Candy Dish Blog

New Year’s Eve Eve and we have dilemmas for breakfast. A bowl of fiber cereal or a bit of an indulgence. Martha, I am on your team! I can’t think of a better way to get started here at NCA now that I am back from vacation! When can you bring the Joe-Joes over?

As I began to unwrap our Christmas decorations this year I realized  a distinct  candy theme to our family Christmas.  Our tree is dressed in glass candies, M&M figures, candy canes (real, and made with flour and painted),  and gingerbread people.

Our advent calendar has chocolates or starlight mints to count down the days and the smell of candy scented candles wafts through the house.  Christmas stockings  are filled with candy and chocolate and also have offered up Junior Mint themed underwear, chocolate flavored perfume and lip gloss of peppermint over the years.

The candy cane house in the picture loses most of its “roof” well before the  New Year. We either make chocolate, gingerbread and peppermint cookies or receive them as gifts.  We have a Farfel hand puppet with a Christmas scarf around his neck (his teeth caused a nightmare or two over the years) and a green ornament candy dish, usually filled with Goetze caramels.

And Christmas is never complete without a home made gingerbread house of graham cracker walls, decked out with frosting and mini M&Ms, kisses, chocolate chips, Red Hots and candy canes.  When the kids were younger it was a traditional small square house but last year there was quite a gothic element.

It’s possible our house carries the candy theme because of my job.  What about you?  How does candy play a part in your holiday?

Candy makes a great gift for everyone. To make sure you select the best candy for any gift-giving occasion use the following questions to help guide your purchase.

1. Flavor
   • Does the recipient prefer sweet, sour or chocolate treats?
   • Would they prefer fruit or non-fruit flavors? Mint?
   • Unsure? Consider this: Which type of candy is the recipient most likely to “steal” out of a Halloween bag or bowl?
2. Feel
   • Do they prefer confections that are gooey and chewy, soft and creamy or hard?
   • Would they prefer nuts, raisins or caramel…or all three?
   • Unsure? Which type of candy do you associate most with recipient: Lollipop or hard tac candy? Chocolate? Piece of taffy? Stick of gum? Fruit bar?
3. Function
   • Will the recipient use these treats for an energy boost? To pamper themselves? To make friends?
   • Would they prefer their treats to be packaged in a colorful box? Individually wrapped? Pocket-sized?
   • Unsure? Consider these scenarios: Is your mom more likely to keep the candy all to herself or to share it with members of her book club? Is your dad more likely to bring the candy with him on a fishing trip or to keep it in the glove compartment of his car for a quick pick-me-up on the ride home from work? Will your college-age son stash the treats in his dorm room or use it as an ice breaker to meet new people?
4. Fitness
   • Does the recipient have special dietary needs? Are they diabetic? Subscribe to a low-calorie, low-fat diet?
   • Would they prefer sweets that supply energy to increase their athletic performance?
   • Unsure? Consult the candy labels for guidance. Also, consider sugar-free treats for low-calorie, diabetic diets or sweets containing nuts and fruits that can give athletes a protein and energy boost.
5. Fun
   • Does the recipient have a favorite childhood candy which could provide a welcome wave of nostalgia?
   • Would these treats be introduced for the first time to start a new tradition?
   • Unsure? Why not give your favorite candy as a gift and share the personal memories behind why you think it’s the best?

What cues do you use to determine the best candy gift to give someone?

Candy Gifts by genmachaita

November 7th is National Bittersweet Chocolate with Almonds Day.  Yes, it’s that specific … but if you find yourself with some milk chocolate covered almonds you have my permission to celebrate them, too.  Or if you have some almonds and some chocolate that have not yet been introduced, I think it’s okay to eat them at the same and still be properly observing the day.

So how does one observe such an important day?  I support buying a bag or box of your favorite brand and chowing down, but you might like to try your hand at making them.  If so, FoodGeeks.com has a good recipe for making them.  This Epicurious recipe for Chocolate-Covered Almond Toffee sounds pretty amazing, too.  If you’re feeling a bit braver, you might try this Food Network recipe for Chocolate-Covered Bacon with Almonds.

I’ve been looking for a recipe using chocolate-covered almonds (like chocolate-covered almond cookies or cheesecake), but haven’t unearthed anything yet.  Have you experimented by cooking with chocolate-covered almonds?

Chocolate-Covered Almonds by wiccked

The NPR site has a great article on Halloween, which I suppose is a little late for mention here, except that it has some good-looking recipes that include some of your favorite Halloween candy that is probably either sitting at home anyway or is till half-price for the next few days. Recipes for truffles, brownies, bread pudding (one of my favorites) and delicious custard are there, all including name-brand candies. I love using finished food products like these and using them as ingredients.

One example from the post is below. You better believe that I will try this one out. I am like a madman when you get me close to bread pudding.

Snickers Bar Bread Pudding

Makes 8 to 10 servings

Snickers Sauce

• 8 snack-size Snickers bars
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup roasted unsalted peanuts

Pudding

• 2 1/4 cups whole milk
• 2 large eggs
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 (10-ounce) stale baguette cut into 1-inch cubes
• 8 snack-size Snickers bars, diced

For the sauce, in a small heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat, combine chopped Snickers, heavy cream and brown sugar. Reduce heat to medium-low and allow sauce to gently bubble for about 5 minutes, or until thick and gooey, stirring occasionally. The sauce should adhere to the back of a spoon. Stir in the peanuts. Remove pan from heat.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 9- or 10-inch baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.

For the pudding, beat together milk, eggs, sugar and vanilla in a large bowl. Soak bread cubes in the milk mixture, then toss in the diced Snickers. Place the bread mixture into the prepared baking dish, squeezing the bread cubes into place if necessary. Pour any remaining milk mixture over the bread. Pour half of the Snickers sauce evenly over the bread pudding.

Place a sheet of aluminum foil under the baking dish to catch any sugary drippings. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until the top is golden and crusty, and the middle is thick and moist. Cool slightly before serving warm or at room temperature. Lightly reheat remaining Snickers sauce before pouring over individual servings.

Do you cook with candy? What do you like to make?

Bread Pudding by chocolate monster mel.

Brenda Ponnay at Alpha Mom has some great ideas for how to deal with the gobs of candy that you are wading through in the after-Halloween madness. Me, I simply ate everything that was leftover so I wouldn’t have to deal with it, but I understand some of you prefer a more civilized approach.

One of Brenda’s ideas was to make something like an Advent calendar with small paper cups and tissue paper. Every day, her daughter can take one of the cups with candy in it. This is not just a great idea for how to not gorge oneself on that much candy, but also establishes a system and standard for portion control. Her daughter will not only get an appropriate portion of candy but will also develop a mental model of what that portion size might be.

Another idea she came up with is a harvest tree, which is is a plant with tissue-wrapped candy hanging off it. The candy then becomes not just a delicious treat but also a decoration. Her final idea was to make a turkey piñata. I like this idea a lot, partly because of the absurdity of piñatas in general. A giant creature you beat until candy comes out both frightens and delights me. I will have to reexamine my vegetarian sensibilities and maybe even get back in touch with my old boss Tom Reagan to figure out if having a turkey piñata puts me in a philosophical quandary.

In the meantime, be sure to check out Brenda’s blog post for some great ideas.

Candy Calendar by secret agent josephine

Happy Halloween, everybody! What are you doing to celebrate today? Did the boss let you dress up in costumes instead of wearing the traditional khakis and button-down shirt? Staying home and getting ready for the trick-or-treaters?

Here at NCA we are having a pot-luck lunch and my coworker Erin made this incredible cake. I especially like the little marshmallow ghosts - a great touch! Erin is the one in the office who always brings in delicious baked goods. My first day at work, she actually asked me what my favorite type of cake was, for when my birthday comes around. Can coworkers get any better than that?

I don’t know about you, but I am ready for that lunch!

Send in pictures of your costumes and festivities you have going on today. Best of all, enjoy the day and get ready for the kids to come by tonight!