully lay flat on table and break into pieces. Put into airtight container immediately. If left out, it will become sticky.

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Sherene's Cherry Chocolates

INGREDIENTS
¼ cup butter or margarine
2 cups powdered sugar
¼ cup sweetened condensed milk
30 maraschino cherries
2 pounds smooth milk chocolate

DIRECTIONS
To make the fondant, place butter in medium mixing bowl and microwave for 30 seconds or until softened. Add powdered sugar. Mix well. Blend in condensed milk. (Mixture should be stiff enough that you can knead it like bread dough. If it is too sticky, add more powdered sugar.)
To cover each cherry, make a ball with about one teaspoon of the fondant, flatten it out and put the cherry in the middle. Cover the cherry with the fondant. Place on wax paper. Chill coated cherries for no more than 15-20 minutes. Dip coated cherries in chocolate. (Do not completely freeze the coated cherries because as it freezes it will expand a little bit and when the cherry chocolate comes back to room temperature - after its been dipped - it will actually shrink and crack the chocolate coating.) After a few days, some of the filling will actually change to an almost clear liquid like the ones you buy in the store. I usually try to make the cherry chocolates about two weeks before I need them so they will have a chance to liquefy. Enjoy!!!!!!!!!!!

Other things you can do with the Fondant

Fondant is the base for many of the fillings you find in dipped chocolates. It is very versatile and easy to use. You can use one or two drops of any oil or extract to flavor the fondant (I prefer the oil). You can also add food coloring to it for a different look. Here are some of the possible flavors: peppermint, orange, lemon, raspberry, maple, and almond. Put a drop of the oil in the center of the fondant and knead it like dough. Taste it and see if you added enough oil if not do it again until you are satisfied with the taste. Just remember that the longer the candy sits the stronger the flavor will get. Keep unused fondant in a plastic bag (take all the air out of the bag). This can be stored for up to two weeks. (Dipped chocolates can last up to three months in a cool dry place. They might even last longer if you can keep that long.)
You can also add any nut to the fondant. The nuts can be whole, or chopped and you can add them in conjunction with the other flavors. You can also add other flavorings like maraschino cherry juice, raspberry jam, or candy canes. If the fondant gets too sticky, just add some more powdered sugar.
Shape the fondants on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper. Let them dry out overnight. Then dip in chocolate. Again, there are many different shapes you can use, so have fun with it. I tried to make the different kinds of candy into different shapes. For example, I shaped the mints like the commercial peppermint patties. I made the orange truffles square and the raspberry truffles into a patty, but it was smaller than the peppermint patty. Have fun with this!!!!

–Sherene Van Dyke

Sherene's Caramels

(Makes about 70-80 pieces)
(Original recipe by Sandra Beck)

Mix in a large saucepan:

¾ cup light Karo corn syrup
1 cup heavy cream (2 cups needed)
2 cups sugar
½ cup butter
Optional: ½ cup nuts (cut and placed on the bottom of the 8x8 glass pan instead of the butter.)

Bring this to a boil over medium-low heat while stirring constantly with a flat top wooden spoon. When it starts to boil, stir in the other cup of cream gradually. Continue to stir until it starts to boil rapidly. Stir occasionally and keep a close eye on the boiling mixture. The mixture will thicken and change to a nice caramel color. Cook the candy to 250 degrees or the hardball stage. Take candy off heat and stir in ½ teaspoon of vanilla. Stir for one minute and then pour the caramel into a buttered 8x8 pan. Cool and cut into squares.

*If you don’t have a candy thermometer you can get an ice-cold cup of water and dip a clean, dry spoon in the boiling caramel then put it in the cold water to cool it down. The Caramel needs to hold its shape and is quite chewy. If you have a big cookbook like a “Better Homes and Garden”, it will usually have a section on Candy making. There should be a picture of how it is supposed to look in there.

**To get the caramel out of the pan after it cools down, run a knife along all the edges of the caramel. Then turn the pan over onto a cutting board and slowly edge the knife between the caramel and the pan. Once the caramel falls onto the cutting board if can be flattened and smoothed out if necessary. If the caramel is too soft to do this, you can put it into the freezer for 10 to 15 minutes to make the caramel easier to work with, but do not freeze the candy solid. If the candy is too hard, be patient and use your muscles.

***If the candy scorches and has brown flecks in it all is not lost. You can still use the candy. The best things you can do is get it out of the pan as quickly as possible and put it in the buttered 8x8 pan. Do not scrape the bottom of the pan. To clean the pan put it in hot water and let it sit. The candy actually dissolves and is fairly easy to clean.

****Sometimes caramels can go sugary. Here are a few things you can do to avoid this problem: Use a wooden spoon with a flat top. As you stir the candy, scrape the mixture off the sides of the pan. Stir the ingredients together in the pan before you turn on the heat. Cut the candy into individual pieces as soon as you can. Make sure there are not any burnt patches on the inside of your pan before you start making the candy (the candy will stick to that spot). Candy is sensitive to the weather and other things - that’s just the way it is. I usually have one batch that flops every Christmas. Don’t get discouraged. Keep trying.!!!!

–Sherene Van Dyke

Sherene's Rocky Road Fudge

(90-120 pieces of yummy Fudge)
Original recipe by Sandra Beck

INGREDIENTS
500 grams or 2 ½ cups of Smooth Milk Chocolate bars (not Hershey’s - Ritter Sport Vollmilch, Cadbury, or Symphony bars all work great!)
12 oz. Milk Chocolate Chips
1 cup real butter

Break up candy bars in a large bowl. Add butter and chocolate chips and set aside.
_________

In a large saucepan mix

4 cups sugar
1 can Evaporated milk
2 ½ cups of mini marshmallows (you will need almost 2 bags of mini marshmallows)

Put pan on stove and bring mixture to a boil over medium heat. Stir this constantly with a wooden spoon or a spoon that has a flat top. If it starts sticking to the pan, the temperature is too high. Turn it down so you don’t scorch it. When it comes to a boil and marshmallows melt set timer and boil for 12 minutes. Make sure you keep stirring the entire time. I can’t do this when my kids are awake.

Pour saucepan contents over the broken up chocolate bars, chocolate chips and butter. Remember this mixture is extremely hot so use caution. Stir until all of the chocolate and butter melts. Add one teaspoon of vanilla and stir it in. Then pour some of the fudge into a buttered 8X8 pan. You can add chopped pecans or walnuts to fudge now if you like. To the remaining fudge in the bowl, add at least one whole package of marshmallows. Mix together then put fudge on a large, buttered cookie sheet. You might have to spread the fudge with your hands. I usually put a plastic bag over my hands so the fudge doesn’t stick to them or you can butter your hands. Cut into pieces once it cools down. To help fudge last longer keep it in cool place in an airtight container or cover with saran wrap.

– Sherene Van Dyke