Table Of ContentBAKER:S FIELD GUIDE
A TO
•
o 1 a
Sweet Treats All Year Long
D E D E W I L S O N
THE HARVARD COMMON PRESS
Boston , Massachusetts
THE HARVARD COMMON PRESS
535 Albany Street
Boston, Massachusetts 02118
www.harvardcommonpress.com
Copyright © 2005 by Dede Wilson
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced
or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or
mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information
storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from
the publisher.
Printed in China
Printed on acid-free paper
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Wilson, Dede.
A baker's field guide to holiday candy & confections: sweet
treats all year long / Dede Wilson.
p. cm.
Includes index.
ISBN 1-55832-309-0 (hc : alk. paper)
1. Candy. 2. Confectionery. 3. Holiday cookery.
4. Cookery, International. 1. Title.
TX791.W592005
641.5'83-dc22
2005004952
ISBN-13: 978-1-55832-309-4
Special bulk-order discounts are available on this and other
Harvard Common Press books. Companies and organizations
may purchase books for premiums or resale, or may arrange a
custom edition, by contacting the Marketing Director at the
address above.
10 9 8 765 432 1
Book design by Night & Day Design
Cover and interior photographs © 2005 Eric Roth Photography
Candy and confection preparation and styling by Mary Bandereck
To the women in my life- you enrich
it immeasurably: Julie Angell, Emily
Boudreault, Claudia Brown, Liz Cantor;
Julie Chartier; Marion Dussault,
Barbara Fairchild, Annie Kelly, Kristine
Kidd, Linda Kielson, Maureen Lasher;
Suzanne LoManto, Mary McNamara,
Juanita Plimpton, Marge Poore,
Judy Pozar; Pam Rys, Amara Staffanell
Wagner; Amy Wasserman, Ravenna
Wilson, Belle, Hope ... and to
Steve Kelly
Contents
Acknowledgments 6 Vernal Equinox
Introduction 7
Mint Jelly Leaves 56
How to Use This Book 8
Maple Sugar Leaves 58
The Field Guide 21
April Foofs Day
New Year's Rainbow Chocolate Fish 60
Kitty Crunchies 62
Star-Shaped Marshmallows 22
Honey Walnut Candies (Gozinaki) 24
Easter
Good Luck Marzipan Pig 26
Easter Peepers 64
Chestnuts in Yam Paste (Kuri Kinton) 28
Solid Chocolate Bunnies 66
Valentine's Day Easter Cream Eggs 68
Easter Egg with a
Giant Chocolate Kiss 30
Surprise 70
Chocolate-Covered Cherries 32
Easy Easter Nests with "Eggs" 72
Chocolate Hazelnut Italian Kisses 34
Panoramic Sugar Egg 74
Bittersweet Chocolate Truffles 36
liqueur-Enhanced Chocolate Truffles 38
Passover
Milk Chocolate Truffles 40
Matzoh Brown Sugar
Gilded White Chocolate Truffles 42
Buttercrunch 78
Cinnamon Fireball Candies 44
Champagne and Cherry National Licorice Day
Heart Lollipops 46
licorice Toffee 80
Golden Heart Passion Pops 48
Summer Solstice
Purim
Crystallized Flowers 82
Marzipan-Stuffed Fruit and Nuts 50
Poppy Seed Candy (Monlach) 52
St. John's Day
Sweet Wine Chocolate Apricot Balls 54
Pumpkin Candy
(Docinhos de Ab6bora) 84
Fourth of July
Classic Creamy Fudge 86
Pecan Penuche 88
Easiest Fudge in the World 90
Saltwater Taffy 92 Christmas
Molasses Taffy 94
Candy Canes 126
Sugar Sparklers 96
Ribbon Candy 128
Double Chocolate Peppermint Bark 130
Autumnal Equinox
Chocolate Walnut Rum Balls 132
Mendiants 98
Sugarplums 134
Christmas Divinity 136
Simchat Torah
Angel Food Candy 138
Fruit and Nut-Stuffed Dates 100
"Barley" Sugar Toys 140
New Orleans-Style Pralines 142
Halloween
White Christmas 144
Peanut Butter Cups 102
Glazed Chestnuts 146
Easy Marbled Candy Corn Bark 104
Apricot Candies (Mebos) 148
Spider Webs 106
Turkish Delight (Lokum) 150
Give 'Em the Eyeball Candies 108
Caramelized Milk Candies (Tejas) 152
Coconut Candies (Beijinho de Coco) 154
Day of the Dead
Egg Yolk Nougat (Turron de Yema) 156
Sugar Skulls I 10
Italian Nougat (Torrone) 158
Thanksgiving Panforte di Siena 160
Chocolate-Covered Caramelized
Harvest Fruit 'n' Nut Bark 112
Almonds 162
Spiced Pumpkin Pecan Fudge I 14
Burnt Almonds (Brente Mandler) 164
Chocolate Leaves I 16
Weddings
Diwali
Pastel Butter Mints 166
Coconut Cashew Bum I 18
Cream Cheese Rosettes 168
St. Day Sesame Honey Candies (Melekouni) 170
Nicholas~s
Sugar Candies (Borstplaat) 120
Resources 172
Hanukkah
Measurement Equivalents 174
Candy Dreidels 122 Index 175
Winter Solstice
Peppermint Patties 124
Acknowledgments
This book has a large international the rescue with Indian recipes, as did
component and many people helped me Darin Sarin, whom I met on a plane
track down recipes and traditions. Some quite fortuitously! Jill Hough from
are friends and family, some are people COPIA made phone calls for me to
whom I enlisted on the spot at IACP Guatemala; Kim de la Villefromoy from
(International Association of Culinary "down unda" introduced me to copha
Professionals) conventions .... Then (see page 144); Lily de Jensen came
there are the people I met on planes or at through with information on Colombian
parties, or whom I e-mailed cold. I can candies; and Evie Arharidis and Naomi
not thank all of you enough, and I am Waynee, both of whom I know through
afraid that I will probably leave someone our beloved yet silly dogs, sent recipes
out, so please forgive any oversights. and ideas. Elizabeth Andoh generously
Thanks to Maria Kijac and Marcela spoke with me all the way from Japan;
Sorondo for South American candy in Arzu Yilmaz gave me her Turkish Delight
formation; Faye Levy for insights into recipe. I have a lot of new friends!
Jewish cuisine; Anne Marie Aznarez for Pam Hoenig, editor extraordinaire,
help in researching Spanish confections; goes to the top of this list. She brought
Darra Goldstein for information on me to The Harvard Common Press,
Russian sweets; David Lebovitz for his where I found a happy home, and this is
Francophile knowledge; David Jesson our third collaboration. The Field Guide
from Peru; Enge Berit for her Norwegian concept was hers, and I feel blessed that
recipe-in Norwegian! And thanks to she enlisted me to bring it to life. Pam
Pam Juengling, who led me to Anne wasn't able to see the book through to
Donnelly, who helped with trans the end; the final piece of work was
lation; Raghavan Iyer came to guided beautifully by Valerie Cimino.
Thank you to Debra Hudak for copy
editing help. The folks at The Harvard
Common Press keep the pages turning,
so to speak: Bruce Shaw, publisher; Jodi
Marchowsky, production editor; Virginia
Downes, production manager; Christine
Corcoran Cox, managing editor; Pat
Jalbert-Levine, project manager; Skye
Stewart, publicity director; Betsy Young,
sales director; Liza Beth, publicist; Julie
Strane, special sales manager; Amy
Etcheson, marketing assistant; and Megan tofu, but
Weireter, office manager. Heartfelt thanks he puts up
to my agents, Maureen and Eric Lasher, with the sugar and
who feel more like extended family. chocolate.
Thank you to Jered Thorp and Wilton And finally,
for helping with equipment and supplies. thank you to my kids,
Thanks to Mary McNamara, the best Freeman, Forrester, and Ravenna,
baking and cooking buddy I could ask for. who help test whatever I'm working
Thanks to David Kilroy, my partner on-and always have helpful suggestions.
he'd prefer to help me test a book on
Introduction
Candy might not be the first thing you The holiday candy tradition spans
think about making when you head for the globe, and I have gathered together
the kitchen. Cookies are easy, cakes are candies and confections from all over the
whipped up for birthdays, but candy? world for you to enjoy during your next
Perhaps many of us think about candy as special occasion, be it Easter, Valentine's
something we grab on the go-as in a Day, Purim, or the Day of the Dead.
chocolate bar midafternoon-or, more Some of the candies are traditional,
often, as a special treat for a special like the Glazed Chestnuts from France
occasion: multicolored candy canes at (page 146) or the Egg Yolk Nougat
Christmas, hollow and solid chocolate (Turron de Yema) from Spain (page 156).
Easter bunnies, and saltwater taffy and Others were created just for you, like the
fudge from a seaside general store. The Champagne and Cherry Heart Lollipops
fact is that many candies from around the on page 46.
world are easy and fun to make at home So, stock up on the sugar-let's make
with readily available ingredients-and candy!
any homemade candy is sure to impress.
H o w to Use This Book
This is the third Baker's Field Guide, accompanying A Baker's Field Guide to
Christmas Cookies and A Baker's Field Guide to Chocolate Chip Cookies.
This user-friendly format gives each candy its own two-page spread, where
you will find the Holiday it is associated with, the Type (such as hand-formed
candy, bar candy, or molded candy), its Habitat (country of origin), a
Description (what you can expect to taste), Field Notes (where I give you tips
and background information), any Related Species (variations), and a Lifespan
(that gives storage information and how long you can expect the candy to stay
fresh). At the end of many recipes is a Candy Tidbit (where you will find
resource information, as well as anything important about the candy that I
thought would be helpful to you). For each candy you will also find symbols
for special characteristics, as listed in the following chart:
found in a variety of hues. See Resources
KEY TO SYMBOLS
for ordering information.
HONEY AND MOLASSES: Use mild
flavored orange blossom or wildflower
quick to make
honey and unsulfured molasses for these
candies. Lightly coat the inside of your
candies keep well
liquid measuring cup with nonstick cook
ing spray, then pour in the desired
amount. It will then slip right out.
fun to make with kids
EGGs: Use eggs graded "large."
FLOUR: Use all-purpose flour. These
sturdy enough to mail recipes were tested with King Arthur
Unbleached All-Purpose Flour.
LEAVENERS: Make sure your baking
extra fancy
soda is fresh.
SALT: Use regular table salt for these
candies; coarse salts measure differently.
MllX, CREAM CHEESE, AND SOUR
Ingredients CREAM: Use full-fat varieties.
Here is a short list of frequently called for HEAVY CREAM: For best results, use
ingredients used in this book. If you start cream labeled "heavy" as opposed to
with high-quality ingredients, you'll get "whipping." The" heavy" has a higher
the best results. butterfat content.
BUTTER: Use fresh unsalted butter. EXTRACTS: Use pure vanilla, almond,
GRANULATED SUGAR: Use regular white and mint extracts.
granulated sugar. FLAVORINGS: Candy flavorings, such
Superfine sugar: Superfine sugar is as cherry or mint, can vary widely in
available nationwide from Domino. It strength and quality. For best results,
is sometimes referred to as bar sugar use the brands I suggest in the individual
because bartenders use it for its ability recipes, as that is how they were tested.
to dissolve quickly. CITRUS OILS: Boyajian makes
Light and dark brown sugar: These amazing orange, lemon, lime,
should be packed into a measuring cup grapefruit, and tangerine
when measuring. oils. Extracts cannot be
Confectioners' sugar: Also called substituted. See Resources
powdered sugar, this almost always needs for ordering information.
sifting before using. CITRUS ZESTS: Use only the
Colored sugars: Colored sugars are colored part of the zest, not the
used to decorate candies and can be bitter white pith underneath.
CHOCOLATE: Most candies that contain cocoa butter. Its fat content comes from
chocolate feature chocolate as the domi various oils instead. It does not have the
nant flavor, so it is vitally important to rich flavor of high-quality chocolate made
use the best-quality chocolate that you with cocoa butter, but it is very easy
can obtain. Many high-quality chocolates to melt and use, does not need to be
can be found in specialty food stores, or tempered, and has practical uses in
try one of the numerous mail-order child-friendly confections.
sources. COCOA: These recipes call for un
Bittersweet and semisweet chocolate: sweetened Dutch-processed cocoa powder
While these chocolates can be used inter as well as natural cocoa powder, so check
changeably with fairly reliable results, if I the label. For Dutch-processed, it might
specify a particular say "Dutch," "Dutched, "
type of choco or "alkalized," but if it
late, I suggest says "natural," that's
using it for the other kind. You
best results. can find both in the
I often use supermarket.
Scharffen Berger NUTS: Make sure
and Valrhona choco- nuts are fresh, with no
lates for candy making. rancid smell.
Milk chocolate: Use high-quality COCONUT: The type required will
brands such as Michel Cluizel, Callebaut, be specified in the individual recipe.
and Valrhona. Unsweetened desiccated coconut is finely
White chocolate: Look for white grated in texture, and it can be found in
chocolate that lists cocoa butter in the natural foods stores. Sweetened flaked
ingredients rather than palm oil or other coconut is made up of larger shreds and
oils. The cocoa butter will give it a natu can be found in the supermarket, usually
ral chocolate flavor and aroma. I most alongside the chocolate morsels.
often use Callebaut and Valrhona. SPICES: All of the spices called for in
Couverture chocolate: This is choco this book are ground; please make sure
late that has a cocoa butter content of at they are fresh.
least 32 percent. It will be very fluid in CANDIED FRUIT PEELS: Buy high-quality
nature when melted, and it gives molded candied fruit peels at a specialty or gour
chocolates or coated chocolates and met store, or see Resources for ordering
candies the thinnest, most elegant coating. information.
Chocolate coating or confectionery GOLD AND SILVER LEAF: You can buy
coating: This is a chocolate-like product these at art supply stores, or see Resources
that comes in white, milk, and dark for ordering information. Just be sure to
varieties, but it does not contain any buy at least 22-karat gold and pure silver
