Homemade Big Hunk

I love pintrest and I love homemade candy.  When I saw this on pintrest I knew I had to try it.  When I googled it I found three different sources and they were all the same recipe.  I love how fresh and soft they are to eat.

HOMEMADE BIG HUNK!

Ingredients:

1 larger bottle Planters Dry Roasted Peanuts (lightly salted)

3 (7 oz) jars Kraft Marshmallow Creme

2 1/4 cups light corn syrup

2 1/4 cups sugar

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

6 Tbsp butter, melted

1/4 tsp salt

Directions:

Butter a large cookie sheet. Scatter peanuts equally on cookie sheet. Place marshmallow creme in a LARGE bowl, set aside.

In a large saucepan, combine corn syrup and sugar. Place over high heat. Stir constantly with a wooden spoon until mixture comes to a boil. Clip on candy thermometer to side of pan. Cook to 280 degrees F, or to soft crack stage. Remove from heat and let stand 2 minutes undisturbed.

Without scraping, pour entire batch into marshmallow cream and stir with a wooden spoon until smooth. Add butter, vanilla, and salt and stir with wooden spoon until butter is incorporated.

Pour into prepared pan and spread evenly across peanuts. Allow to stand at room temperature until firm, about 3 hours. Cut and wrap in wax paper.

Peppermint Bark

My friend from Connecticut--Lynnette has always been a huge inspiration for me when it comes to many things in life. But I would have to say that she was one of the big reasons I have learned to enjoy cooking and trying new recipes in the kitchen. She is an amazing cook and I know if she recommends a recipe that there is no doubt in my mind that it is going to be G-O-O-D! Last year at Christmas time she posted this peppermint bark and I really wanted to try it. So this year was my year! I tried it and it was great! It was the perfect touch for my goodie boxes for my friends and neighbors this year. As always thanks Lynnette (like she even looks at this, but it makes me feel good just to say thank you :-D)

Lynnette's Peppermint Bark see her picture and read about the inspiration behind how and why she made 25 batches of this peppermint bark to become the candy bark expert!

Peppermint Bark adapted from Bon Appetit

17 ounces white chocolate, finely chopped

6 ounces coarsely crushed candy canes

7 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate

6 tablespoons whipping cream

¾ teaspoon peppermint extract

Take your very best non-warped cookie sheet, turn it upside down and cover securely with foil. Using a ruler, mark a 12x9-inch rectangle directly on the foil. (I use the tip of a sharp knife.)

Very, very gently melt the white chocolate in a microwave safe bowl. Start low, go slow, and stir frequently. Pour 2/3 cup melted white chocolate onto the prepared rectangle on the foil. Using an offset spatula, spread the chocolate evenly to fill the rectangle. Sprinkle with ¼ cup crushed peppermints. Chill until set, about 15 minutes.

In a clean bowl microwave the bittersweet chocolate, cream, and peppermint extract until just melted. Stir until smooth. Cool to barely lukewarm. Pour this chocolate mixture in long lines over the white chocolate rectangle. Using a clean offset spatula, spread the bittersweet chocolate in an even layer. Refrigerate until very cold and firm, about 25 minutes.

Gently rewarm the remaining white chocolate and pour over the firm bittersweet chocolate layer. Spread to cover. Working quickly, sprinkle remaining crushed candy canes over the top and gently press to make sure they are embedded into the white chocolate. Chill just until firm, about 20 minutes.

Lift foil and bark off of cookie sheet. Peel away foil and discard. Place bark on a cutting board. Using a long sharp knife cut bark crosswise into 2-inch wide strips. Cut each strip crosswise into 3 sections, then each section diagonally into 2 triangles. Or make up your own geometry and cut into desired size and shape. If the bark seems resistant to cutting just let it sit until it comes to room temperature, then proceed.

Chill in an airtight container. Let stand 15 minutes at room temperature before serving. Keeps about 2 weeks in the refrigerator.

Notes on the recipe: How many batches of this do you have to make to call yourself an expert? Does 25 count? I took 15 batches to a cookie exchange one year. I won’t be doing that again anytime soon, but I did learn some valuable tricks:

-You can use white chocolate chips instead of baking chocolate, but you won’t be able to cut the bark into shapes because the chips contain more stabilizers than baking chocolate. Instead of cutting the bark just break it into random shapes.

-I have a very strong preference for Ghiradelli chocolate in this recipe, both white and semisweet. Other brands of white chocolate don’t melt very well.

-When melting the chocolate make sure the bowls and spoons are completely dry. Moisture can cause the chocolate to seize. I avoid wooden spoons for stirring because they can hold water, especially if they were put through the dishwasher recently.

-Pay attention to the chilling times – this helps the layers adhere to each other.

Mom's Divine Divinity!

Divinity has been a family tradition for our family for the holidays. It starts on Thanksgiving when we are making our homemade banana cream pies--what else are you going to use the egg whites for? My mom and sister Sherri are the expert candy makers. Jack and I have made divinity a few several times and have had beginners luck with each batch. This year I tried a recipe out of my Kitchen Aid book that came with my mixer! What a FLOP!!! Lesson learned-Why change something that WORKS. So we tried the mixer again with reservations about the turnout. Mom will tell you that you should use a glass bowl and make it on a cloud-free day! I don't have a glass bowl big enough for it, so the mixer was going to have to do. However, I did follow the rule of a cloud-free day. The results were beautiful. We made two batches and on the second added chopped peppermint candy cane, which gave the candy a nice light mint flavor.

Divinity

2 cups Sugar

1/2 cup Light Karo Syrup

1/2 cup Water

Dash of Salt

1/2 cup Nuts

1 teaspoon Vanilla

2 Egg Whites

Cook sugar, Karo Syrup, water and salt to a hardball stage (246-250 degrees). In a glass bowl (For best results according to Joyce), whip 2 egg whites to peaking stage. When your syrup mixture reaches hardball stage, start to stir into egg whites in a slow constant stream, while using beaters on the highest speed. (Mom and Sherri make quite the team, one beats and one uses a rubber spatula to keep the sides syrup free. Then they stop mixing it when they think it is loosing some of its gloss and then they mix it by hand.)

When the candy starts to loose it's glossy look add 1 teaspoon Vanilla and 1/2 cup chopped nuts when it starts to get thick.

Drop by teaspoonfuls onto wax paper. Move quickly! The faster you get it out of the dish and onto the was paper the prettier your pieces will be!

With the Kitchen Aid mixer:

We used the whip attachment, beat the eggs to peaking stage. Cooked the syrup to hardball stage and then added it in the constant stream as instructed in the recipe above. Beat on speed 4-6 for 7-8 minutes. 10 minutes was too long. How I checked if it was ready was to stop the beaters and lift the whip out. If it was thickening up like a nice frosting and did not run quickly off the whip I knew it was ready. Then Move QUICKLY like the recipe said. Now I know why it always takes to people to make this candy. It sets very quickly after you stop whipping it . The sooner you get your pieces out the smoother and shiner they will be.

*I am trying to master this art like mom and Sherri. It is my brother-in-laws favorite candy and it is the only thing he ask me to do for his birthday. It is a fun treat to take to holiday gatherings as well.