Victorian Christmas Confections

Joined
Nov 26, 2016
Location
central NC
I think most folks enjoy biting into a candy that reminds them of their childhood Christmases. It can be magical! As it turns out, many of our favorites originated in the 19th century. The first chocolate bar was made in 1847 and milk chocolate was invented in 1875. Our modern marshmallows were invented about 1850. Toffee was invented in the early 19th century and fudge was invented in the the USA in the 1880s. Peanut brittle and jelly beans were also invented in the 19th century.

So, what was your favorite childhood Christmas candy? What is your favorite today? Share your favorites and share some recipes so others can enjoy them too. Any and all recipes are welcome, but let's try to share some that were enjoyed during the 19th century. I'll get us started with:

Peppermint Rock Candy
Ingredients:
3 3/4 cups sugar
1 1/4 cup light corn syrup
1 cup water
1 pinch salt
Powdered sugar - enough to cover a cookie sheet
1 teaspoon peppermint oil and 1 teaspoon of food coloring of your choice.

Directions:
1)Mix sugar, corn syrup, water and salt in a large, heavy saucepan. Cook these ingredients until the candy thermometer shows the temperature to be 300 degrees. Another way of knowing that the mixture has reached the desirable temperature is by releasing a few drops of the mixture in cold water. The moment these drops separate into hard threads, the appropriate temperature has been reached.

2)Stir candy with a wooden spoon to help avoid scorching of the mixture.

3)Remove from heat and add peppermint oil and food coloring of your choice.

4)Prepare a cookie sheet and sprinkle powdered sugar on it. Pour the mix onto the cookie sheet.

5)When the candy spread on the cookie sheet begins to harden, break the candy into pieces. It is then ready to be served.
 
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Eleanor. You did it again. This candy brings back so many wonderful memories of the Christmas holiday's celebrated by my family. Mother and my grandmother would make homemade peanut brittle, rock candy and toffee candies along with the other Christmas goodies such as cookies, cakes, etc. Thanks for the trip down memory lane. This time of year is very hard for me since a lot of family members have passed away throughout the years. I miss them all tremendously. Unfortunately, we have a very small family now. Thanks for sharing this candy recipe. David.
 
My Grandma's Peppermint Candy

2 cups granulated sugar
3/4 boiling water
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon vinegar
1/4 teaspoon soda
1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract

Stir together all ingredients except extract. Let boil until it cracks when dropped in cold water. Add extract and beat until creamy. Pour into buttered tin, cut into squares.
 
My daughter has a very good friend who makes rock candy for us! Very tasty treat! I've never attempted the recipe but I just might have to try it!

I'm not sure if I have a favorite. My Mama always made a fudge that was so delish but I have yet to find a recipe that even come close to recreate it. One year we attempted homemade toffee but it ended up a sticky mess!

Hubby is a chocolate guy. Says when he was in Europe the chocolate was the best.
 
How about:

Old Fashioned Molasses Taffy

  • cups sugar
  • 1 cup molasses
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 2 teaspoons white vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
Directions
  1. Lightly grease a baking sheet. Bring the sugar, molasses, water, and vinegar to a boil in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook and stir until the sugar has reached the hard ball stage, 250 to 265 degrees F (121 to 129 degrees C), or until a small amount of syrup dropped into cold water forms a rigid ball
  2. Remove from the heat, and stir in the butter and baking soda. Pour the mixture onto the prepared baking sheet, and allow to cool until cool enough to handle, 10 to 15 minutes.
  3. Once cool enough to handle, fold the taffy in half, then pull to double its original length. Continue folding and pulling until the taffy has turned golden brown, and is too stiff to pull anymore. Cut the taffy into bite sized pieces, and wrap in waxed paper. Store in an airtight container.


http://allrecipes.com/video/7235/sa...gContentType=recipe&clickId=tips and tricks 2







 
Anyone who is familiar with the Little House on the Prairie books (my all time favorite :D) by Laura Ingalls Wilder probably remembers Molasses on Snow candy..

Ingredients
1 cup dark molasses
1/2 cup brown sugar
Snow

Instructions

Fill two pans with fresh snow and leave outside to keep chilled until you’re ready to pour the mixture. I used two oversized pizza pans to hold my snow.

Meanwhile, decide which container you’ll use to store the candy and cut several pieces of wax paper, one for the bottom and several for the layers of candy, depending on the size of the container.

Combine the molasses and brown sugar in a medium-sized saucepan (Use non-stick if you have one). Bring it to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium high and continue to cook, stirring constantly to avoid burning.

After five minutes of this, test the mixture by dripping a few drops from a spoon into a small glass of very cold water. If it dissolves or mixes with the water, keep cooking and test again every 2-3 minutes with fresh, cold water. You want the mixture to quickly form a hard ball and drop to the bottom of the glass. It took my mixture about 10 minutes of cooking to reach this stage. You can also use a candy thermometer to test the mixture, which should be 245 degrees F.

Remove from heat and pour into a pitcher with a nice spout-I have a batter pitcher which worked perfectly.

Fetch the pans of snow and the cookie sheet lined with wax paper. Working as quickly as you can, begin pouring the mixture in thin streams onto the snow. It takes a bit of practice to keep from pouring a huge gob onto the snow but once you get it, you can form lots of neat patterns with the mixture. I liked doing spider-web type circles. The mixture will harden quickly once on the snow. When it’s hard, remove, pat it as dry as you can with a paper towel and place it in your container. Store in the refrigerator or freezer.
 
Mother Earth

Here's a recipe for horehound candy @nitrofd. In case anyone is wondering what the heck horehound is, it's an aromatic herb of the mint family.

Horehound Candy Recipe (pretty straightforward)
Boil 2 ounces of dried horehound in 1-1/2 pints of water for a half hour.
Strain and add 3-1/2 pounds of brown sugar.
Boil to the hard ball stage (270 degrees Fahrenheit) and pour onto a well-greased cookie sheet.
When the candy is cool enough to hold its shape, mark it into squares.
 
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