This and that: candy cane

Friday, December 21, 2012

Candy Cane Meringue Kisses

I have never made meringue before...

But I saw these somewhere on Facebook with candy cane kisses

and thought they looked wonderful, I am not sure where I found them
so if you posted it let me know so that I can give you credit.

The first batch I made I used the candy cane kisses and tinted the meringue with red food colouring.

The second batch, I used chocolate kisses and mixed in candy cane crumbs in the meringue.

Both smell heavenly.

Candy Cane Meringue Kisses

recipe adapted from Angel Kisses: King Arthur Flour

2 egg whites

1/4 tsp cream of tarter

dash of salt

1/2 cup plus 1 tbsp sugar

Hershey kisses - I used candy cane kisses and chocolate kisses

1-2 drops of red food colouring

crushed peppermints

red coloured sugar or sprinkles

Preheat oven 200 degrees F

In large bowl, mix egg whites, cream of tarter, and salt. Beat until egg mixture until it forms peaks, add sugar slowly and continue to beat until stiff and glossy. Add food colouring if you like.

Line cookie sheet with parchment paper and place a candy cane kiss on the paper about 2 inches apart. Using pastry bag and star tip, pipe meringue around candy cane kiss. Bake in 200 degree oven for 1 1/2 hours.

Turn off oven. You can now add coloured sugar or sprinkles at this time. Return the meringue back to oven and leave in until completely cooled - at least 3 or more hours or even over night. I was able to make 21 -24 meringue kisses.

For the meringues that I made with the chocolate kisses, I crushed about 1/8 cup of candy cane and mixed into the meringue before piping it around the kisses. I did not put food colouring in the meringue or use sprinkles with these. Some of the pieces of candy canes were bigger then the others.

Meringue with 2 drops of red food colouring,
ready to be piped around kisses

meringue piped around candy cane kisses

meringue piped around chocolate kisses

Both types of meringue kisses, to show how they are piped
around the Hershey kisses

Enjoy

Links: Tasty Thursdays, Thursday Treasures, Wednesday Extravaganza

Saturday, December 15, 2012

Candy Cane Fudge Truffles

A while back I made some candy cane fudge, with Hershey's Candy Cane Kisses

Although the fudge tasted great it was very soft.

I am not sure what I did to it that it didn't set properly.

I first thought of rolling it into balls and dipping it into chocolate -

but that didn't pan out as well as I wanted it too, as the fudge melted in the warm melted chocolate.

I didn't want to waste the fudge so decided to mix the fudge with some animal crackers and then roll them

and dip them into chocolate.

Success!

I will give you the recipe that I used to make the fudge.. Maybe it will work out for you.

Candy Cane Fudge

This recipes was adapted from Dawn's Divine Delight - Dove Fudge

3 cups white sugar

3/4 cup butter

1 can evaporated milk (large)

1/2 bag Hershey's Candy Cane Kisses

2- 4 oz Ghirardelli White Chocolate Bars

7 oz Marshmallow Creme - or 1 cup homemade - I use this recipe

Cut chocolate into small pieces and set aside. Bring sugar, butter and evaporated milk to a full rolling boil on medium heat. Boil for 4 minutes or until candy thermometer reaches 234 degrees. Remove from heat and add chocolate and marshmallow creme until mixed. The fudge was very pink, so I added some red food colour and swirled it into the fudge. Place in foil covered 9 x 13. Place in refrigerator until set.

This should have set properly. Mine set but was too soft to cut into bars, so I then had to rethink what I would do it. I decided to make some chocolates. I first thought of dipping as I said, but this didn't work.. My next thought was to use molds. I didn't have any molds but I did have some ice cube trays and thought those could work... They did. I placed a small amount of melted chocolate in the bottom of the ice cube tray and then placed a small amount of the soft fudge mixture onto top of the melted chocolate and then added more melted chocolate above the fudge. Then tapping the ice cube tray to let all the chocolate settle. Place in refrigerator until set.

place small amount of chocolate in bottom
of tray, then small amount of fudge and cover
with more chocolate

Candy Cane Fudge Truffles

3 cups of the above recipe for candy cane fudge

1 cup animal cracker crumbs

melted chocolate.

candy cane crumbs (optional)

Mix candy cane fudge and animal cracker crumbs together. Roll into balls and place in refrigerator until set. Once set, melt chocolate and dip balls into chocolate. Sprinkle candy cane crumbs over chocolate (optional). Let cool.