Quick and Easy Christmas Candy Gifts

Here are some quick and easy candy gifts for the "sweet tooth" on your Christmas list. These are things I've made in years past, and they have always been well received.

EXTREMELY EASY ROCKY ROAD (Exact measurements not needed with this recipe)

Ingredients needed:
*At least 2 large Hershey chocolate bars, with or without almonds, as you prefer. You can also use 2 or 3 of the Symphony Toffee bars if you wish.
*1 bag of miniature marshmallows
*Approx. 1 cup crushed walnuts (optional)

In a microwave oven-proof dish, melt the chocolate bars completely. Stir in marshmallows and walnuts, then quickly drop in little "blobs" on waxed paper. Let cool until they harden. Pack into a decorative tin or on a fancy plate (using waxed paper to separate layers of candies). You can make these a couple of days ahead and keep them in the refrigerator if you want to, but refrigeration isn't necessary.

Variations: Toss in some M & M's, or a different kind of crushed nuts if you want, whatever you think might taste good. The only way you can really ruin this is by over-melting the chocolate in the microwave.

CHOCOLATE SWIRL ALMOND TOFFEE

For the toffee layer:
1 cup butter or margarine
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
2 tablespoons water
1 cup sugar
1 cup chopped almonds

For the topping:
½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
½ cup vanilla chips (or 3 ounces vanilla-flavored candy coating)

Line 15 x 10 x 1-inch baking pan with foil; butter foil. In heavy 2-quart saucepan, combine butter, corn syrup, water and sugar. Cook over medium heat until sugar dissolves and mixture boils, stirring constantly. Using candy thermometer, continue cooking to 290 degrees F (soft-crack stage), stirring occasionally. Remove from heat. Quickly stir in almonds. Pour mixture into buttered, foil-lined pan. Let stand 2 to 3 minutes to harden.

In a small bowl, combine chocolate and vanilla chips. Sprinkle chips over hot toffee; let stand 1 to 1 ½ minutes to soften. With knife, swirl softened chips over toffee. Refrigerate until chocolate is set. Break into pieces. (Yield: approx. 25 ounces)

Instead of crushed almonds, I've made this recipe with crushed walnuts, and it was delicious. After you break up the toffee, pack it into a decorative tin for gift giving.

CANDIED PECANS

Ingredients:
*1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
*1/3 cup orange juice
*4 cups pecan halves

Butter a 12 x 8-inch (2-quart) microwave-safe dish; butter sheet of foil or waxed paper. In medium bowl, combine brown sugar and orange juice; blend well. Add pecans; toss to coat. Spread in buttered dish. Microwave on HIGH for 6 to 8 minutes, or until bubbly and dark golden brown, stirring every 2 minutes. Immediately spread on buttered foil. Cool completely; break apart.

When I've made these, they've never lasted long enough to pack for gift giving!

EASY CHOCOLATE TRUFFLES

Ingredients:
*1 (12-ounce) package vanilla milk chips or milk chocolate chips
*1/4 cup dairy sour cream
*2 tablespoons Amaretto
*Powdered sugar

In medium microwave-safe bowl, microwave chips on MEDIUM for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring once halfway through cooking. Stir until smooth. Stir in sour cream and Amaretto; blend well. Refrigerate 30 to 60 minutes or until mixture is easy to handle. Using hands or melon baler, roll mixture into ¾-inch balls; roll in powdered sugar. Place in candy cups, if desired. Store in airtight container in refrigerator up to 4 weeks.

You can roll these truffles in finely chopped almonds or walnuts if you'd like. Truffles made with the chocolate chips can be rolled in unsweetened cocoa, finely chopped nuts or chocolate sprinkles. My favorite way is to roll them in multi-colored sprinkles or in the red-green Christmas sprinkles. I pack them in red and green, or gold-colored, candy cups. They make a very attractive gift, and nobody knows that you didn't spend a day slaving over a hot stove to make them.

(Note: The Rocky Road is my original recipe. The other three recipes came from the Pillsbury Most Requested Recipes Family Christmas Cookbook, which I've been using every holiday season for the last ten years.)