Submitted by Jill Stuart
From her mother Darlene Bowen’s recipe, Arcadia, California
Jill, who lives near the seashore, and her mother, Darlene, have an annual tradition of making Seaside Toffee at Jill’s house for the holidays. Every year, the duo channel Lucy and Ethel, making toffee and packaging it in festive decor such as holiday tins, window boxes, or cellophane bags tied with a ribbon. The ladies deliver their candy to teachers, clients, neighbors, friends, and family. They make certain that everyone receives their fair share to ensure that “toffee wars” do not ruin the holiday spirit.
They make certain that everyone
receives their fair share to ensure
that ‘toffee wars’ do not ruin the
holiday spirit.
MAKES 3 TO 4 POUNDS TOFFEE
2 cups finely chopped toasted almonds (divided)
24 ounces semisweet chocolate chips (about 4 cups, divided)
2 cups (4 sticks) butter, at room temperature
2 cups granulated sugar
3 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Shovel and pail
Spread ½ cup of the toasted almonds (see Sugar Mommas Notes) in a single layer across an ungreased 15½ by 12-inch rimmed baking sheet. Next, spread 2 cups of the chocolate chips evenly across the sheet and set aside until the toffee is prepared.
Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the sugar and water. Continue to stir occasionally until the sugar dissolves. Bring the mixture to a soft boil and continue cooking, stirring only occasionally, until the mixture has a peanut butter color and a candy thermometer reads 300°F (about 25 minutes). This is the hard-crack stage, when syrup dropped into ice water will separate into threads that will break immediately when bent. Remove the mixture from the heat and add the vanilla and ½ cup of the remaining almonds. Stir well to combine. Carefully pour the toffee on the baking sheet over the nuts and chocolate. Cool for 5 to 10 minutes, until the candy begins to set. Sprinkle the remaining 2 cups chocolate chips over the toffee. Use a knife or an angled spatula to spread the chocolate evenly over the toffee as it begins to melt. Spread the remaining 1 cup almonds over the chocolate. Place the baking sheet in a cool, dry place to set overnight. Use a knife to break it into pieces. Store in an airtight container.
sugar mommas notes: Do not attempt to make Seaside Toffee in humid weather, as it will not set up. For the perfect consistency, make this candy in dry, cold weather.
To chop almonds, place them in a food processor and pulse until the nuts are the desired size.
To toast almonds, place them in a single layer on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake at 350°F for 5 to 10 minutes, until the nuts are slightly browned.
modern variation: Make English Toffee Topping for everyone on your holiday list. After breaking the toffee into pieces, keep the leftover bits—they’re a perfect ice-cream topping—and store them in a glass jar covered in holiday fabric. Tie with a decorative ribbon, attach a 3 by 5 handmade card, and voilà!
Visit www.SugarSugarRecipes.com for a video demonstration.
Submitted by Jody Potteiger Crabtree
From her mother Sherry Tyson Potteiger’s recipe, Collegeville, Pennsylvania
In the 1950s, Sherry Tyson and her siblings milked the family cow each morning on their small farm in Pennsylvania. They strained the milk through cheesecloth into a gallon jar. The cream would rise to the top, and their mother, Kathryn, would ladle it off. The kids then churned it into butter when they had accumulated enough cream, once or twice a week. Churning the butter was quite a chore because it was labor intensive and took forever
During the holidays, the Tyson family traveled to Souderton, Pennsylvania, to acquire peanuts from the local distributor, Landis. They used the peanuts, along with the butter they had churned, to make this brittle as a holiday gift.
Churning the butter was quite a chore
because it was labor intensive and
took forever.
MAKES ABOUT 2½ POUNDS BRITTLE
Note: This recipe requires a candy thermometer.
2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
½ cup water
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, cut into slices, at room temperature
2 to 3 cups unsalted unroasted shelled peanuts
1 teaspoon baking soda
Dairy cow
Butter two 15½ by 12-inch rimmed baking sheets (do not substitute nonstick cooking spray) and set aside.
Place the sugar, corn syrup, and water in a large saucepan over medium to medium-high heat. Stir to combine and cook until the sugar dissolves. Bring the mixture to a boil and stir in the butter. Continue cooking, stirring only occasionally, until the mixture reaches 230°F on a candy thermometer (about 20 minutes). As the temperature increases, stir regularly so the sugar mixture does not burn.
When the mixture reaches 280°F on a candy thermometer (the soft-crack stage, when the bubbles on top become smaller, thicker, and closer together and when syrup dropped into ice water separates into threads that will bend slightly before breaking), stir in the peanuts. Start with 2 cups and add more according to your taste. Continue stirring constantly until the mixture reaches 305°F (the hard-crack stage, when syrup dropped into ice water separates into threads that will break immediately when bent). Remove from the heat and stir in the baking soda, mixing well. The mixture will become light and foamy.
Carefully pour the mixture evenly onto the two baking sheets. It will be very hot. After about 3 minutes, use a spatula coated in nonstick cooking spray to loosen the brittle from the baking sheets and transfer it to parchment paper. Cool for 5 to 7 minutes longer, then use a knife to break it into pieces. Store in an airtight container.
sass it up: Stir in 1 teaspoon of vanilla after you remove the mixture from the heat, before adding the baking soda. After pouring the mixture onto the baking sheets, dust with sea salt to get that sweet-salty fix. We recommend finely ground French sea salt, available at gourmet food stores.
Submitted by Jody Potteiger Crabtree
From her grandmother Kathryn Tyson’s recipe, Collegeville, Pennsylvania
It’s called a Whoopie Pie, but it’s shaped like a cookie and tastes like cake. What the heck is it? We don’t need to resolve the controversy—we just know they taste fantastic!
Jody received this recipe from her grandmother Kathryn, who subscribes to the Brethren of Christ Church faith, a religion that dates back to the late 1700s in Pennsylvania. In the early 1940s, a traveling minister stayed with Kathryn’s family, bestowing this recipe upon them and tracing its origins through oral history. The minister explained that when someone had leftover cake batter, she would drop rounds onto a baking sheet and bake them like cookies. Once cooled, cream filling was sandwiched between two cookies.
Grandmother Kathryn made whoopie pies for Jody, explaining that when kids saw the surprises in their lunch boxes they would scream, “Whoopie!” Over the years, these treats became so popular that they were elevated from “leftover” to main attraction. That’s a preacher who left a little slice of heaven in his wake.
Grandmother Kathyrn made whoopie
pies for Jody, explaining that when
kids saw the surprises in their lunch
boxes, they would scream, “Whoopie!”
MAKES 2 TO 3 DOZEN WHOOPIE PIES
4½ cups all-purpose flour
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, at room temperature
2 cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 egg yolks (whites reserved for filling)
1 cup hot water
1 batch Whoopie Pie Filling (recipe follows)
Lunch box
Preheat the oven to 450°F. Grease baking sheets (or use nonstick cooking spray). Place the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Whisk together and set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together the buttermilk and baking soda until the lumps are dissolved. Set aside.
Place the butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on medium speed until creamy. Reduce the speed to low, add the 2 whole eggs plus the 2 egg yolks, and beat on medium-low speed until well combined, about 1 minute. Add half of the flour mixture and blend on low speed. Slowly incorporate the buttermilk mixture. Add the remaining flour mixture and blend until combined. Add the hot water and mix until smooth.
Drop heaping teaspoonfuls of the dough onto the baking sheet, leaving at least 2 inches between cookies. Bake for 7 to 10 minutes, until the cookies are set and spring back lightly when touched. Remove from the oven and cool for 1 minute. Transfer from the sheet to a wire rack to let cool completely.
Place a cookie on a work surface, flat side up. Top the cookie liberally with filling. Place a second cookie on top, flat side down, making a little sandwich. Serve immediately, or wrap in plastic to store for up to 3 days at room temperature.
4 cups confectioners’ sugar
1½ cups vegetable shortening
2 egg whites (reserved from the cookies)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
¼ cup all-purpose flour
¼ cup whole milk
Place the sugar and shortening in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on medium speed until light and fluffy. Reduce the speed to low and blend in the egg whites and vanilla. Add the flour and milk and blend until smooth, about 1 minute.
sass it up: Squeeze the pie together, making sure the filling is showing between the cookies. Roll the exposed filling in chocolate sprinkles or mini chocolate chips for a crunch.
old school: Kathryn used margarine instead of butter. Sour milk was used in lieu of buttermilk. To make sour milk, measure 1 tablespoon of vinegar into a 1-cup measuring cup, then fill it to the top with milk.
Submitted by Kevin Listen
From his mother Janet Sue Holland Listen’s recipe, Groom, Texas
Janet Sue Holland grew up in Groom, Texas, a town of eight square miles with one stoplight. She married and moved to the significantly larger municipality of Greeley, Colorado. In the 1960s, Janet came across a recipe for Magic Marshmallow Puffs and created her own version to serve to her two very active sons, Kevin and Kregg.
When not in school, the Listen family headed northwest to their ranch along the Laramie River. November through May, the country road was blanketed by snow, and there was no access to the ranch except by snowmobile. The boys frolicked in the snow every day, all day long. Sopping wet and starving, they’d come home at sundown to one of their favorite suppers of big shrimp hero sandwiches, chipped beef on toast, or chili, followed by Magic Marshmallow Puffs. Kevin says the meal may have been light on fruits and vegetables, but it was considered their “dream dinner.”
Kevin never grew tired of the mystery of the marshmallow puffs. Once baked, the marshmallow simply evaporated. He’s still wondering, “Where’d it go?” One was left with a warm puffed pastry with delicious cinnamon-sugar goo inside. Now Kevin makes this treat for his four children on lazy weekend mornings.
Kevin hesitated before submitting this recipe because he thought it was not fancy enough for our “highbrow” cookbook. What? Oh, you are so wrong, Mr. Listen! Magic Marshmallow Puffs are a fabulous recipe created by a mom to serve to her babes after a long, cold day snowed in at the ranch. If it makes our eyebrows pop up, it’s highbrow enough for us! This recipe embodies theSugar, Sugar spirit.
Sopping wet and starving, they’d come home at sundown
to one of their favorite suppers of big shrimp hero
sandwiches, chipped beef on toast, or chili, followed by
Magic Marshmallow Puffs.
