Here are 25 of the best easy Christmas candies all in one place! Many of these recipes can be made in just a few minutes and the result is oh so delicious! They come from our Dining On A Dime Cookbook. And be sure to check out our Homemade Christmas E-book for more great Christmas ideas!
We love to make homemade candies for Christmas! We only really make one cookie, Nan’s Gingerbread Men, but oh do we love to bake candies!
I’ve also included some candy making tips from our Dining On A Dime Cookbook. Making Christmas candy seems complicated but it really is super simple and several of these easy recipes consist of just two ingredients!!
Use the leftover syrup from the candied orange peels on your pancakes, waffles or French toast for a gourmet taste.
If you over cook chocolate, it becomes dull looking. To save it, put the pan on low heat and beat in 1 teaspoon shortening or oil at a time until you have restored the shiny, smooth consistency.
When you are melting chocolate, make sure that all utensils are completely dry. Even a little bit of water will make chocolate grainy and lumpy.
Buy fortune cookies in large bags from Chinese restaurants. They cost about five cents each when purchased in bulk. They also make great treats for lunch boxes.
When making candies like peanut brittle or truffles, you can set them outside on the patio table to cool if you’ve run out of room in the refrigerator. Remember, for most of the country there are no bugs this time of year!
Save chocolate bunnies and chocolates from Halloween to use for making Christmas candy or buy it on clearance after Halloween.
For High Altitude‑ lower candy temperature 2° for each 1,000 feet of elevation.
Pour both ingredients into a microwave safe bowl. Melt in 30 second increments. Stir after each 30 seconds. When melted, pour into a greased 8×8 inch pan. Let cool in the fridge and then cut into pieces.
Pour chocolate chips and sweetened condensed milk into a microwave proof bowl. Melt in 30 second increments. Stir after each 30 seconds. Stir in butter if desired for a creamier texture. Add mint chips or crushed chocolate mint candy. Mix in When melted, pour into a greased 8×8 inch pan. Let cool in the fridge and then cut into pieces.
Pour white chocolate chips and sweetened condensed milk into a microwave safe bowl. Melt in 30 second increments. Stir after each 30 seconds. When melted, stir in butter, if desired, for a creamier texture. Stir in peanut butter. Pour into a greased 8×8 inch pan. Let cool in the fridge and then cut into pieces.
Butter an 8×8 inch pan (my favorite pan!). Spread the nuts in the bottom of the pan. On medium heat, bring the sugar and butter to a boil and boil 7 minutes. Spread into the pan. Sprinkle the chocolate chips on top. Let it sit a few minutes. When melted, spread evenly. Let cool before cracking into pieces. Makes 24 pieces.
Cover and chill 1 hour or until mixture is completely cool, stirring often. Drop mixture from a rounded teaspoon onto a baking sheet lined with waxed paper. or silicone baking mat. Chill 30 minutes or until firm. Roll balls into nuts or unsweetened cocoa powder. Store in a cool, dry location. Makes 15-20 pieces.
Place the chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl and microwave on high 1 to 2 minutes, stirring halfway through cooking, until melted. Stir in the nuts or dried fruit (or a combination of both). Drop the mixture by the teaspoonful onto a waxed paper-lined baking sheet and refrigerate until firm. Store at a cool room temperature. Makes 15 candies.
When the chocolate is melted, dip pretzels in the chocolate to cover and set on waxed paper until cool. If you want to use the candy sprinkles, sprinkle them over the pretzels before the chocolate hardens.
*Fortune cookies or Oreo cookies can be used instead of pretzels.
Cut the peel on each fruit into quarters. Pull the peel off in these quarter sections. Slice peel into 1/4 inch-wide strips. In a saucepan add orange peels and salt, cover with cold water and stir. Boil 15 minutes, pour off water and add fresh water. Boil 20 minutes. Change water again and boil another 20 minutes. Drain and cover with 2 1/2 cups sugar and 1 cup water. Simmer, stirring constantly, until all the syrup has boiled away. Do not let the peels scorch. Spread on wax paper. Roll peels in the remaining sugar. Let dry. Store in an airtight container. These will keep one week or can be frozen.
In a small bowl, beat the egg white with the water. Stir in nuts, mixing until well blended. In a another small bowl, mix together sugar, salt, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg. Sprinkle over the moistened nuts. Spread nuts on a pan lined with foil or silicone baking mat. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, stirring once or twice. Do not burn the nuts.
Melt the almond bark in the microwave according to the directions. Stir in peppermints and flavoring. I like my bark really minty so I add more flavoring. Pour onto waxed paper or silicone baking mat on a cookie sheet, spread and let harden. You can put it in the fridge if you prefer. Then break into pieces.
Melt the almond bark in the microwave according to the directions. Pour melted almond bark onto waxed paper or a silicone baking mat on a cookie sheet. Spread evenly about 1/8″. Sprinkle candied cherries over the top and press gently into the melted candy. Let harden. You can put it in the fridge if you prefer to make it harden faster. Then break into pieces and serve.
Melt the almond bark in the microwave according to the directions. While microwaving almond bark, crush the lemon drops inside the package or a plastic bag with a hammer.
Stir melted almond bark. Add lemon flavoring, if desired. Pour onto waxed paper or a silicone baking mat on a cookie sheet. Spread evenly about 1/8″. Sprinkle crushed lemon drops over the top and press gently into the melted almond bark. Let harden. You can put it in the fridge if you prefer to make it harden faster. Then break into pieces and serve.
Mix coconut, sweetened condensed milk, powdered sugar and vanilla until well blended. Drop by spoonfuls onto waxed paper or silicone baking mat. Place 1 almond in the center of each ball and reform coconut mixture around the ball. You can use extra coconut to make it stiffer. Place in the freezer to set up for 15 minutes. When set (they won’t be hard), dip in the melted chocolate. Place back on waxed paper and let harden in the fridge.
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For the homemade peanut butter cups would it be best to ensure the first layer of chocolate is hard before adding the filling in?
In which case would melting the chocolate in two batches be best?
Yes it is best to let the first layer to set up a little. This doesn’t take too long though and usually by the time you are finished doing the last on the first is starting to set up. Of course the humidity and temp in the house makes some difference and if it isn’t quite set up place them in the freezer for a 3-5 mins. You don’t need to melt the chocolate in 2 batches because it doesn’t take that long and even though the unpoured chocolate has been setting it isn’t usually long enough to make it set up too much. If it does though just renuke it for a few seconds or leave it on the double boiler it that is the way you are doing it.
For the candy orange peels, I suggest adding a step top the instructions that says top place the peels into a sauce pan, THEN add salt and water. Currently it just says to put salt in a pan and cover with water; there’s no mention of what to do with the orange peels. It can be inferred by reading the treat the recipe, but for people who are not that cooking savvy, the extra directions would be helpful!
I would love to know how to candy whole fruits?
I have not tried these recipes yet, but just wanted to say Thank You for taking the time to put them on the internet for people to use. I will certainly be making a few of them and will try to let you know how they turn out.
On the Jellied Candy recipe can you add a liquid flavoring to the mix like cinnamon to the red jellies?
You are welcome Becky and Merry Christmas to you too.
do you have a recipe for chocolate covered cherries?
Place cherries on a paper towel to drain. Put some wax paper on a cookie sheet. Mix first 5 ingredients in order. Roll into balls and flatten laying on wax paper. If mix is too dry add a tiny bit more juice or too wet add more powdered sugar. Place a cherry in the center of flatten ball and mold it around the cherry. Place in freezer for 30 minutes. Melt chocolate chips. Dip the balls in chocolate and place in fridge for about 15 minutes to set.
*Inertase is what you add to candy to make the center turn to liquid. You can do without it and it will be the consistency of a York peppermint patty. If you do want to use it you can find it in the cake decorating section of most stores or a cake decorating specialty shop.
How much corn syrup does this make? Can you double or triple the recipe?
Eileen I don’t know which recipe you are asking about because there are 25 in the post. Also normally it isn’t a good idea to double or triple cooked candy recipes but ones that you don’t need to cook are usually ok to.
Can honey replace the corn syrup in all the recipes??
Not sure if you are asking because of health issues or you don’t have corn syrup on hand but will answer for those who have questions about health issues.It depends on the recipe. In candy recipes I usually don’t recommend changing too much because they can sugar and not really turn out right plus honey will give things a different flavor to them. If you are worried about controlling your intake of corn syrup here are a couple of things to consider. First of all they say to control obesity use honey in place of corn syrup but you need to be careful with that because they have the same amount of calories. That is one reason why so many people eating healthy are having problems with being over weight. You get the same amount of calories in both. The other thing is honey has more nutritional value then corn syrup which is true but what is failed to mention the nutritional value of a couple of spoons of honey is so small they can hardly measure it. This means you would have to eat a lot of it and I mean a lot to get the benefits from the vitamins and minerals which if you do that would cause you to consume a ton of calories and then gain weight which would cause more problems. Sometimes we jump on the bandwagon for certain foods and really run with it not really looking at all angles.
You also need to look at the amount you will actually be eating. Usually the amount of corn syrup you use is divided over many many servings and pieces so with each serving you get a very small amount. Most candy isn’t what I call the most nutritional food there is. Most of the time it is eaten solely for pleasure so instead of worrying about whether you can make it healthy just realize what it is and control the amount you eat.
It is like working because you need money so bad to support yourself. You may think it is best to work 16 hour days because work is good and helps get you money but you need to take some time off once in awhile. Sitting and relaxing is not producing any money and seems to not be accomplishing anything productive but we all need to relax a little or we will eventually crash and burn. Now if we do nothing but relax all the time then it will hurt us. Same goes for eating a little corn syrup once in awhile. Most cause more damage to their bodies by stressing over eating a piece of candy with corn syrup once in awhile then what the corn syrup will do to them. Moderation is the secret. Candy is candy – the good tasting stuff no matter what you use is has little nutritional value so eat in moderation and for pleasure.
What a great perspective, thank you for sharing!
I wonder if the substitution is required due to a corn allergy?
We don’t really get corn syrup in the UK, is there an alternative we could use?
Rae you can try using golden syrup in place of corn syrup. Many have with success.
Thanks Nancy. What Nancy posted is called simple syrup and you can use it to replace corn syrup. It is also great to sweeten ice tea and drinks because the sugar is dissolved in it already.
You can usually substitute glucose syrup for corn syrup. It is commonly used in U.K. and Australia. I have not found a case where glucose did not work well. You can find it on Amazon.
From looking at the peppermint bark picture it looks like their is a layer of chocolate on the bottom. What is the recipe for that?
Debbie it is the same recipe. There is a list at the bottom of different things you can do with this one recipe. There are so many we could not list them all but on of them is you can pour a thin layer of melted chocolate, chill and let it set for a few minutes in the fridge then do your peppermint bark on top of that. You could if you wanted to chill the peppermint layer and then add another chocolate layer on top of that if you wanted.
I don’t have one but maybe one of our readers does.
I would think that the pecan pralines would be the same as turtles. We have been making turtles in our house since I was a small child. My Mamma would make them and take them to the neighbors every Christmas.
They similar but a little different. Turtles are mostly caramel pecans and chocolate. Pralines have no chocolate usually and have a little different texture then the caramel in the turtles.
In a large heavy pan over medium heat, combine sugar, brown sugar, and evaporated milk; cook, stirring constantly until the thermometer reaches 235 degrees F. or when a small amount of sugar mixture dropped into very cold water separates into hard but not brittle threads.
As soon as the temperature reaches 235 degrees F, add the butter and vanilla; stir until the butter is fully melted and the mixture is well combined (about 1 minute). Immediately remove the mixture from heat; set saucepan in a large pan of cold water to cool.
When sugar mixture has almost cooled, beat with a spoon 1 minute or until it begins to lose it gloss. Immediately stir in pecans and drop by tablespoonfuls onto prepared buttered wax paper, leaving about 3 inches between each ball for the pralines to spread. NOTE: Work quickly before mixture sets. If it thicken up, just place pan back on low heat to re-soften.
Add soda to buttermilk, combine with sugar, cook until soft ball stage. Remove from heat and add butter, nuts, and vanilla. Beat until creamy and drop by teaspoon on waxed paper. Use a large pan and watch for boilovers.
I am wondering about the recipes with almond bark. I live overseas and can’t get it here. Will a block of white chocolate work the same way? I tried dipping pretzels in it but the white chocolate never set up well. Of course, it is summer here in the Southern Hemisphere with no A/C.
Do you not have Wilton overseas?? I have used the chocolate from Wilton, or Hobby Lobby or even in bulk from Winco grocery stores. Any time you are dipping Oreos, pretzels, ritz crackers,,,you need to add about a teaspoon of shortning (solid, never liquid) to thin your chocolate out..and it makes the chocolate go farther!!
hope you are able to find the chocolate!!!
I would like the receipe to chocolate covered cherries.
Put all ingredients except pecans into a large heavy pot. Cook on medium heat until it forms soft ball, approx. 234F. Pour in pecans after mixture begins to get hot and butter is melted. Continue cooking and stir frequently until soft ball stage.
Remove from heat and stir quickly until mixture loses some of its gloss and starts to harden. Drop by tablespoons onto parchment paper. Should make about 2 dozen.
**Use Dixie Crystals Extra fine sugar for best results.
I use in my chocolate covered cherries, powdered sugar, add condensed milk, butter or margarine, knead, it needs to be sorta like a dry biscuit mix and add ingredients to taste. Flatten a circle about 1/4 to 1/3 inch thick, can be adjusted to your cherries if they are small, add cherry and roll in your hands to make sure the cherry is covered. Meanwhile, in a double boiler, over medium heat, melt 1/2 bar of broken Gulf Wax like the wax used to cover home made jelly, and a package of chocolate chips. I mix milk and dark chocolate. Test this on a spoon before dipping the cherries. Let it cool, if it is soft, add more wax. This is a hit everywhere I take them. I am making over 200 of these for friends and family this Christmas. There is really no recipe for these, just adjust the portions to your taste. You will know when the portions are right.
My husband was hollerin at me to come to supper and I forgot to tell you to add a splash of vanilla to the powdered sugar mixture being careful not to add too much. Just enough to enhance the taste. I usually start with a pound of powdered sugar. If you mix about a 1/2 stick of butter with a half can of condensed milk and add gradually to the powdered sugar, you can adjust the thickness better. Do NOT use a mixer. That will put air bubbles in it. You need to kneed it.
I also forgot to suggest that to make the circles to put the cherries in, I take a table spoon to measure out a glob of the mixture and put it in the palm of my hand. I use large cherries from Sams club so you might have to adjust the amount of the glob to cover the cherries, but you will learn as you go. Then I put my hands together and twist. It should make a near perfect circle. Be sure to have your hands dry and dusted with powdered sugar. You can roll this out and cut it with a small cookie cutter, but in the end, it won’t matter. The chocolate covers any boo boos that you make.
I drain my cherries just as I start this process This keeps just enough juice to make the juice when the cherries are altogether.
Now if you have any of this left over and you like pea nut butter cups, add some peanut butter to the mixture and roll it out into balls. Dip in the chocolate. M M M M good.
Happy candy making. Hope this turns out for you. It just take a little practice and keep track of your ingredients so you can make them next year. Merry Christmas.
you do not need to use wax to dip your cherries. All you need to do is temper your chocolate by melting it up to 115 to 120 degrees, then cooling it down to 83 degrees then warm it back up to 86. 82 87 degrees for milk chocolate and up to 88 degrees for dark chocolate.
This is my new favorite recipe list! I can’t wait to try several of them.
1. Toffee- 7 minutes may not be the same for every stove at every altitude. Use the hard crack test. It should be a smooth caramel color.
2. Be careful adding flavoring to chocolate- it gets lumpy. Don’t use the regular extract in the spice aisle, you have to use the special candy extracts in the candy aisle.
3. Same thing with coloring white chocolate bark, either add colored melting chocolate on the candy aisle, or the fancy Wilton candy coloring.
A note on what Karen mentioned. You can’t add any liquid to melted chocolate because it causes it to seize up. That is why you can’t add liquid flavoring or liquid food coloring. That lumpiness is called seizing. Sometimes you can fix it by adding a tablespoon or so of shortening but that doesn’t always work with white chocolate because it is a very sensitive creature.
YOU can add flavored OILS to melted chocolate, I do it all the time, just make sure it is like the Lorann candy oils. Make sure you add a drop at a time, I take Ritz crackers and coat them with Peppermint oil and chocolate THEY taste just like Girl Scout This Mint cookies, just make sure you only add a drop at a time very strong and it must be oil NOT flavoring!
What’s the bottom layer in peppermint bark, the choc. layer? It’s been omitted.
There is a list at the bottom of the recipe with different things you can do with this one recipe. There are so many we could not list them all but one of them is you can pour a thin layer of melted chocolate, chill and let it set for a few minutes in the fridge then do your peppermint bark on top of that. You could if you wanted to chill the peppermint layer and then add another chocolate layer on top of that if you wanted.
Thank you for these. Do you have a favorite recipe for bourbon balls?
I don’t Beth but will post this and see if our readers do.
stir in 2 tablespoons of Bourbon I use Wild Turkey.
Add enough powdered sugar to make the consistency easy to roll into little balls. Dough will be very soft and a little tacky.
Place 1/2 pecan in center of each ball and roll with pecan in vertical position and showing on both ends. This allows you to set them upright. Set on wax paper or marble board. Dip ends in melted chocolate. Keep in refrigerator in covered container. These keep for a long time.
The librarian in my High School used to give me Bourbon Balls at Christmas.
I would like to print all these recipes. I am 73 and cannot stand up long enough to do a lot of recipes. If I can print these I will be so greatful.
Thank you for these recipes. I was taught to make candy using molds, and some of these I am going to adapt to the mold process, since I have all of the molds already anyway.
My question is on the Jelly Candies…would sugar free gelatin and truvia work? Or does the recipe need the sugar to work correctly. I was thinking of a couple of people with diabetes on my gift list.
Ellen I can’t say for sure because I have never done them without what is in the recipe but I really don’t think it will make a difference. This is a recipe that the ingredients are not too expensive so I would just try it myself. The worse that I think it would do is not set up quite right and you could always use what doesn’t set up for syrup on things like pancakes. Of course the flavor may not be exactly the same but that is true for most anything that you substitute sugar free items for. I’m not saying the taste would be bad it would be different and for people who are use to eating things with substitutions the flavor will be fine for them.
Jill, I just made some of these with sugar-free Jello…..I can’t tell much difference in the consistency or taste.
Thanks Julie that is good to know. With Jello I didn’t think it would make a difference especially if you are use to the sugar free taste. I can sometimes tell a difference in anything that is sugar free but that is because I love my sugar and am not use to eating sugar free Tawra on the other hand uses sugar free stuff a lot.
Thanx for the comment, I am dying to make Christmas candy but my family are diabetics I love jelly candies and am going to try your recipe with sweet n low as we are use to the taste of it and its very sweet to us just a little bit. I will let you know how it turns out.
This is our family recipe for peanut brittle. We made it every year on the gas stove when we lived in town, in the #10 cast iron skillet. After my parents moved to a farm, we had a wood cookstove, too, and made the candy on it. One year, I set the pans out on the porch to cool. When I went out later, Spot, our dog, had made off with one pan and was wolfing it down under the lilac bush!
1)	Butter two jelly roll pans.
2)	In a large, heavy skillet, over medium low heat, melt butter, sugar and vinegar.
3)	If using raw peanuts, add to above mixture.
4)	Cook slowly, being careful not to scorch, to a rolling boil.
5)	Add baking soda (mixture will foam up).
6)	If using roasted peanuts, add them.
7)	Pour mixture into prepared pans, spread out quickly and allow to cool.
8)	Break into pieces and store.
NOTES:	Making this over a wood-fired stove, with a cast iron skillet is really great.
If making this in the winter, setting it outside in the snow to cool is fun.
Sally it is funny that you say you took the candy out in the snow. My 85 year old mom has made the recipe we posted all her life and she says she doesn’t like making it until they have snow because it makes it better when she sets the pans of candy out in the snow too. She makes the best peanut brittle and everyone begs for it each year. Wonder if it is the setting it out in the snow that makes the difference?
It would be close to the jellied orange slices. It’s more like gumdrops.
We are making the homemade Jelly fruit candies and my 3 girls are so excited! Do they gel/set at room temperature for 24 hours, (sugar) then again at room temperature for 24 hours? Or do you refrigerate during the 24 breaks? And do you store at room temp or refrigerate? How long can these keep? Thank you!!
Let them set for a few minutes at room temperature until you can move them carefully. Then place them in the refrigerate for the 24 hours.
I really wish this had been in the instructions above…….after waiting for 24 hours and my jelly candy wasn’t set up was so disappointing…will try again and see if this works.
There are so many variables in candy making that it would take a book to write them all in. For example I have made the toffee recipe for years but this year I had to do 2 batches to get it right because I have gotten a new stove since last Christmas and my new cooks much hotter then my old one so I had to adjust the recipe a little.
Sorry Monique. Didn’t finish answering your question. I personally roll them just once with the sugar and call it good but if you want an extra amount of sugar coating you and roll them again after another 24 hours.
Thank you. Glad to know we don’t have to roll them a 2nd time in sugar. That did seem like a bit much…. 🙂 How do we store them? And how long do they last?
As long as you keep them sealed they will last several weeks.
Not sure why it isn’t setting up for you. You didn’t add any water to the jello or anything did you? Sometimes humidity and house temperature can cause some people to have a hard time with things taking longer to set up.
We live in FL – waiting for the jelly candies 24 hour time to set. Should we expect longer due to humidity and warmth?
If you have problems with the humidity and other cooking then it will make a difference in these too probably.
I always fall into a rut and make the same recipes over and over. I am so glad I found all these candy recipes in one place!!
These recipes look so delicious! Sharing this!
May seem like a very simple question to most of you. How do you “dip”candy in chocolate & still keep the chocolate smooth (without marks on the surface)? The only way I can keep a smooth surface on a buckeye is to put a toothpick in the middle & dip in the simmering chocolate. What is the dipping process for some of your chocolate candies?
sometimes, to hide where the spoon or toothpick leave a mark, I go back and drizzle over with some melted white chocolate (or vice versa) kind of making a swirl or something decorative.
I use two good quality plastic forks that I have removed the center tines out of for dipping. It works great!
Im looking for a pecan candy recipe that I remember making growing up, but lost the recipe.. Hopefully someone here knows what I’m talking about.. If I remember correctly, it’s pecan halves that are covered with some type of syrup (pancake type syrup), then they are placed on a cookie sheet and baked for a little while..then when they come from the oven, ofcourse they are extra sticky…and then they are rolled in powdered sugar…and placed in an air tight container..or I remember putting them in a ziplock bag… I’m wondering if there are any extra ingredients or steps that I just dont remember..
What is a Jelly Roll Pan? Is it a cookie sheet? I want to make the peanut brittle.
It is a cookie sheet that is 15x10x1. It has 1 inch sides on it. You can use a regular cookie sheet without the sides just don’t spread it as close to the edge of the pan.
How do I know when the corn syrup is at 260 degrees? for Peanut Brittle.I guess I will need a candy thermometer or is there a certain amount of minutes that I will know when the syrup is at 260 degrees?
The best way is a candy thermometer. They are very expensive and you can find them most any place. If though you don’t have one you can do it the old fashion way that we use to do it and that was what I call the water test. Cook the candy and drop a few drops of it into a cup of cold water. Right after it hits to water take it out and eat it to test the “crunch” of it. If it is soft and chewy it isn’t ready, if it is crunchy and the texture you like it is ready.You have to do this sometimes a few times until it is ready. But like I said a candy thermometer is really best.
I think Jill meant to say the thermometer is very INexpensive…..around here they are less than $10…..and if you are making candy, they are indispensable!!!
Thank You Jill for the great idea’s for candy for the holidays. Can’t wait to try the English toffee and orange peels. Yum!!!
My toffee turned out chewy instead of crisp. Did I not boil enough? Should it reach a certain temperature?
You probably didn’t boil it enough. You need to boil it on med. high heat for 7 mins. There really isn’t a temperature with this recipe. Also like most cooked candy recipes the humidity in the house makes a big difference too.
My Mom made a peanut butter roll candy but She did not use the mashed potatoes that I see so many recipes for. She used egg whites and confectioners sugar. Made the ‘candy dough’, rolled it thin, spread peanut butter over it, rolled it up and sliced it. It melted in your mouth. I don’t know what I’m doing wrong but I can never get the candy dough right. It’s either to dry or to sticky. Has anyone made it this way? Any ideas on getting it right? My Mom was a terrific candy maker and never used a recipe nor had any fancy ingredients or molds.
You can also make the “potato candy” also known as peanut butter pinwheels, very simply w/a tub of vanilla icing and powdered sugar. Scoop all of the icing from the tub into a bowl and keep adding powdered sugar until you make a “dough” roll it out, spread the desired amount of peanut butter on it. Roll it up and place in the fridge to set a while, then take out slice and enjoy. Taste amazing and sooo simple to make.
do u have a recipe for orange an strawberry fudge?
I don’t but maybe one of our readers does Randy.
I used a can of strawberry ready-made frosting and 1 & 1/2 bags of white chocolate chips. Remove foil from top of frosting can and microwave it in a glass bowl for 1 min. Stir in the white chips and stir until the chips begin to get soft. Return to the microwave another 30 sec. Stir again. Continue process until smooth. Pour into sprayed pan. Smooth out top, cool in fridge 20 to 30 mins. You could put mini choco chips on the top while still warm pressing them down into the candy with a spoon for a little variety. It is a very pretty fudge and tasty!
I take 2 ritz crackers and put peanut butter between them and then dip them in melted chocolate bark. How can I get the bark to look shiny instead of dull?
The easiest way to get your chocolate to shine is to add 1 Tbsp. of vegetable oil or paraffin wax (it is the wax that is found in the canning section of your store).
Great site & info. THANKS!
What a great list to find just before Christmas. I always make my own candy and I’m always looking for new things to try. Thanks for posting these!!!
this is awesome… Saving to pinterest, and will eventually print out. Thanks ladies!
Thank you for the recipes, I find your jelly candy sounds very interesting, and wonder what you would use to make orange slices, maybe canned mandarin oranges pureed or fresh oranges? Have you done that one? Thanks very much!
You know we have not tried it but I wonder if using 3/4 cup of orange juice in place of the applesauce would work. Just a guess. It wouldn’t be as healthy (hey it’s Christmas though) but you might try 3/4 cup orange Kool Aid in place of the applesauce too. That would give it a stronger orange flavor more like orange slices.
Thank you Jill, that may be on my to do list.
What ended up being wrong with it Donna, was it too hard, chewy etc.
My Mom used to make divinity with chopped walnuts……..it was so so good. I have tried making divinity as good as Mom’s a couple of times over the years, but never had much success.
Also, every Christmas my Mom used to buy candies that were a small ball of white sugar coated candy with sort of a fondant and a hazelnut in the middle………would sure love to find a recipe for it…..do not remember the name.
Lightly butter a large pan (15x11x1); set aside. In a stainless steel/large pot, on medium high heat, cook butter and sugar to hardcrack stage, MUST stir constantly. During the cooking stage, it will turn caramel color, and might go through a ‘curdle’ stage, but just keep on stirring. Just when it starts to smell like it might burn……take off heat. Quickly stir in chopped nuts. Pour/scrape mixture onto the buttered pan…..BE CAREFUL it is scalding HOT. The candy will not fill the entire pan, but will spread out. Let it cool completely; break into pieces.
I’m getting to this post later, but I have a problem with all of the nuts that seem to be in all of the candy! I don’t really like nuts in my candy/chocolate and I can forego the ones where you add it, but for those with allergies, do the toffees and caramels require the nuts or are they for tast?
95% of candies the nuts are only for taste. You can easily leave them out. I have a few family members who just don’t like nuts so I make 2 batches all the time – one with nuts and one without. I often leave nuts out too just because I don’t have any on hand or they are to expensive at the time for me to buy.
I’d like to share my recipe for what has been called “Christmas Crack”.
Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper – spray with cooking spray. Make a single layer of crackers on the cookie sheet – break crackers as needed to fill all the space.
In a medium sized saucepan melt the butter and the brown sugar. Stir continually – once it comes to a full boil, boil for 4 minutes. Pour the boiling mixture over the saltines. Bake at 400 degrees for 5 minutes.
Remove from oven. Sprinkle chocolate chips on top and return pan to oven for about a minute to help melt the chocolate – using an offset spatula, spread the chocolate evenly all over all the saltine crackers. Sprinkle the chopped nuts and red and green sprinkles on top. Refrigerate until hardened – break up into pieces – store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
You are welcome Emma. Hope you enjoy them. Holler if you have any questions.
These recipes are great. I’m excited about trying them. Also, if you like the Girl Scout cookies, Thin Mints, use Ritz crackers, dark chocolate and oil of peppermint. I use Westminster chocolate and abt 3-4 capfuls of oil. Dip into chocolate. Voila, enjoy.
Well here is a strange question. My dear friend wants me to make her chocolate covered cherries without the cherries! Yep, you read that right. She doesn’t like the cherries themselves but loves the fondant part that has cherry juice in it. Any ideas on how to pull that off?
I would just use the cherry juice for the flavoring and just put the fondant inside.
I just made the homemade caramels. I am not sure if evaporate milk is what you want to use. I followed the recipe exactly but my caramel never formed a soft ball. I think heavy whipping cream would be a better use for this recipe.
It probably isn’t the evaporated milk but it is more likely the cooking time or the humidity. Candies that you need to cook to soft ball, hard ball etc. are very fussy.If there is too much humidity in the air it could make a difference or you have to make sure you cook it the exact right amount. People who have make these types of recipes can have success for several years in a row and then the next year it won’t work for some reason then they make it again and it turns out fine. That is why I myself personally don’t make any candies where you have to have it reach an exact soft or hard ball stage. It is too iffy for me to chance it turning out.
Go ahead and try the whipped cream instead if you want. I have seen recipes which use sweetened condensed milk in them too.
Regarding the jelly candies: when they’re ready to serve, can they be out of the refrigerator on a serving tray, or do they need to stay refrigerated?
Hum…I’m not sure what could have gone wrong. Are you sure your oven temp. is correct?
How many tablespoons of gelatin is 3 ounces? Thanks!
3 oz of gelatin (one small pkg. of jello is what we are talking about) is 1/3 cup or 6 tablespoons.
It all looks likea lot of work + everywoman I know is trying to avoid much sugary stuff..
If I were a teacher there I’d be touched by the kindness.However, If there are 30 kids in your class and all their mothers give you floury, chocolatey, sugary cookies, what are you supposed to do?
How far in advance can you make the jellied candies?
I am new to the site and was looking for some easy and tasty recipes for Christmas as my bestie and I exchange baked goods every year. Thank you soooooo much for all the wonderful ideas. Let the baking COMMENCE!
Lol Kari welcome to our website. You are so right – let the baking commence. I usually bake about 3000 (no that is not a typo) gingerbread men each Christmas so I know exactly what you mean. This year I have hurt my arm (nothing serious) and am suppose to be resting it so I have a good excuse for a rest. Anyway so glad you have joined us and have fun baking. Holler if you have any questions.