Favorite Holiday Candy Recipes (Christmas Candy Recipes)

I wish I could just say that my favorite holiday candies are Hershey's Kisses, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups or Milky Way bars, but somehow I think I couldn't get away with that. I do love ready made candy, but every time I go to the store it costs more and weighs less. Of course, my bathroom scale would like me to weigh less, but I don't like paying more money for less product. That's why it can be fun to just make your own. If you want to make 10 pounds of candy, feel free to do so. So, how many calories is 10 pounds of candy? It probably depends on what is being made. Anyway, calories don't count during the holiday's---do they. Just go out and walk up and down a few more hills to make up for the increase in eating. You know that walking in cold weather burns more calories, don't you? (And) The more you weigh the more calories you burn because you're lugging all that extra stuff around. See? You can justify anything if you want to.

I have tons (heh, heh) of favorite candy recipes and I don't always make all of them. That would be boring. I try to diversify and make different things in different years. My fun is the look on the faces of my friends at the local cable company. My eldest daughter works there and takes a lot of my "experiments" to work with her. The guys evaluate them and let me know if I should make more or not. In fact, a few days ago they reminded her that it's time for her to tell her mom (me) that the experiments should start arriving any day, right? Yes.....I made a couple batches of "stuff" this last week-end and she took it to work this morning. Now, the cable guys from the outlying areas are getting wind of what's happening in the local office and they have started putting in their orders. They all tell me that their wives don't like to cook and bake and, of course, they are all starving to death and it's up to me to reverse that trend. It's nice to be loved.

Buttermilk Candy: Ingredients--1 cup buttermilk; 1 tsp baking soda; 2 cups sugar; 2 tbsp light corn syrup; 1/4 cup butter; 1 cup chopped pecans. Directions: Combine buttermilk and baking soda in 3 quart heavy saucepan. Let stand 20 minutes. Add sugar and corn syrup to buttermilk. Bring to a boil, stirring until sugar is dissolved. When mixtue boils, add butter and cook, stirring occasionally if necessary, to the soft ball stage (236 degrees). It will turn a medium brown color. Remove from the heat and cool to lukewarm (110 degrees). Beat until mixture loses its gloss and starts to thicken. Stir in pecans. Turn into buttered 8" square pan. Cool until firm; then cut in 36 pieces. Makes about 1 1/2 pounds.

Serviceman's Special Fudge: (It travels to faraway places with cheerful greetings from home). Ingredients--2 cups sugar; 1 cup half and half or light cream; 1 tbsp butter; 1 1/2 squares unsweetened chocolate, cut in pieces; 2 tsp vanilla; 8 cups marshmallows, cut up; 1 cup chopped walnuts; 3 cups graham cracker crumbs. Directions: Combine sugar, half and half, butter and chocolate in 3 quart heavy saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly until sugar dissolves. Continue cooking over low heat to the soft ball stage (236 degrees). Immediately stir in vanilla, marshmallows, nuts and graham cracker crumbs. Pour into a buttered 13x9 inch pan. (The candy will appear somewhat sticky) Let set until firm. Cut in 77 pieces or if mailing, do NOT cut. Makes about 3 1/2 pounds.

Cinnamon Candy Balls: Ingredients--2 1/2 cups sugar; 1/2 cup light or dark corn syrup; 1 cup heavy cream; 1 cup half and half; 1/8 tsp salt; 4 drops oil of cinnamon; 2 tsp ground cinnamon; 2 tsp sugar. Directions: Combine 2 1/2 cups sugar, corn syrup, heavy cream, half and half and salt in a 3 quart heavy saucepan. Cook over medium heat to the soft ball stage (238 degrees). Remove from heat and let stand without stirring 15 to 20 minutes. Add oil of cinnamon; stir well. Continue stirring until mixture thickens. Meanwhile, combine ground cinnamon and 2 tsp sugar in a small bowl. With lightly buttered palms pick up a small spoonful of candy and quickly roll into a ball between the palms. Drop in cinnamon-sugar mixture and roll to coat thoroughly; place on waxed paper. Repeat until all candy is rolled and coated with cinnamon-sugar. Makes 4 to 5 dozen balls, depending on size, or 1 1/2 pounds. HINT: If candy begins to harden while rolling into balls, set pan in warm water until candy softens enough to roll.

Sauerkraut Candy: Ingredients--2 cups light brown sugar, firmly packed; 2 cups white sugar; 1/4 cup light corn syrup; 1 1/3 cup half and half; 1/4 cup butter; 1/4 tsp salt; 1 tsp vanilla; 1 1/2 cups shredded coconut. Directions: Combine sugars, corn syrup and half and half in heavy 3 quart saucepan with buttered sides. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Continue cooking to the soft ball stage (238 to 240 degrees). Remove from heat; add butter and salt without stirring. Cool to lukewarm (110 degrees). Add vanilla and beat until creamy; mixture loses gloss and becomes opaque. Fold in coconut all at once. Pour into buttered and chilled platter or into an 8" square pan. Cut in slices if thick or in 49 squares if molded in pan. Makes about 2 1/4 pounds. (Of course, the "sauerkraut" is shredded coconut. Many grocery stores throughout the Midwest sold this candy. It then sort of drifted out of existence. Make it a tradition in your family)

Most of these candy recipes have been around longer than I have. These are recipes that my mom or grandma would have had and that makes them really special. It somehow connects all the generations from the grandma's who made them to the grandchildren who are eating them. I would count through six generations of my family who could have had these candies---from my great-grandmother to my grandmother to my mother to me to my children to my grandchildren and, hopefully, so on and so on. A neverending chain of recipes.