Cabernet-Salted Vanilla Caramels

These rich, buttery caramels are kissed with Cabernet infused sea salt for a grown up twist.

I have many fond memories associated with caramels. My grandfather was a die-hard Werther's addict, and many an afternoon he would come to pick me up from school and sneak me a piece before we would get home. As the years went on, these caramels became the everlasting memory I have of him. 

Now, I don't know what grandpa would have thought about these homemade caramels - they are soft, not crunchy, and are definitely a different flavour experience than those gold-wrapped morsels - but nevertheless I really enjoy this confection. I seem to always make some form of my wine-infused salt each year (Cabernet is what is usually consumed, hence what usually provides the dregs for me) and I wondered what effect it would have on a double-vanilla, buttery caramel base. I found a recipe for a small batch on Dessert for Two and tried it out once... only to lose all the caramels to company (and a few to a caramel apple pie) before I took a photo. So the next time I doubled the batch and swapped out the corn syrup for honey and added a vanilla bean in addition to the wine-y salt. Cause you know... excess.

I think I hit the jackpot! The floral honey and vanilla pod really added a complexity to the sweet caramel, while the salt added a tiny bit of bitter tannin as well. The batch also doubled beautifully, which is generally rare with candy. The only downside was wrapping every... little... piece. If you make a full pan, definitely enlist some free (or candy-paid) labour to help - children would easily volunteer I think! Keeping the candy cool while you wrap it really helps, I suggest a stone board or even a cookie sheet over ice packs to keep it firm. After they're wrapped, a cool place is best for storage (I used the fridge and it worked fine). At least, until you eat them!

Almond Butter Brittle

Almond Butter Brittle is packed with rich flavour and has a crunchy, yet melt in your mouth texture due to the fine bubbles. Break the slab up for your favourite friends to enjoy - or hide it all for yourself!

I know... I was just complaining about the oppressive heat wave, and here I am working with motlen sugar! The fact is that while I still do love the control that open-kettle candy making gives me, it is problematic - especially in the summer, and doubly so when it is hot, humid and raining. On days like today, the microwave is actually your best friend if you need to placate your candy desires!

The first time I made this - and where the photo came from - was over the Christmas holidays, which were noticeably cooler and drier. At the time, I selected the microwave brittle recipe (originally from an old church cookbook) because the stove was already in use with other cooking projects and I needed a fast, last minute party addition. The original formula was for peanut butter brittle - which would taste fantastic (and obviously, we love our peanut butter around here) - but I was given a jar of fancy schmancy almond butter by a coworker and I couldn't resist trying it out! I also happened to come across my bottle of butterscotch schnapps and figured "why not?" so in it went!

The resulting brittle was a perfect mixture of sweet, salty and a little bitter from the almonds, and best of all it set up beautifully and didn't become sticky like stovetop brittle can (usually from uneven temperatures). I also love that it was done in 10 minutes and ready to wrap in an hour! Of course, you could jazz this up with a drizzle of dark chocolate (I'm 100% debating coating pieces in it next time like a Crunchie bar) but I didn't have time on my side for that!

While I know that it is Summer, I'm sure we can all agree that beach season is cancelled and comfort food is in - so break out the healthy almonds, add a little (or a lot) of sugar and try this! Not that I'm suggesting anything, but this would also be fantastic on ice cream!

Buttermilk Candy

This crumbly, melt in your mouth Buttermilk Candy tastes just like Werthers and is a great way to use up the last of the buttermilk from baking!

If you're like me, when you buy a carton of buttermilk you never use it all in one shot. Often, it's three quarters of a cup for biscuits, or a cup for cake. The rest of the quart sits languishing in the fridge until I come up with something! Not needing to expand the baked good stash in our freezer, I looked around to see if there were any other alternatives and came across a recipe for crumbly, caramelly candy using the dairy in one of my old cookbooks. Interested, and seeing as I had all the ingredients on hand, I gave it a shot.

I soon discovered that buttermilk can be finicky to work with in a candy, especially since the acidity doesn't always react as you'd expect. However, with careful watching and stirring, the whole process was well worth it! If you know Werthers caramels, a taste of this will bring you right back to your grandma's house (if you're like me, my grandparents hoarded those caramels!). The candy is made like fudge, but the texture is crumbly and somewhat sandy instead of creamy and smooth (maybe due to the acid?) and melts in your mouth. The tang of the buttermilk also cuts the cloying sweetness usually found in candy like this, meaning that it's just a little bit easier to eat a little bit more (hey, I never said I was one for New Years resolutions!).

So, if you've got that carton of rich, tangy goodness hanging out in the back of your fridge, give this candy a shot. You'll fall in love with it too, and since sharing is caring you can spread the love (and calories) to everyone!

Pineapple Drops

Pineapple juice makes this hard candy taste like honey, and with a tiny cube mold making lots is easy!

If you could believe it, I used to be deathly afraid of boiling sugar. Like my (still unresolved) fear of hot oil, I was burned by molten sugar syrup when I was younger, and avoidance seemed like the best tactic. Of course, now that I've been making and canning other splattery things like jam, I have developed more or less asbestos hands and while I can't say I've escaped unscathed I do know how to be a bit smarter about the substance! 

In possession of a can of pineapple juice (left over from stir fry night), I decided to see if I could somehow convert it into a candy. I had a feeling that gummies would be out due to their gelatin base, but I wondered if hard candy would work. Well, I can safely say it does - and while the finished candy tastes nothing like pineapple, it does taste like the most divine honey in solid form! It's a good thing I picked up a tiny silicone ice cube mould for this recipe, otherwise they would be taking up permanent residence around my waist!

Quick Marshmallow Fluff and Fluffernutter Fudge

Fluffernutter Fudge is a great use for unsweetened, natural peanut butter. A sprinkle of salt balances the sweetness. Gluten free and dairy free to boot!

My summers as a kid were always filled with campfires of some sort. First were the communal fire pits on Beausoleil Island, where all us boaters would rotate bringing wood and we'd gather with skewers, graham crackers and marshmallows. Being allowed to "play with fire" was arguably the coolest part of the summer, and when I was old enough to babysit I would occasionally buy my own bag of marshmallows so I didn't have to share!

Oddly enough, only my grandparents ever had mini marshmallows that I can recall. Even if we were making Krispie Squares, it was always the big ones because us kids could just grab the remaining ones for snacks. Only recently did I purchase a bag of them to make cookies, but after using what I needed, I still had a bunch left that were starting to do what mini mallows do - turn into sugary pebbles. Not really wanting to go the traditional route (and having no cereal), I came across a method for turning the marshmallows back into their "fluff" form - perfect for my favourite marshmallow application, fudge!

Marshmallow Fluff in my possession, I set about making a small (read: manageable to eat) pan of peanut butter fudge. Why peanut butter? Well, for one, it's rich and somewhat salty, which counteracts the overbearing sweetness of most marshmallow based fudge I've had. For another, it's inherently creamy, so small pieces satisfy (and it lasts longer!). This fudge is layered with peanut flavour too, thanks to the use of peanut flour in addition to the natural peanut butter (yes, natural worked here!). To offset any residual cloying sweetness, I sprinkled some flaky Kosher salt over the whole thing.

A tiny taste of the finished candy brought back waves of nostalgia for the treats of summer and fall fairs. Perfectly peanutty, just sweet enough, and melt-in-your-mouth good, I have no qualms about making it again - and if I can't find the Fluff (it's hit and miss around here) I can whip up my own!

Gingerbread Brittle

Gingerbread Brittle is a sweet, spicy, melt in your mouth confection perfect for sharing with Santa... Or keeping all to yourself!

When it comes to the finishing touches on my gift baskets every Christmas, I always make sure to include some sort of candy. Some years, I've made as many as 8 different types - from licorice caramels to lemon drops - but since time and space was at a premium, and my giftee list was slightly smaller, I stuck to just a few this time around. Usually, I'm not a huge fan of toffees and brittles - they're too sweet and cloying for my taste, and frankly I'd much rather have a sour key or square of dark chocolate. However, other people seem to love them, and who am I to deny the people of what they want?

This year, I found probably the best option to cover both bases - Gingerbread Brittle. While it is still, undeniably, candy, it is swirled through with a medley of warm, rich spices and has a hint of classic gingerbread bitterness from the molasses as well. Since I used a high-fat European style butter, the brittle had a sheen and almost butterscotchy note too, the best of all worlds! Perfect for last minute gifts or a dessert potluck, it cooks up in a flash (mine was done and cooling in under 10 minutes) and makes enough for a crowd or for wrapping in little plastic bags. As with any sponge toffee or brittle, this uses baking soda to help give it an airy, melt-in-your-mouth texture, and frankly it's my favourite part of the whole brittle making process (hearkening back to the days of baking soda and vinegar volcanoes). After cooling for a few hours, the whole slab looked like textured marble, and it broke up neatly into pieces.

The tiny bit I was able to taste was heavenly - think a lighter, spicier Werthers - and those who received it waxed poetic on it's taste as well. I've even given out the recipe a few times, so now I'm sharing it with you!

Irish Chocolate Fudge

This creamy fudge is kissed with Irish cream flavoured creamer for an alcohol free treat that is SO easy to make!

As a redhead, a lot of people assume that I'm of mainly Irish stock. True, I love me some Celtic music (especially from home-grown Irish Canadian groups), potatoes, cabbage, Bailey's and Guinness, but based on what we can find out about my ethnic background, there may be a speck or two of Irish blood in my past but not much more. Granted, my entire maternal grandmother's past is a mystery (she was adopted as an infant) and she does have the impish charm and humour of a leprechaun (to say nothing of her height), so there might be something there. My cousin (same side) and I are the only two gingers in the family as well, so maybe we're the Irish luck shining through.

Pureblood Irish or not, I do have a taste for both Bailey's and Guinness, having discovered both at a relatively young age. As a child and teenager, Bailey's was definitely my addition of choice to lackluster hot chocolate mix or instant coffee, and I still love Irish cream flavoured brews today. The combination of the warming, creamy liqueur and chocolate was a match made in Heaven, and while I can't drink alcohol any more, I have no problems cooking it into treats with others.

Not really being "into" the whole St. Patrick's Day thing (it is kind of boring when you can't drink and want to sleep at 10PM) I put off making this fudge for the second time around until later this week. Originally, I whipped up a pan of this candy for the holidays, and it was met with such acclaim I had to make it again. Oddly enough, while there is definitely an Irish cream nuance to the bittersweet chocolate base, there's no actual alcohol in the recipe. My secret lies in Bailey’s Coffee Creamer, which tastes almost as good as it's alcoholic cousin and definitely remains more stable in baking and candy-making, since there's no volatile alcohol to burn off. The subtle sweetness and "pseudo-kick" of the creamer, along with the rich and slight tannic nature of the chocolate offset the super-sweet marshmallow base - it was the first time that I had ever worked with a melted marshmallow base for fudge, and I can say I would only do it again provided I was working with a high-cocoa chocolate - the mixture would be far too saccharine otherwise.

Since I abhor trying to fit parchment properly into a loaf pan, I relied on my tried-and-true silicone model (which I only ever use for candy making). It didn't let me down - the fudge popped out cleanly once set, and with a hot knife clean slices were easy (unlike the photos, which show my previous attempts with room-temperature blades). Wrapped in parchment, then foil, slices last a good long while in the fridge, but I can also vouch for them chopped up into small cubes and frozen for a weeknight ice cream topper.

Did you celebrate St. Patty's Day? What did you do? 

P.S. I know my posting schedule has been a bit lackluster - to say the least. I'm sorry, schoolwork and "work work" are getting the best of me this semester! Here's to one more month left of this term!

Triple Chocolate Fudge

Triple Chocolate Fudge is smooth, rich and totally indulgent!

I used to dread Valentine's Day. Being the mousy, somewhat overweight, redheaded bookworm I was, making friends as a kid was hard enough - let alone sparking crushes within the limited assortment of boys in my private school class. To keep things "fair" (and spare any hurt feelings), our school rule was to bring cards and / or treats for everyone, or nobody at all. I dutifully filled out my Power Rangers, Winnie-the-Pooh or Rainbow Brite cards the weekend before, taking care to make sure I picked the right card for that guy. By lunchtime on the 14th, I had a bagful of folded cards, which I opened at home to find nothing but hastily scrawled names, or more commonly cards addressed to "my friend". 

High school didn't really bode any better - Valentine's Day was marked by the annual candygram fundraisers rather than classroom card swaps, and by homeroom you knew whether you mattered or not. By Grade 10 my friends and I had sworn off the trivial and commercialized nature of the holiday, and ever since I have yet to buy into it again. Don't get me wrong - I'm not 100% cynical about the whole romance thing (just 80%) - but I'd rather treasure and celebrate love every day, not just because some martyr happened to die and somehow get tied to Cupid in the middle of February. 

The commercialization of Valentine's Day isn't all bad, though - it usually heralds the start of a period of excellently-priced chocolate products in the stores that runs right through until Mother's Day, or at the very least, Easter. I can stock up on all sort of good stuff - Lindt, Godiva, Ghirardelli or if I'm really lucky, Scharffen Berger. I honestly don't know why I stock up on it like it's going out of style though - I rarely use it en masse, preferring the pure taste of cooca. However, since it is coming up to the big chocolate holiday, I wanted to embrace the ingredient and recreate a recipe we made when I was in elementary school for the occasion - fudge.

This fudge is extraordinarily easy, for two reasons: one, it's done in a single bowl, no pot required. Two, it's done in the microwave, and you don't need a thermometer to keep track of it's chemistry (I guess that's three reasons, but whatever). The original recipe was a simple condensed milk fudge with a bag of semisweet chocolate chips - a sinfully sweet treat perfect for the child's palate in all of us (especially when sprinkled with crushed pink and red Smarties, as we did back then). I had access to the good stuff this time around though - and wanted to max out the chocolate flavour as much as I could. Inspiration came in the form of chocolate sweetened condensed milk picked up from a local Hispanic food shop, and I knew combining it with the bittersweet chocolate would be amazing. When I later discovered a bottle of chocolate extract in the pantry, I was even more delighted - three chocolate nuances in a melt in your mouth fudge, with enough bitterness to keep the condensed milk at bay, was nirvana.

Whipping up this triple chocolate version is as easy as the usual one, and the hardest part truly is waiting for it to firm up in the fridge. If you're keeping it for yourself (a tempting proposition to be sure), I suggest only slicing off what you plan to eat at one tine, keeping the remainder wrapped in plastic, then foil in the fridge to keep it from drying out or soaking up other fridge odours (Parmesan fudge is just delightful, I'm told ;-) ). Otherwise, slice and wrap individually for your very gracious recipients to enjoy as they see fit. Leftovers? Dice and freeze for a decadent ice cream topping - but don't say I didn't warn you about eating the whole thing!

Honey Drops

A local, organic and raw honey shines in these hard candies, which are perfect for sucking on or melting into a cup of tea.
 

Remember when I mentioned caramels and sour candy were the only two types of candy I truly enjoyed? I lied - or rather, I forgot - about the third one: honey candy. To be fair, I haven't had the privilege of eating one of those since I was about 7 years old - my mom used to work with a woman who had a home apiary and made the most incredible hard candy filled with her home-spun honey. I have never figured out how to make the liquid-filled variety of hard candy, but these nuggets of amber are just as amazing.

Even though honey is not the only sugar used in these (I'm sure it's possible, but I don't have a recipe for those), they taste of pure, unadulterated honey. That said, make sure the honey you use is one you love the flavour of (I used honey my coworker spun from her hives!), and don't pick a super dark one like buckwheat because it can taste on the bitter side. The size and shape of the candy is also up to you, and should match what you plan on doing with them - I used this silicone hexagonal mould, filled to the top, for candy pieces, but filling it halfway made perfect wafers for sweetening tea. For a small taste (or less tea sweetening), that ice cube mould from the Lemon Drops is perfect. Finally, I used the last of the candy syrup to pour swizzle sticks on silpat, which made honey lemon tea so easy to make.

Now, I'm harping on tea for this because that's a fairly standard application for honey, but you do you! I still firmly support eating these "just is" because they're flat-out delicious, even if they don't have any of the active, flu-fighting compounds found in raw honey. Hey, I never claimed they were medicine - but if you add some food-grade eucalyptus or ginger essential oil you might get a little added boost!

Lemon Drops

Sweet and sour lemon drops anyone? A dash of citric acid gives a traditional hard candy a pucker.

I've never been a huge candy fan. Hard, soft, taffy, gummy... none of them really float my boat, and if chocolate's in the vicinity that battleship is sunk. I make two (or is it three) exceptions to this rule - caramels and sour candy. The possible third is fudge, but since I only like chocolate fudge I generally exclude it from the "candy" category, like I exclude chocolate covered strawberries from the "fruit" category. At any rate, my adoration for both caramels and sour candy runs deep - caramels were a favourite of my Grandpa, and it was him that introduced me to them by slipping me one or two gold-wrapped hard caramels as we drove home from school. The sour candy didn't become a favourite until I was old enough to go to the corner store with my friends, sans adults. There, a few nickels could get you a baggie of sour keys or Warheads that would last the afternoon.

While sour keys were definitely a favourite, and I never turned down Sour Patch Kids, I still preferred the drawn out experience of sucking on a sour hard candy. Since making hard candy is drop-dead easy (and looks so impressive!) I decided to make my own sour lemon drops on a whim, pouring the molten sugar into a teeny-tiny ice cube mould to set. The small size meant popping two or three at once was possible, and coated your whole mouth with the lemony tang - something I definitely consider a plus. Unlike most other hard candies, this also doesn't use corn syrup at all, relying on cream of tartar to prevent graininess.

This is a small batch, which worked for me, but if you want to make more it will double well (though I wouldn't try tripling it). The gel food colouring is optional - you candy will be essentially clear without it however (good for pranks... just saying). If it is humid the day you want to make candy - or in your kitchen for that matter - cook the candy just a few degrees hotter (302F-ish) and make sure to coat the candy in icing sugar or they will get sticky. Goes without saying, but don't put it in the fridge either, unless you like melted sugar goo.

Mock Dried Pineapple

This sneaky swap for "real" dried pineapple is indiscernible from the real thing in baked goods, and lasts a long time in the pantry. Just when you thought you were all "zucchinied" out! 

Our zucchini are done for the year. Hallelujiah.

Unlike last season, the squash loved the weird cool / rainy then hot / humid Summer we had, producing en masse. With the last push of produce from those plants came the somewhat woody / spongy rejects which just aren't great for eating. However, those zucchini are (for the most part) awesome for baking! They're slightly drier (i.e. no need to really wring them out after shredding) and soak up flavour even better. When I came across a recipe for candied zucchini on The Persnickety Plate, I knew these last zucchini were prime for it. 

Essentially, the summer squash (you can use any variety) are peeled, cubed, and simmered in a sweetened pineapple juice until they're infused with the flavour. I then let them steep overnight for even more flavour before dehydrating them into chewy bites of fruity goodness. To keep them from sticking - especially if your climate is on the humid side - a toss with cornstarch or arrowroot keeps them separate. I didn't have that problem, since they went into muffins the same week, but you do what you do.

Unfortunately, because I made and used it so fast I forgot to take a photo... so next year (if I remember) I'll be sure to take a photo! One thing's for sure, I will make it a repeat!

Power Packed Peanut Butter Cups

Between silky layers of chocolate is a protein and fiber filled peanut butter-maple cream. Decadent!

I can't think of something I love more than peanut butter and chocolate together. Whenever we would get chocolates from Purdy's or the rare package from Laura Secord, I'd be in there as soon as I could to claim the salty-sweet treats for myself, and if we were out for ice cream in cottage country, a scoop of Chocolate Peanut Butter would be on my cone! Halloween gave me all the peanut butter cups I wanted out of my sister's bag, and I ate every last one of them with glee.

As I've grown older, though, I've become somewhat pickier with my chocolate confections. While I certainly wouldn't turn anything with the combination down, I'm more on the "bittersweet truffle" train than the "mass produced candy" wagon. Chocolates in any respect don't exactly reek of health and nutrition, but I'd rather enjoy a treat than eat something cheap now. Then I found a recipe that I had to try - a peanut butter cup reminiscent my childhood, but wrapped in dark chocolate, with limited added sugar and with an added kick of  protein and fibre too.

Admittedly, the first batch of filling didn't even make it to the chocolate coating stage. I accidentally over-processed the chickpea and peanut butter mixture in my attempt to make a smooth filling, because I can't follow directions, and it got so thick there was no "spooning" it into cups. However, I have it on good authority that the filling, au naturale, is fantastic and a great addition to ice cream or cumbled on baked apples.

The second time, I paid attention and did it properly - and while it's not a super-sweet mixture it's perfect for the adult palate. For kids, I'd squeeze in some extra honey (which is sweeter than sugar) and use a "lighter" coating chocolate. Also, unlike the packaged treats, these are relatively perishable - either enjoy within a few days stored at room temperature or keep them in the fridge (or freezer - that would be excellent!)

Chocolate Malted Milk Balls

I was one of those weird kids growing up who loved chocolate malt balls. I think I took after my mom with regards to my taste in most chocolate stuff (i.e. dark and semi-bitter), with the sole exception that she likes fruit with hers and I'm a purist. Maltesers and Whoppers are all well and good, of course, and are a definite bonus at the theatre, but they're also not the best quality chocolate-wise - and it's a milk chocolate, at that. This past holiday season though, I finally got the opportunity to make my own version of the poppable treats, and it turns out that making dozens of them is as easy as whipping up meringue. 

Without their chocolatey coating, these drops clock in on the low end of the calorie and fat scale too - after all, it's only egg whites, cocoa, malt powder and a touch of sugar. Then again, that bittersweet chocolate coating really works with the sweet(ish) centres to balance the flavours, and definitely helps to make these a grown up goodie!

Of course, like with all good things, these malt balls come with a small caveat - they take forever to make. Oh, the meringue whips up in 8 minutes flat (at least in my mixer), but you might want to make yourself comfortable while piping out trays of malted milk mall drops. Of course, since it's meringue and it needs to be crunchy, the baking is long, slow and low, finally ending with two hours of cooling in the oven for good measure.

Worth it? You bet - if the taste alone doesn't get you, the nostalgia sure will!

Beer Nut Brittle

Back about the same time I was cooking up the Vanilla Stout Glazed Nuts, I decided that the literal "beer nut" theme was something too good to pass up for a single recipe. Not only did I have most of the can of vanilla stout lying in wait, but I wanted to see what other things I could do with the two key ingredients.

That said, over the holidays (when I made this - the first time), kitchen, pot, bowl and pan space is at a premium. With every conceivable saucepan in the house in use (except our tiny "porridge pot" for two), I turned to the same method that worked so well when I made Chickpea Brittle - the microwave! Not only is it great for getting things cooking and cooling fast, but my microwave is far more even at cooking things like sugar than most of our old, well-loved but battered pots on the stove. The ingredients for the beer-based brittle were a little more complex to get to the right temperature than the basic chickpea one I made before, but as long as the mixture is fairly thick and starting to coat the nuts easily before adding the baking soda and vanilla, you're laughing.

Then again, you do have to wait for this to cool completely... and due to the beer (at least that's what I'm blaming) its more delicate and slightly "grainier" than your usual brittles would be. No matter though - one taste and you'll be as hooked as we were! Here's to offering a new "beer nut" this football Sunday!

Vanilla Stout Glazed Nuts

As a nut-munching family, we always have a jar (or three) of various varieties on hand. Most of them are consumed by the "grown ups" (rather than the grown-up kids) in front of the TV as part of snack mixes, or baked into bread and muffins. This past holiday season, though, I found myself with a glut of peanuts and couldn't get the idea to make real-deal "beer nuts" to tuck in my gift baskets. Research gleaned me several options, but I was most intrigued by two I saw that actually contained beer and were not simply designed to be eaten with a drafty one.

Of course I couldn't resist doing both - after all, we did have a lot of nuts to use, and there was no point in me cracking open a tall boy to only use part of it (I don't drink). So, my choice boiled down to which one to make first, and I settled on this sticky, bitter-sweet vanilla-scented version of glazed nuts. Raw peanuts slowly simmer away in a vanilla stout-sugar syrup, get a hit of more vanilla and a dash of salt, then slowly bake to perfection. When they came out of the oven, they look like mahogany beads, dark and shiny. Not only were they beautiful, but the house smelled divine the whole time!

Despite my warnings about hot sugar, my mom snuck a few off the tray as they were cooling and declared them delicious. Once cooled, another taste test - even better, laced through and through with the stout and sugar without being cloying. If I had any leftovers, I'd have tried to make butter with them too. Now that would be a breakfast of champions!

Winchester Candy

Are you a fan of Supernatural? Around here, it is one of our favourite shows - especially when my sister's home. We will easily binge-watch hours upon hours of it, relishing the eye candy and postulating various theories as to the paranormal storylines taking place, often laughing our butts off along the way.

One of the common themes throughout the shows is the constant mention of food. Early on in the series, there is almost a whole show dedicated to the mentions of pie in diners as they cross the USA, and a couple seasons later there's an episode where the boys are told to use the phrase "fudge" rather than dropping the "F bomb". With those two things (which have quickly become inside jokes, along with the phrase "pig in a poke") in mind, I knew I had to try combining the two when I came around to making my holiday candy. A couple tweaks, a shop for cinnamon chips and a handful of dried apples later - BAM - I had my very own Winchester Candy. The best part for me was the sprinkling of ground Graham-Like Crackers on top of the soft candy, which added the "crust" missing from most apple fudges.

If you know Supernatural - and even if you don't - you'll love this Apple Pie Fudge!

Shared with Gluten Free Fridays 

Aniseed Obsidian

With all the rich food and indulgences the holidays bring, it's understandable that we tend to come out of them feeling a little... full. I know that personally, for days after the big meals (we do three in a row - Christmas Eve dinner and both brunch and dinner on Christmas Day), all I want is soup, plain rice and simply done veggies. That said, I count myself lucky - cooking only for myself, taking into account my restrictions, meant I had very few leftover to contend with. However, the energy and stress of the events takes its toll on all the systems of the body, and while I wasn't stuck eating rich stuffed salmon or turkey with my grandma's to-die-for potatoes and cheesy broccoli four days in a row (sorry, Mom), I emerged on this side of New Year's Eve with an intense desire to lighten up my palate and my stomach.

While a divisive flavour, one of the best foods for easing the gut and helping to return digestion to its optimal performance is licorice. Real licorice has proven, time-tested soothing and anti-inflammatory benefits, and has been used for millenia to aid many ailments. However, it should be noted that the root has the tendency to increase blood pressure in the already hypertensive - leading to it becoming very difficult to find around here. Luckily, we can still reap the benefits of the flavour, since any anise-like food is naturally refreshing and bloat-reducing.

Since nothing makes "medicine" go down like a bit of sugar, and I have a few colleagues and friends who absolutely adore the black licorice flavour, I decided to take the ingredient to the candy pot. Boiled sugar, corn syrup and molasses made a bittersweet base for the anise oil - which, even added in the amount of less than 2 millilitres, packed a massive punch of flavour and aroma that was bracingly pungent. While it was blowing snow outside, I still found the need to open the kitchen windows to avoid my eyes watering excessively! To evoke the "black licorice" feeling, I whisked in some gel food colouring and sprinkled the liquid candy with aniseeds as well, adding a little texture to the glassy-smooth shards. 

A small piece of this "obsidian", as I called it, melts slowly on the tongue and takes its time to flow through the body, warming up the cold extremities and cooling down any fire in the tummy. Whoever said candy always had to be bad for you?

Shared with Gluten Free Fridays

Microwave Chickpea Brittle

Most people who know me cannot believe I manage to either bake or make candy. As logical and literal-minded as I am about most things, the kitchen is my playground - never mind that "baking is a science" claptrap. Give me a basic recipe, and my mind will start running wild with variations - mostly those designed to cater to various allergies and preferences in my social circles - and thanks to enough experience in the kitchen I can generally (though not always) reckon something will turn out.

Sometimes, though, I come to a conclusion that I believe is completely new and groundbreaking, only to figure out someone beat me to the punch. That was the case here. I had been toying with using roasted chickpeas or soybeans in place of nuts in a candy for a few months, and my mom had mentioned a craving for the British sponge toffee she had eaten on vacation. While I love making candy for holiday gifts, sponge toffee and brittles with baking soda have never entered my sphere of experience. I started Googling toffee recipes and found some peanut brittles that looked similar, which reminded me of the roasted beans. Just as I was patting myself on the back for "creating" a new recipe, I came across this one from Abby that promised to be much, much easier and quicker. I was nervous, since the microwave eliminates the ability to use a candy thermometer, but the original's recipe timing was spot-on, resulting in a candy that was light, bubbly and crunchy, melting on the tongue around just-salty-enough chickpeas. It makes a great snack on its own or crumbled onto ice cream or yogurt, and it's 100% school safe too! 

The best part though is how fast it is to make. In fact, it's probably dangerously quick - no need to slowly heat up sugar and babysit it at all - and so easy that you (or your supervised children) can whip up a batch after school and have it ready for dessert. As long as you're armed with a SilPat and a big ol' bowl, candy is yours!

Shared with Gluten Free Fridays

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles #SundaySupper

With the long weekend on our side, my family traditionally takes the extra day to prepare and plan for the busy school and work schedules ahead. We made lunches, packed knapsacks, made sure pens, pencils, paper and binders were accounted for and generally worked the weekend away. When it came time to thinking about dinner for that night, it was a case of "less is more". Usually, it was a piece of a casserole or baked pasta that was planned for later in the week, or if mom was truly done, pizza or Chinese takeout. That tradition carried right through my (and now my sister's) university days, and while we may have hosted one or two BBQ's here on the Labour Day itself generally we're in bed early enough that night to not be total monsters the next morning when the alarms go off.

Since treats (especially those with a helping of chocolate) are pretty much "required eating" this weekend, the menu calls for something quick, low-mess, low-fuss and no-shopping required. When we had a few scraggly, solid-brown bananas hanging out on the counter for a little longer than the heat deemed worthy, I knew I had to get rid of them one way or another. What can I say, the cheap side of me always outweighs the complete couch potato side! I decided to capitalize on the natural sweet, nutty flavour of ground tigernuts in place of almonds or oats, which also added a boost of fibre, iron, magnesium and electrolytes to the "dough"- and with no nuts, no added sugar and no grain flours it was a treat I felt practically virtuous serving to my family, while enjoying the rich, cookie-dough flavour inside the dark chocolate shell. I can't imagine not finding the original recipe on Healthy Sweet Eats now!

In honour of Labor Day, the #SundaySupper gang is sharing recipes requiring minimal effort while delivering maximum taste. Our dishes run the gamut as always, and you're sure to find at least one thing to tack on to your final "hurrah" of Summer without too much hassle!

Savory Snacks and Sides:

• Acorn Squash, Black Bean and Spinach Quesadillas by Our Good Life
• Copy Cat: Momma’s Nachos by Sew You Think You Can Cook
• Cream Cheese and Peach Chutney Pastry Cups by Soni’s Food
• Easy Peasy Cole Slaw by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Fruit & Cheese Platter by The Freshman Cook
• Olive Tapenade by Whole Food | Real Families
• Semi-Homemade Baked Beans by Cupcakes & Kale Chips
• Smoked Salmon Spread with Sourdough Baguette by A Gouda Life

Labour Free Main Dishes:

• Ace of Clubs by Cindy’s Recipes and Writings
• Easy and Tasty Filet Mignon on the Grill by Family Foodie
• Easy Baked Spaghetti for a Crowd by Lifestyle Food Artistry
• Greek Salad Endive Boats by Casa de Crews
• Grilled Butternut Squash, Zucchini and Steak with Chimichurri Sauce by Caroline’s Cooking
• Pesto Chicken with Fennel & Tomato Couscous by Books n’ Cooks
• Simple Cheese Enchiladas by Bobbi’s Kozy Kitchen
• Simple Grilled Rosemary Shrimp by Nosh My Way
• Slow Cooker Pulled Pork with Mustard Barbecue Sauce by Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks
• Slow Cooker Turkey Sloppy Joes by Food Done Light
• Spicy Thai Noodles by Momma’s Meals

Sweet Treats and Drinks:

• Apple Spice Dump Cake by Palatable Pastime
• Blender Chocolate Mousse by That Skinny Chick Can Bake
• Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles by What Smells So Good?
• Coconut Martini by Desserts Required
• Creamy Coconut Popsicles by Food Lust People Love
• Eiskaffee by Cosmopolitan Cornbread
• Healthy Grab’n’Go Breakfast Muffins by Happy Baking Days
• Mango Salad with Crystallized Ginger by MealDiva
• Mini Pavlovas by Curious Cuisiniere
• One Step Vanilla Sauce by Magnolia Days
• White Chocolate Peanut Butter Truffle Bars by Pies and Plots

Labor Free Labour Day:

10 Store-Bought Cooking Shortcuts by Sunday Supper Movement

 
Join the #SundaySupper conversation on twitter on Sunday! We tweet throughout the day and share recipes from all over the world. Our weekly chat starts at 7 pm ET. Follow the #SundaySupper hashtag and remember to include it in your tweets to join in the chat. To get more great Sunday Supper Recipes, visit our website or check out our Pinterest board.

Would you like to join the Sunday Supper Movement? It's easy. You can sign up by clicking here: Sunday Supper Movement.

Apple Drop Candy #SundaySupper

It's been a while since I've journeyed into the candy-making arena, and given that Summer is around the corner with it's (generally) hot, humid, not-so-candy-friendly weather I don't forsee a rash of gummies, chocolates or marshmallows anytime soon. As a last hurrah before the candy curtain falls for a few months, I turned to one of my simplest and most versatile recipes - clear droplets of crystallized fruit juice with rich undertones of varietal honey. The recipe was one I had obtained from one of my mom's old coworkers, who also co-owned an apiary and made the most decadent honey-filled hard candies I've ever tasted... though it was only after she left the company and lost touch with us that I ever looked at the recipe card.

The original combination used clover honey and created sugar-dusted lollipops, but I was given some absolutely delicious orange blossom honey and decided to use that. Not having any candy sticks at home (and frankly, being too cheap to buy any), the lollipops turned into candy "drops" - making them deliciously suckable treats on the go with much less fuss. If I was making this again, I'd definitely opt for one of the flavourful varieties - for example manuka (not the raw, medicinal kind though), leatherwood or (my all time favourite) chestnut. Even though a mere ¼ cup of the sweetener makes it into the pot, it's combination with pure apple cider elevates both flavours and definitely makes you appreciate the nuances in each!

This week, the Sunday Supper tastemakers have put on their super-cook capes on to save the day (or dinner) with recipes that use five or fewer ingredients. (Water, salt, pepper, and oil are “freebies” that do not count as ingredients.) From pasta dishes to slow cooker entrees to delicious sweet treats to enticing appetizers, you’ll be inspired to try these easy recipes. T.R. of Gluten Free Crumbley is our host this week. Thanks T.R.!

Drinks

• 2 Ingredient Orange Juice Frosty Drink by The Educators’ Spin On It
• 5 Ingredient Sangria by Our Good Life
• Pina Colada Summer Smoothie by Cosmopolitan Cornbread

Appetizers and Snacks

• 5-Ingredient Creamy Avocado Dressing by Take A Bite Out of Boca
• Crescent Jalapeno Poppers by The Weekend Gourmet
• Crockpot Chicken Chili Dip by The Crumby Cupcake
• Gluten Free Peach Salsa by Gluten Free Crumbley
• Goat Cheese Stuffed Zucchini Rolls by Food Done Light
• Marinated Feta Tomato Skewers by Noshing with the Nolands
• Roasted Chili-Lime Peanuts by Casa de Crews
• Strawberry Coconut Soup with Mint by The Wimpy Vegetarian

Main Dish

• 5 Ingredient Baked Fajita Chicken by Recipes Food and Cooking
• Abruzzo Style Cannellini Beans with Fennel and Chicken by Delaware Girl Eats
• Crab Pasta by Caroline’s Cooking
• Five Ingredient Slow Cooker Teriyaki Chicken by Nosh My Way
• Fool-Proof 3 Ingredient Steak Marinade by MealDiva
• Grilled Portobello Mushrooms by Palatable Pastime
• Healthy Chocolate Protein Pancakes by Momma’s Meals
• Homemade Porcini Almond Fresh Pasta by The Joyful Foodie
• Nutella BLT Sandwich by Brunch with Joy
• Salmon in Puff Pastry by Sew You Think You Can Cook
• Simple Brined Roast Chicken with Herbs and Garlic by Crazy Foodie Stunts
• Simple Grilled Tilapia by Cooking Chat
• Shrimp and Asparagus with 5 Ingredients by eating in instead
• Skirt Steak and Grilled Potatoes for a Crowd by Family Foodie
• Slowcooker Ravioli Lasagne by Jane’s Adventures in Dinner

Side Dish

• Brazilian Black Beans by Curious Cuisiniere
• Korean Seasoned Dried Squid (Ojingeochae muchim) by kimchi MOM
• Mashed Cauliflower with Parmesan by Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks
• Sauerkraut and Apple Salad by Cindy’s Recipes and Writings
• Sesame Lime Edamame by Magnolia Days
• Southern Style Squash Casserole by Recipe for Perfection
• Tomato, Avocado and Bacon Salad by Peanut Butter and Peppers

Desserts

• Apple Drop Candy by What Smells So Good?
• Chocolate Toffee Cookies by NinjaBaker.com
• Coconut White Chocolate Truffles by That Skinny Chick Can Bake
• Creamy Coconut, Roasted Strawberry Chocolate Chip Popsicles by Simply Health Family
• Easy No Churn Peach Frozen Yogurt by Bobbi’s Kozy Kitchen
• Easy Rhubarb Crumble by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Fluffernutter Cookies by Pies and Plots
• Magic Pudding Dessert by Grumpy’s Honeybunch
• No-Churn Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Cake by Cupcakes & Kale Chips

10 Easy Recipe Substitutions by Sunday Supper Movement

Join the #SundaySupper conversation on Twitter on Sunday! We tweet throughout the day and share recipes from all over the world. Our weekly chat starts at 7 pm ET. Follow the #SundaySupper hashtag and remember to include it in your tweets to join in the chat. To get more great Sunday Supper Recipes, visit our website or check out our Pinterest board.

Would you like to join the Sunday Supper Movement? It’s easy. You can sign up by clicking here: Sunday Supper Movement.