Okay, Candy Girls and Boys: gimme some sugar. Or honey. Or caramel. Or sweetness in any form. Anyone can turn out cookies or a cake for immediate eating. What I’ve focused on here are sweet treats that can be made now and enjoyed right now and next week. Whatever you’re into—chocolate, fruit, or spicy sweets—there is something here guaranteed to put your dentist to work. And hoard them as you wish—there will be plenty to share.
These candies and sweet spreads are designed to be eminently gift-ready. Lovely packages wrapped in ornate origami paper, pretty little jars, or whatever else you have tucked in your art cabinet should now come out to play.
Spoon it, smear it, spread it on bread: there isn’t a wrong way to eat gianduja, the Italian blended spread of toasted hazelnuts and rich chocolate. Essentially, you make your own chocolate sauce and your own hazelnut butter, and then combine the two. Unlike the popular commercial brand Nutella, a science-fictionally creamy whipped concoction drenched with modified palm oil and emulsifiers, this homemade version actually contains food you’d want to eat—though it isn’t quite as shelf-stable. For the chocolate, I recommend something high quality like Valrhona, Callebaut, or Scharffen Berger over the standard chocolate chip. Note that a food processor is required for this recipe.
Makes about 3 cups
TIME COMMITMENT About 45 minutes
3 cups hazelnuts
3 ounces best-quality unsweetened dark chocolate, chopped (about ¾ cup)
3 tablespoons butter, cubed
¾ cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract, homemade or store-bought
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1½ teaspoons kosher salt
INSTRUCTIONS Place a metal mixing bowl in the freezer to chill. Toast the nuts in a dry skillet over medium heat for about 8 minutes, until they’re light golden brown. Pour them into the cold bowl and stir for 1 or 2 minutes. When they are cool enough to handle, rub the nuts to peel off as much of the outer husks as possible—don’t worry if they don’t all come off. Discard the husks. Allow the nuts to cool while you make the chocolate sauce.
In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, melt the chocolate with the butter and sugar, stirring frequently, about 3 minutes or until smooth and well combined (note that the sugar will still be somewhat coarse). Take the pan off the heat and continue stirring for about 30 seconds to cool slightly. Stir in the vanilla.
Transfer the nuts to a food processor fitted with the metal blade and whirl for 1 minute to make a thick paste. Scrape down the sides of the bowl; then, with the machine running, stream in the oil and continue to process for a full 5 minutes, until very smooth. With the machine still running, stream the chocolate sauce into the nut butter, using a rubber spatula to really scrape out the pan, and continue to whirl to combine well, about another 2 minutes. Add the salt to the spread and blend briefly to incorporate.
You can eat the spread immediately, but note that it’s even better the next day.
HOW TO STORE IT It will keep at room temperature for up to 3 days. For longer storage (up to 3 months), refrigerate it, removing it from the fridge for 1 hour before eating and stirring it well right before use.
If you botch a recipe of caramel, you should still love yourself, as there are worse things that could happen in the kitchen. If it cooks for too long, you have hard toffee; not long enough, and you have an excellent caramel syrup or spread. At the same time, making candy is all about temperature, and a candy or frying thermometer that clips to the side of your straight-sided pot is the only foolproof way to ensure that your caramel will be caramel. Note that this caramel is darker than your average store-bought squares. Feeling gifty? Feel free to finish off your individually wrapped caramels with fancy metallic twist ties, elegant foil, or tiny bands of pretty origami paper. And I personally pity the fool who does not smile at the gift of a caramel apple.
Makes about 12 ounces
TIME COMMITMENT About 1½ hours
½ cup sugar
1 cup water
1 cup heavy whipping cream
¼ cup honey
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract, homemade or store-bought
INSTRUCTIONS First, make some simple syrup. In a medium saucepan with straight sides, combine the sugar and water and heat over medium heat just until all of the sugar dissolves, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer the syrup to another vessel—like a glass jar. The syrup can be covered and kept refrigerated up to a week in advance.
Thoroughly oil an 8 by 8-inch baking dish.
Using the same (straight-sided) pan you used for the syrup, attach a candy thermometer to the side, being careful not to allow the sensor to touch the bottom of the pan. Pour the cream into the pan and heat over medium-high heat until it starts to bubble, about 3 minutes. Add the honey, ¾ cup of the simple syrup (reserving the remaining syrup for another use), and the salt. Stir frequently with a wooden spoon until the temperature reaches 255°F, 15 to 18 minutes. Note that the mixture will foam and increase in volume; this is fine.
Once 255°F has been achieved, remove the pan from the heat and stir to cool slightly. Stir in the vanilla. Scrape the caramel into the prepared baking dish and allow it to cool, undisturbed, for 30 minutes. Then using a sharp knife or a pizza cutter dipped in water, score the caramel into bite-size pieces (or whatever shape you desire), separate the pieces, and store them, not touching, between sheets of wax paper or parchment paper. Or, to be extra fancy, wrap each caramel individually.
HOW TO STORE IT Keep the candy in an airtight container. In a dry climate, caramel will be at its best for a week at room temperature. In a humid climate, store caramel in the fridge for 2 weeks.
Makes 4 caramel apples
INSTRUCTIONS Before you make the caramel, wash, dry, and stem 4 small, tart, crisp apples—Granny Smiths are perfect. Line a small baking sheet with parchment paper. Insert frozen pop sticks or trimmed, wooden barbecue skewers through the top of each apple and halfway through into the core, and place the apples on the lined baking sheet.
Make the caramel following the recipe up until the point where you’d pour it into a pan. After you have added the vanilla and the caramel has cooled for 70 to 90 seconds, grab a stick and dunk the apple into the caramel, twirling it around and tipping the pan or spooning the caramel as necessary to cover the fruit. Lift the apple from the caramel and turn it upside down momentarily to let its surface smooth out, then replace it on the baking sheet, bottom side down and stick in the air.
Let the apples cool completely, at least 1 hour. To store, gently peel the apples from the parchment paper and wrap them in large squares of wax paper or parchment paper; close with a twist tie or pretty tape around the stick.
HOW TO STORE IT Well-wrapped, caramel apples will keep for up to 5 days at room temperature or refrigerated for up to 2 weeks.
If you’ve never had the pleasure of this super caramel-y Argentinean treat, you may now take a number, line up, and join the ranks of those of us who cannot live without it. Use it where you would lemon curd: on top of your toast, spread between two cookies, swirled into ice cream, or schmeared onto pound cake or banana bread. You will also not be alone if you simply eat it with a spoon in front of the open refrigerator door. The ingredients are simple—it’s your patience that will get a workout. While most recipes begin with canned sweetened condensed milk, I prefer to wait it out for the clean flavor of fresh (and organic) milk.
Makes about 4 cups
TIME COMMITMENT About 8 hours
INSTRUCTIONS Use a double boiler if you have one. If not, place a metal bowl over a large pot: the bowl should not be sitting in the bottom of the pot, and it should also cover the top of the pot completely, so no steam can escape. Fill the pot with as much water as possible without spilling over when the bowl is in position and bring the water to a boil over high heat. Reduce to a strong simmer, set the bowl in place on top of the pot, and pour the milk and sugar into the bowl. Stir to combine and dissolve the sugar as the mixture warms.
The milk needs to reduce for about 8 hours. As it cooks, scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl often with a sturdy wooden spoon or bowl scraper, increasing your frequency as the milk reduces. The color will turn from white to beige to caramel. Pay particular attention after about 6 hours of cooking time, when the milk will become viscous and require more frequent stirring attention.
At hour 7, put a couple of small plates into the freezer to cool. The dulce de leche is ready when it turns a deep caramel color, and when the milk is so thick that it coats the spoon in a thick layer. You can also test for doneness with the cold plate test: take a plate from the freezer and drop about 2 teaspoons of the dulce de leche onto the plate. Wait for 30 seconds and tip the plate vertically. If the mixture stays in place, it’s ready. If it runs on the plate, keep reducing it further, and test again with the second plate.
Once the dulce de leche has reached the proper consistency, remove it from the heat. Stir for 1 minute to let it cool slightly, then stir in the vanilla. Pour into clean jars while it’s still hot; this will minimize air bubbles.
HOW TO STORE IT Refrigerated, dulce de leche will last for at least 6 months.
I heart Campari, I long for grapefruit—I love anything that’s both bitter and sweet simultaneously. If you share my sense of tongue-tango culinary adventure, then this tasty snack is for you. Eat candied citrus peel straight up, dip it in chocolate, garnish a cocktail with it, chop it finely into the Caramel or into the granolas (see the recipes for granola with sesame and rosemary and with apples and candied fennel seed). Oh, and while I prefer this with orange peel, it also works with other citrus fruits (lemon, pomelo, grapefruit, and so on).
Makes about 1½ ounces
TIME COMMITMENT About 1 hour
4 oranges, washed and dried
½ cup sugar
¾ cup water
INSTRUCTIONS Using a vegetable peeler, remove the top layer of skin on the oranges, avoiding as much of the white pith below as possible. Reserve the oranges for another use (they are great for a quick glass of juice!). Cut the zest into 1½-inch-long pieces.
Bring 2 small saucepans of water to a boil—boiling the rind will help remove some of its bitterness. In one pan, boil the zest for 1 minute. Drain and discard the liquid, and put the peels into the second pan. Boil the peels for an additional minute. Drain and discard the liquid.
Combine the peels with the sugar and water in a small saucepan (you can use one of the pans you used for boiling). Cover and bring the mixture to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to low, uncover, and simmer, stirring occasionally, about 25 minutes, pressing down on the skins as needed to make sure that they are covered in the syrup for the entire cooking time. Simmer until almost all of the liquid evaporates and the skins are covered in thick syrup speckled with bubbles.
Meanwhile, lightly oil a wire rack and place it over a baking sheet. Have tongs or chopsticks at the ready.
Test the peel for doneness by moving a single piece to the cooling rack, using the tongs or chopsticks. Crystals should form on the outside within 30 seconds of being removed from the pot. If not, keep cooking the peels and letting the sugar solution reduce further. Test again, and when the peels are done, work quickly to transfer the pieces, one by one, to the rack—don’t let them touch one another on the rack. Careful: the candy will be very hot! Allow to cool for 10 to 15 minutes.
HOW TO STORE IT Enjoy immediately, or store in a paper towel–lined airtight container in the pantry for up to 3 months.
Sometimes it’s fun to just blow up your palate. There are a lot of ways to do this, and the payoff is the pleasure that results from spicy hot or super sour bites. The pleasurable burn of fresh ginger mellowed by a sugar crust holds that sort of reward: think of it as a high dive for your taste buds. This is a full-flavored candy on its own, but it also gives a hearty oom-pah-pah to cookies, candies, quick breads, and so on. And while I would never pass myself off as someone qualified to offer medical advice, in my own personal experience, this is an entirely tasty panacea for nausea, morning sickness, and motion sickness. I prefer it sliced thin and on the crunchy side, but if you prefer it cubed and more chewy, chop accordingly.
Makes about 7 ounces
TIME COMMITMENT About 1 day
8 ounces fresh ginger
3½ cups sugar
2 cups water
INSTRUCTIONS Peel the ginger and, using a mandoline or sharp knife, slice it very thinly: about ⅛ inch.
Bring 2 cups of the sugar and the water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add the ginger, stirring to coat, lower the heat and simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes. Turn off the heat, cover, and let steep for at least 2 hours or overnight.
Strain the liquids from the solids, retaining the strained ginger syrup for another use, such as stirring with sparkling water for a quick soda—refrigerated, it will keep for up to a week.
Pour the remaining 1½ cups of sugar in with the drained ginger pieces and mix with your hands, coating every surface of the ginger with sugar: make certain the ginger pieces don’t stick together.
Spread the ginger out in a single layer on a baking sheet and let it dry overnight, stirring once or twice.
HOW TO STORE IT Once it’s completely dry, move it to an airtight container lined with a paper towel. The ginger will keep for up to a year in the refrigerator.