Have you ever considered making your own candy? Almost everyone likes a little candy from time to time, and there are several types of sweets that you can make yourself at home. Satisfy your sweet tooth by trying one of these easy candy recipes.

Tiger Peanut Butter Candy

Prep. Time: 15 minutes Makes 3 ounces of candy

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup of vanilla or white chips
• 2 tablespoons of creamy peanut butter
• 2 tablespoons of milk chocolate chips

Instructions:

1. In a small, microwave-safe bowl, melt the vanilla chips and peanut butter. Stir until smooth. Pour into a 5 -3/4 x 3 x 2 inch loaf pan. Coat with cooking spray beforehand.
2. In another microwave-safe bowl, melt the chocolate chips and stir until smooth. Drizzle over first layer in the loaf pan. Freeze for 5-10 minutes, then break the frozen mixture into pieces.

Chocolate-Covered Cherries

Prep. Time: 1 hour Makes 60 servings

Ingredients:

• 60 maraschino cherries with stems
• 3 tablespoons of butter, softened
• 3 tablespoons of corn syrup
• 2 cups of sifted confectioners’ sugar
• 1 pound of chocolate confectioners’ coating

Instructions:

1. Drain the cherries and set them on paper towels to dry.
2. In a medium bowl, combine butter and corn syrup and stir until smooth. Stir in confectioners’ sugar and knead to form a dough. If needed, chill the dough to stiffen it. Wrap each cherry in about 1 teaspoon of dough. Chill until firm.
3. Melt chocolate confectioners’ coating in a heavy saucepan over low heat. Dip each cherry by its stem, and place on waxed paper lined sheets. Chill until it is completely set. Store in an airtight container in a cool place. Best to eat after 1 or 2 weeks.

Old-Fashioned Hard Candy

Prep. Time: 45 minutes Makes 16 servings

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup of confectioners’ sugar for dusting
• 2 cups of white sugar
• 1 cup of water
• 2/3 cup of light corn syrup
• 1 teaspoon of peppermint oil, or another flavored oil
• 1 teaspoon of any color food coloring

Instructions:

1. Coat a cookie sheet with confectioners’ sugar, and set it aside.
2. In a heavy bottomed saucepan, stir together the white sugar, water, and corn syrup until the sugar has dissolved. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high and cook to a temperature of 300-310 degrees F (149 to 154 degrees C), or until a small amount of syrup dropped into cold water forms hard, brittle threads. Remove from heat, and stir in the flavored oil and food coloring.
3. Immediately pour the sugar mixture onto the prepared cookie sheet in a thin stream (this helps it to cool). When the candy is cool enough for the outer edge to hold its shape, cut into bite size pieces with cooking scissors. Let it cool completely, then store in an airtight container so it can harden.

Bourbon–Sea Salt Caramels

Prep. Time: 1 hour Makes 100 caramels

Ingredients:

• Nonstick vegetable oil spray
• 2 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup light corn syrup
• 1 14-ounce can of sweetened condensed milk
• 1/2 cup (or 1 stick) of unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 2 tablespoons of bourbon
• 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt
• Flaky sea salt (Maldon is a good option)

Instructions:

1. Lightly coat an 8 x 8 inch baking pan with nonstick spray and line with parchment paper, leaving a 2 inch overhang on 2 sides; spray the parchment.
2. Bring sugar, corn syrup, and 1/4 cup water to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Cook the mixture, swirling the pan occasionally until it turns a deep amber color. This takes about 8 – 10 minutes.
3. Remove pan from the heat and whisk in sweetened condensed milk and butter (the mixture will bubble vigorously) until smooth. Fit pan with a thermometer and return to medium-low heat.
4. Cook, whisking constantly, until thermometer registers 240 degrees. Remove from heat and whisk in bourbon and kosher salt. Pour into prepared pan and let the caramel cool. Sprinkle it with sea salt, and cut into 3/4 inch pieces, and wrap individually in parchment paper.

 

Inspiration:

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