by Joanne Fluke
1 cup buttermilk
2 and ½ cups white (granulated) sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 Tablespoons ( cup) white Karo syrup
½ cup butter, room temperature (1 stick,4 ounces, ¼ pound)
Before you start, get out a 3-quart saucepan (or a 4-quart saucepan) and your candy thermometer. Place the thermometer inside the saucepan with the sliding clamp on the outside. Slide the thermometer through the clamp until it’s approximately ½ inch from the bottom of the pan. (If the bulb touches the bottom of the pan, your reading will be wildly off.)
On a cold burner, combine the buttermilk, sugar, baking soda, and white Karo syrup in the saucepan. Stir the mixture until it’s smooth.
Turn the burner on MEDIUM HIGH heat. STIR the candy mixture CONSTANTLY until it boils. (This will take about 10 minutes, so pull up a stool and get comfortable while you stir.)
Move the saucepan to a cold burner, but don’t turn off the hot burner. You’ll be getting right back to it.
Drop the butter into the candy mixture and stir it in. (This could sputter a bit, so be careful.) Slide the saucepan back on the hot burner and watch it cook. STIRRING IS NOT NECESSARY FROM THIS POINT ON. Just give it a little mix when you feel like it. Pull up your stool again and relax. Enjoy a cup of Swedish Plasma coffee (strong black coffee) and one of those yummy cookies you baked last night while you wait for the candy thermometer to come up to the 240 degree F. mark.
When your thermometer reaches 240 degrees F., give the pan a final stir, turn off the burner, and take your candy from the heat. Let it cool on a wire rack or a cold burner until it returns to almost room temperature. Then stir it with a wooden spoon until it looks creamy.
Lay out sheets of wax paper. Drop the Brown Sugar Drops by spoonfuls onto the paper. Don’t worry if your “drops” aren’t of uniform size. Once your guests taste them, they’ll be hunting for the larger pieces.
Hannah’s 2nd Note: If the time gets away from you and your candy hardens too much in the pan, you can stick it back on the burner over very LOW heat and stir it constantly until it’s the proper creamy texture again.
Lisa’s Note: This candy reminds me of the kind that’s shaped like maple leaves. Dad used to bring it back from Vermont when he went back to visit Uncle Fritz. I loved that candy. Just for fun, I tried adding a teaspoon of maple extract right after I added the butter, and it was really good that way!
Yield: 3 dozen pieces of delicious candy.
CHOCOLATE PECAN ROLL
Hannah’s 1st Note: You don’t need a candy thermometer to make this candy.
8-ounce package dried apricots 64 (or pineapple, or cherries,
or whatever)
1 and ½ cups roughly chopped pecans (measure AFTER
chopping)
2 one-ounce squares of unsweetened chocolate (I used
Baker’s)
14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk (NOT evaporated
milk)
2 and ½ cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 teaspoon butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
pinch of salt
Hannah’s 2nd Note: You don’t absolutely positively have to use unsweetened chocolate squares. If you don’t have them on hand, just use three cups of semi-sweet chocolate chips instead of 2 and ½ cups and it’ll work out just fine.
Chop the dried fruit into pea-sized pieces. Then chop the pecans and measure out one and a half cups. (This is easy to do if you have a food processor, but a knife and chopping board will work also.)
Chop the squares of unsweetened chocolate into chip-sized pieces. (They’ll melt faster that way.) Empty the can of sweetened condensed milk into a 2-quart saucepan. Add the unsweetened chocolate pieces and the semi-sweet chocolate chips.
Stir the mixture over LOW heat until the chocolate has melted. Give a final stir and take the pan from the heat.
Mix in the butter, flavor extract, salt, and the dried fruit. (Don’t add the nuts yet – they’re for later when you make the rolls.)
Put the saucepan in the refrigerator and chill the candy for 30 to 40 minutes.
Take the pan out of the refrigerator and divide the candy in half. Place each half on a two-foot-long piece of wax paper.
Shape each half into a roll that’s approximately a foot and a half long and about 1 and ½ inches thick.
Roll the candy logs in the chopped nuts, coating them as evenly as you can. Press the nuts in slightly so they’ll stick to the outside of the roll.
Roll the finished logs in clean wax paper, twist the ends closed, and place them in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours to harden.
Cut the candy rolls into half-inch slices with a sharp knife.
Yield: Makes about 48 slices of delicious candy.
CHOCOLATE TRUFFLES
6 Tablespoons chilled butter (¾ stick, 3 ounces)
12-ounce package semi-sweet chocolate chips (I used
Ghirardelli)
½ cup firmly packed powdered sugar (confectioner’s sugar)
6 egg yolks
1 Tablespoon rum, brandy, flavored brandy, or vanilla extract
Put an inch or so of water in the bottom half of a double boiler and heat it to a gentle boil. Cut the butter in chunks and place them in the top half of the double boiler. Add the chips and then the powdered sugar and set the top half over the bottom half. Put on the cover and let everything melt while you…
Beat the egg yolks in a small bowl with a whisk. Whisk until they’re thoroughly combined, but stop before they get fluffy or lighter in color.
Stir the chocolate until it’s completely melted. It will be thick, almost like fudge. Remove the top half of the double boiler and set it on a cold burner.
Stir several spoonfuls of beaten egg yolk into the chocolate mixture. When that’s incorporated, stir in several more spoonfuls. Keep adding egg yolk in small amounts, stirring constantly, until all the egg yolks have been incorporated and the chocolate mixture is smooth and glossy.
Stir in the rum, brandy, or vanilla. Put the lid back on the top of the double boiler and refrigerate the chocolate mixture for 3 hours.
TO DECORATE TRUFFLES:
finely chopped nuts
powdered (confectioner’s) sugar
chocolate sprinkles
shaved chocolate
cocoa powder
finely shredded coconut
Warning: This next step is fairly messy. If you like, wear disposable plastic food-server gloves. You can also lightly grease your hands, or spray them with Pam or other nonstick cooking spray so the chocolate won’t stick to your fingers.
Form small balls of chilled chocolate with your hands and roll them in bowls of the above ingredients. You can mix and match, or give all of your truffles the same coating. Place the truffles in ruffled bonbon papers and store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
These are incredibly delicious candies. They’re super easy to make, but let’s keep that a secret. It can’t hurt to let people assume that you went to a lot of trouble, just for them.
Yield: 4 to 5 dozen, depending on truffle size.
IBBY’S METAPHYSICAL ENGLISH TOFFEE
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F., rack in the middle position.
16-ounce box Club Crackers65 (Mine were made by Keebler)
1 cup butter (2 sticks, 8 ounces ½ pound)
1 cup brown sugar (tightly packed)
2 cups milk chocolate chips (12-ounce bag)
2 cups chopped pecans (salted or unsalted, it really doesn’t
matter – measure AFTER chopping)
Line a 10-inch by 15-inch cookie sheet with foil. If you have a jellyroll pan, that’s perfect. If you don’t, turn up the edges of the foil to form sides.
Spray the foil with Pam or another nonstick cooking spray. (You want to be able to peel it off later, after the candy hardens.)
Line the pan completely with crackers, salt side up. Cover the whole bottom. (You can break the crackers
in pieces to make them fit if you have to.) Set the cracker-lined jellyroll pan or cookie sheet aside while you cook the toffee mixture.
Hannah’s 1st Note: You don’t need a candy thermometer to make this candy.
Combine the butter with the brown sugar in a saucepan. Bring it to a boil over medium high heat on the stovetop, stirring constantly. Boil it for exactly five minutes, stirring it constantly. If it sputters too much, you can reduce the heat. If it starts to lose the boil, you can increase the heat. Just don’t stop stirring.
Pour the mixture over the crackers as evenly as you can.
Hannah’s 2nd Note: I start by pouring the mixture in lines from top to bottom over the length of the pan. Then I turn it and pour more lines over the width of the pan. Once the whole pan is crosshatched with the hot toffee mixture, I pour any that’s left where it’s needed. If it doesn’t cover the crackers completely, don’t worry – it’ll spread out quite a bit in the oven.
Slide the pan into the oven and bake the toffee at 350 degrees F. for 10 minutes.
Remove the pan from the oven and sprinkle the milk chocolate chips over the top. Give the chips a minute or two to melt and then spread them out as evenly as you can with a heat-resistant spatula, a wooden paddle, or a frosting knife.
Sprinkle the chopped pecans over the top of the chocolate and refrigerate the pan.
When the toffee has thoroughly chilled, peel it from the foil and break it into random-sized pieces.
Hannah’s 3rd Note: Ibby used her toffee as a reward for high quiz scores. Once you taste it, you’ll know why I can still recite at least one stanza from each of the Metaphysical Poets.
THREE-WAY FUDGE
Hannah’s 1st Note: You don’t need a candy thermometer to make this fudge. If you’ve got a microwave, you don’t even need a STOVE to make this fudge.
1 cup (6-ounce pkg.) semi-sweet chocolate chips
(I used Ghirardelli)
1 cup (6-ounce pkg.) white chocolate chips
(I used Ghirardelli)
1 cup (6-ounce pkg.) milk chocolate chips
(I used Ghirardelli)
14-ounce can of sweetened condensed milk
1 and ½ sticks salted butter (6 Tablespoons – this fudge
has 3 layers, and that’s 2 Tablespoons of butter for
each layer you’ll make)
Line an 8-inch square pan with wax paper, OR line it with foil and spray the foil with Pam or another nonstick cooking spray.
You can make this fudge on the stovetop or in the microwave. Either way will work just fine.
If you choose the stovetop method, use a heavy saucepan and stir constantly while you’re melting the chocolate and other ingredients.
For the microwave, I combined my ingredients in a 2-cup Pyrex measuring cup and processed them for 70 seconds on HIGH. Remember that chocolate chips maintain their shape even after they’re melted, so don’t go by appearance. You’ll have to stir them to be sure.
Hannah’s 2nd Note: A 14-ounce can of sweetened condensed milk contains approximately one and a third cups. You’re going to be dividing the can in thirds, so make each third a bit less than a half-cup and you’ll come out all right.
MELT THE FOLLOWING TOGETHER FOR THE 1ST LAYER:
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
scant half-cup sweetened condensed milk
2 Tablespoons butter
Stir to make sure everything’s melted and then, spread the mixture out in the bottom of the 8-inch square pan you’ve prepared. Smooth it out with a rubber spatula, and let the pan sit on the counter until the fudge is cool and slightly hard to the touch. Then make the 2nd layer.
FOR THE 2ND LAYER, MELT THE FOLLOWING TOGETHER:
1 cup white chocolate chips
scant half-cup sweetened condensed milk
2 Tablespoons butter
Stir to make sure everything’s melted and then spread the 2nd layer on top of the 1st layer, smooth it out with a rubber spatula, and let the pan sit on the counter until the 2nd layer is cool to the touch and slightly hardened. Then make the 3rd layer.
FOR THE 3RD LAYER, MELT THE FOLLOWING TOGETHER:
1 cup milk chocolate chips
the remainder of the sweetened condensed milk
2 Tablespoons butter
Spread this 3rd layer on top of the 2nd layer, smooth it out with a rubber spatula,, and stick the pan in the refrigerator. Let your Three-Way Fudge harden in the refrigerator for at least two hours. (Overnight is even better.) Then turn it out on a cutting board and cut it into bite size squares.
Hannah’s 3rd Note: Mike really likes this fudge when I add chopped macadamia nuts to the middle layer. Norman thinks it’s best with chopped pecans in the bottom layer. I suppose that should tell me something about their personalities, but I have no idea what it is!
Claire looked very excited as she turned to Grandma Knudson. “Hannah’s even got a recipe for fudge that you can make in the microwave. I ought to be able to do that, don’t you think?”
“Oh, yes. Sometimes you sell yourself short, Claire. You’re much more talented than you think.”
“Thank you, Grandma. Is it all right if we stop at the Red Owl on the way home to get powdered sugar for rolling the rum balls? I want to try making those tonight.”
“Of course it’s all right. I’m running low on brown sugar, so I’ll pick up a bag while we’re there.”
“Oh, good! Then I can make the English Toffee. That one’s easy, too.”
Florence shook her head. “I’m sorry, ladies, but I’m all out of brown sugar and I don’t get another delivery until Monday. Everybody’s doing their Christmas baking and I sold the last bag this morning. The powdered sugar’s gone too, except for the little bit that was left in the box that the Janowski twins opened.”
“Why did they open the powdered sugar?” Lisa asked.
Florence shrugged. “I asked them and they said they wanted to make snowballs. I guess they thought that since it was white, it was like snow. All I know for sure is that they ended up dumping it all over each other while their mother was reading the nutritional label on a can of pork and beans.”
Hannah turned to Claire who looked very disappointed. “You can still make the English Toffee. And you can make the rum balls, too. You have some molasses and some cornstarch, don’t you?”
“Yes. Grandma keeps it in the pantry.”
“Good. Then you can make your own brown sugar and your own powdered sugar.”
“How do you do that?”
“If a recipe calls for a cup of brown sugar, put a cup of white sugar in the mixer. Just drizzle in a little molasses and mix it up until it’s the right color. That’s all brown sugar is anyway.”
“Brown sugar is white sugar mixed with molasses?” Claire asked, sounding a bit doubtful.
“That’s right. And you can make your own powdered sugar too, if you’ve got a blender.”
Grandma Knudson gave a little nod. “We’ve got a blender,” she said. “I knew about the brown sugar, but I’ve never heard of making your own powdered sugar.”
“It’s just white sugar with a little bit of cornstarch to keep it from sticking when you grind it into superfine crystals.”
“It’s right here in the recipe collection that Hannah gave us,” Delores explained, holding up her binder. “It’s the next section and it’s called Substitutions. It even gives you a substitute for buttermilk.”
“Perfect,” Claire said with a smile. “That means Grandma and I can make the brown sugar drops and I can learn how to use that candy thermometer.”
Substitutions
Substitute for Store-Bought Brown Sugar
1 cup white, granulated sugar
2 Tablespoons dark molasses (I use Brier Rabbit green label)
Place the white, granulated sugar in a blender or a mixer.
With the mixer or blender running on low speed, drizzle in 2 Tablespoons of dark molasses.
Turn the mixer or blender on a higher speed and
process until the white sugar has turned an even brown color.
If the brown sugar doesn’t look dark enough, just add a little more molasses and mix it in well.
Hannah’s Note: Using this method, you can make light brown sugar, regular brown sugar, and dark brown sugar. This means no more hard lumps in the brown sugar bag that’s been sitting in your pantry for months. You don’t have to keep brown sugar on hand as long as you have a jar of molasses and white sugar.
Substitute for Store-Bought Buttermilk
1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice (OR white vinegar if you
don’t have fresh lemon juice)
1 cup minus 1 Tablespoon whole milk at room temperature
Pour 1 Tablespoon of lemon juice (or white vinegar) into the bottom of a 2-cup measuring cup.
Fill the cup up to the 1-cup mark with whole milk.
Stir the mixture and let it stand on your kitchen counter for at least 5 minutes. This should cause it to sour and thicken slightly.
You can use the resulting mixture in any recipe that calls for buttermilk.
