Fresh Gourmet Chocolates - Gourmet Chocolates - Chocolate Candy

Chocolate Peanut Brittle

1 tsp Baking soda
1/4 cup Cocoa powder
1 Tbl Butter, softened, unsalted

½ cup Corn syrup, light
1 cup Sugar, white, granulated
1/4 cup Whipping cream

1 1/4 cup Peanuts, salted

Butter a cookie sheet, lightly and set aside.

In a medium bowl, stir together baking soda and cocoa. Add the softened butter to this mixture and set aside.

Over medium heat, in a large saucepan stir together corn syrup, sugar, and whipping cream. Cook, stirring constantly, until sugar is dissolved over medium heat.

Continue cooking, add the peanuts, and stirring often, until on your candy thermometer reaches 300 degrees F. Then remove this mixture from the heat and add the reserved cocoa mixture. Stir until all is well mixed.

Use a wooden spoon or tongs after you pour the cooked mixture onto the buttered cookie sheet, to spread and pull apart into about 1/4 inch thickness.

Allow mixture to cool in the pan placed on a wire rack. When the brittle is cooled, break it into pieces. Make sure you store in air tight, covered container.

Chocolate Almond Brittle

3/4 cup Butter, unsalted

1/4 cup Cocoa powder, unsweetened
2 Tbl Corn syrup, light
1 cup Sugar, white, granulated
2 Tbl Water, room temperature

3/4 cup Almonds, toasted, slivered/coarsely chopped

Over medium heat in a large saucepan melt the butter. When butter is melted stir in cocoa powder, corn syrup, sugar and the water. Cook this mixture, stirring constantly until candy thermometer reaches 260 F.

Remove saucepan from the heat and stir in the almonds. Spread this nutty mixture on a ungreased cookie sheet to about 1/4" thickness.

Place cookie sheet onto a wire rack to cool. When cooled, refrigerate until brittle is cold. When cold, break into pieces and store chocolate almond brittle in a tightly covered container in the refrigerator.

Square Turtle Candy

2 cups Wafer crumbs, vanilla
½ cup Butter, melted

1 cup Walnut, pieces
12 ounces Chocolate, dark, chips or chopped in pieces

1 Caramel topping, 12 oz jar

Preheat oven to 350

In a large bowl, mix together well, wafer crumbs and melted butter. When throughly mixed press into bottom of a 9" x 13" baking pan.

On top of the wafer mixture in the baking dish, scatter the walnuts and dark chocolate.

After removing the lid of the caramel topping, place in the microwave, on high for about 30 seconds, just to heat through. Remove carefully and drizzle caramel topping over the top of the nuts and chocolate.

Place into preheated oven and bake 15 minutes or until the chocolate melts. Be very careful to not over cook. Remove pan from the oven and allow to cool and then chill for 30 minutes. When chilled cut into squares.

Sweet Chocolate Candy

3 cups Milk, whole
3 cups Sugar, white, granulated
5 Tbl Cocoa, unsweetened

1 tsp Vanilla, pure extract
1 Tbl Butter, unsalted

Butter a cookie sheet.

In a large saucepan, combine milk, sugar, and cocoa. Bring this mixture to a boil while stirring. Boil this mixture until it reaches 234-240 degrees F, or soft ball stage.

Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in vanilla extract and butter until the mixture is creamy and smooth.

Pour this chocolate mixture onto the butter cookie sheet and let it cool. When cooled, cut into squares. Store in an airtight container.

Peanut Butter and Marshmallow Balls

1 jar, Peanut Butter, smooth, 16.3 oz
1 jar, Marshmallow Cream, 7 oz
1 ½ cups Butter, unsalted, softened
2 lbs Powdered Sugar

1 bag Chocolate Chips, 12 oz
1 Tbl Shortening

In a large mixing bowl cream together the peanut butter, marshmallow cream, and butter. When completely mixed together, add the powdered sugar a little at a time; until well combined.

Cover a cookie sheet or a tray with waxed paper. Shape the creamed and sugar mixture into round balls and place on the prepared tray.

In a double boiler, melt chocolate and shortening stirring until completely melted and smooth.

Use a spoon to dip the balls into the melted chocolate. Shake off excess and place the chocolate covered balls on the prepared tray. Allow the covered balls to set, or chill to speed up the setting process.

Place white chocolate chips or candy melts in a microwave safe bowl and microwave (stirring every 30 seconds) until smooth. The chocolate can also be melted over a double broiler. Being careful to not burn it.

In the jelly roll pan lay 2-3 pretzel sticks side by side on top of the wax paper. On top of the pretzel sticks, in the center, spoon a tablespoon of the melted white chocolate to form the look of a fried egg white. This will start to look like your bacon and egg breakfast.

In a microwave safe bowl combine peanut butter and chocolate chips and the shortening. Microwave for 30 seconds at a time, stir after each 30 until smooth and mixed together. Do not overheat!!

Add the cornflakes and stir until completely coated. Drop onto waxed paper lined pan by the heaping tablespoons. Gently pressing with the spoon to form a donut or round wreath shape.

In a heavy sauce pan, over medium heat, combine cocoa, salt, sugar, water, corn syrup and vinegar. Stir continually until sugar and cocoa are completely dissolved.

Raise the heat and bring the mixture to a boil. When the chocolate candy mixture boils, lower the heat again and cook until on a candy thermometer the temperature reaches 260 degrees.

Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the butter. Pour the chocolate mixture into butter baking sheet and allow to cool for a few minutes. When the mixture is cool enough to handle without burning your well buttered hands; start kneading and folding the mixture in on itself. Bring in the kids or plenty of other helpers.

Twisting as you go, pull the taffy back and forth on itself. In about (10-15 minutes) the color of the mixture will lighten and the taffy will get shiny.

After greasing the sides of a large stockpot; combine the next five ingredients in the stockpot. Cook over medium low heat, stirring constantly until the sugar dissolves. Using a pastry brush that has been dipped into hot water; brush down the sugar crystal on the sides of the stockpot.

When soft ball stage is reached, place the stockpot in about 2 inches of cold water. Add the Irish Cream to the syrup, but do not stir until the syrup cools down to about 110 degrees.

To this cooled mixture stir in the chocolate chips, then beat with an electric mixer until it becomes thick and no longer glossy. Pour this mixture over the nuts and allow to cool completely. Cut into squares. Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container.