Holiday Candy recipes. Read below for Almond Coconut Centers, Turtles, and Divinity recipes. #holidays #HomeForChristmas #homefortheholidays #homesweethome #foodiefam #foodie #candies #candy #sweetsandtreats #family #athome #fromscratch #MerryChristmas #HolidaySeason #homemade
Growing up in Louisiana, we would celebrate Christmas Eve at Maw Maw and Paw Paw’s house. Every year you could find a giant sampler box of Whitman’s Chocolates on the table. Aunt Mae would come from Welsh and bring homemade toffee, divinity, and macaroons. Needless to say, that Whitman’s box was neglected the rest of the evening. Oh, we’d polish that sampler off by New Years' with Paw Paw’s help. But Aunt Mae’s candies would be gone in just a few hours. Aunt Mae’s toffee became so popular in Jefferson Parrish that she has sold over 1000 pounds every holiday season.
There is something so special and heartwarming about homemade candies at Christmas. Sharing homemade candies during the holidays gives loved ones something to look forward to all year long. Candy recipes can sometimes require more than two hands. This is the perfect time to get the kids in the kitchen to help. Once children learn favorite candy recipes, the family tradition can continue for years to come.
My favorite holiday treat to make is homemade turtles. Sometimes I double this recipe because they disappear fast. One of Aunt Mae’s favorites is Almond Coconut Centers. They are her new macaroon. These candies are a must in a candy assortment and always a crowd-pleaser. Then my all-time favorite candy to eat during the holidays has to be homemade divinity. Divinity is a light sugar puff with nuts that melts in your mouth as you chew it. Divinity is the trickiest of these recipes but when done right, they are the most impressive by far.
Have fun making wintertime candies this holiday season. And have fun giving most of them away. I highly recommend hiding at least a couple for the cook.
Almond Coconut Centers
1 ¼ cup corn syrup
6 large marshmallows
2 cups coconut flakes
1 cup sliced almonds
1 tsp. vanilla
16 oz. melting chocolate or almond bark
Nonstick aluminum foil
In a double boiler over medium heat, combine corn syrup and marshmallows until smooth. Mix coconut, almonds, and vanilla into marshmallows. Allow cooling then spoon onto nonstick aluminum foil into balls. For easier dipping, freeze lightly. Melt chocolate in a double boiler over medium heat until smooth. Dredge coconut almond balls in melted chocolate. Set on nonstick aluminum foil to cool.
Homemade Turtles
14 oz. soft caramels, unwrapped
1 cup pecan pieces
16 oz. melting chocolate or semi-sweet morsels
Nonstick aluminum foil
Butter
In a double boiler on medium heat, melt caramels until smooth. Stir in pecans; drop by the spoonful on buttered nonstick aluminum foil. Chill in the refrigerator. Melt chocolate in a double boiler over low heat or in the microwave until smooth. Dunk chilled caramel drops in melted chocolate and set on nonstick aluminum until cooled.
Divinity
3 c sugar
½ cup light Karo syrup
½ cup cold water
2 egg whites
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
Bring sugar, syrup, and water to a hard boil over medium heat whisking almost constantly. In a separate bowl, beat egg whites until whipped and peaks form. When sugar mixture begins to turn thick, white, and strings from the whisk. Slowly pour and beat sugar syrup it into the egg whites. Once the two are beaten together, beat in vanilla. Stir nuts into the mixture until the mixture is no longer glossy, thirty seconds. Immediately spoon mixture onto a nonstick surface to cool as it hardens quickly.