In this recipe, we will talk about making a wonderful holiday treat - Christmas candy.
Lollipops in many European countries are the same symbol of the Christmas holidays, like gingerbread and other similar pastries. They are prepared not only to eat, but also to give each other, to decorate a Christmas tree with them.
Making homemade candies is a process that will take time, but it is quite simple. You can make such Christmas candies in almost any shape - in the form of holiday symbols, cockerels and other animals. Let's see how to make homemade candy.
It is most convenient to make homemade candies, if you have a special form for them, if it is not, then you can make them on greased parchment, giving the desired shape manually in the curing process of caramel.
Christmas Candy Recipe
2 tbsp lemon juice (or lemon juice + water)
1 tbsp vegetable oil
How to make Christmas candy:
Grease with a vegetable oil a form for candy, or parchment spread on a table.
Mix granulated sugar with lemon juice - it can be pure or diluted with water, heat the mixture, stirring it constantly, over low heat on a stove, cook for 2-5 min depending on the desired taste and color of the candies.
The longer you cook the caramel, the more intense it will taste, bitter notes of burnt sugar may appear.
Pour hot caramel into a form for candies or gently pour with a spoon on parchment in the form of small circles.
Insert toothpicks or special sticks into the candies, leave until the candies completely harden.
Carefully remove the finished candies from the mold.
To make candies of different colors, use food coloring.
Friends, have you ever made such homemade candy? If yes, then share with us your secrets of their successful preparation, as well as what molds you use for them.
Homemade candy and caramel - a simple and tasty treat, but not so simple. She made caramel for the first time, and it was not as easy as it seems. Need skill, dexterity and speed. Everything is like in extreme driving, but the more difficult the task, the more interesting it is. Now forget everything I said and cook. Do not be afraid! Everything will work out!
We will need very few products, but there will be a decent amount of sweets.
Place the flask, sugar and water in a saucepan with a thick bottom. Put on fire and cook after boiling for 7 minutes. I used a cooking thermometer and cooked until the syrup warmed to 124 degrees. In this case, the syrup must be constantly mixed. The syrup should remain light and in no case darken.
When the syrup reaches a temperature of 124 degrees, it does not look like syrup at all, but looks more like fur foam. Add citric acid and mix. There will be even more foam. Pour the syrup onto the silicone mat, placing it under the edges of the scapula so that there is a hollow in the middle and the syrup does not run away. We put gloves on our hands. The syrup is hot, you need to work carefully so as not to burn yourself. Add a drop of gel dye to half the syrup. The syrup will cool and set. Take a part of the colored syrup (slightly cooled), it no longer flows, and we will stretch and fold, thereby saturating the caramel with oxygen. The mass will acquire a pearly shade. Place that part of the caramel that you don’t work with under an infrared lamp, I don’t have one, so I put the caramel in the oven on a silicone mat at a temperature of 60 degrees.
After stretching, roll out two sausages of different colors and weave them together with a flagellum. We act very quickly and carefully so as not to get burned. Twist the edge and make canes. Caramel is well cut with scissors while it is ductile. I acted so quickly that the scissors in the frame left only a trace))
Ready-made sweets look like this. You can make hearts and anything you want.
Making gingerbread houses is a real art. Some masters make multi-story masterpieces, which are painted manually with glaze or mastic. In some countries there are even competitions among masters for the best gingerbread house. But we will start small and make a simple, but very tasty and fragrant house of dough.
- Beat the eggs with sugar thoroughly with a mixer.
- In a separate bowl, mix all the liquid foods: butter, honey, eggs.
- Add flour to this mixture in small portions and knead well for 15-20 minutes. The dough should be elastic and resilient.
- Roll the dough into a ball, wrap it in cling film and refrigerate for 3 hours.
While the dough is cooling, cut out patterns for the future house from paper. Dimensions depend on your desire and the amount of dough cooked. And we suggest you make a house, which consists of the following details:
- front wall with openings for the door, three main windows (two on the sides and one on the second floor) and one small window in the attic - 1 pc.,
- side wall with two windows on the sides - 2 pcs.,
- back wall with two windows on the sides and one on the second floor - 1 pc.,
- roof slope - 2 pcs.,
- shutters (optional)
- door - 1 pc.,
- small rectangles for tiles,
- round delivery for the house - 1 pc.
On parchment paper, roll out the dough 5-7 mm thick, attach a template to it and cut out the details with a very sharp knife. If desired, for the windows you can make beautiful colored glass. To do this, finely chop caramel and fill up the holes in the windows. This is done immediately before baking. Dough is baked at a temperature of 200º for 10-12 minutes.
Freshly baked details of the house should be left to cool for a while in an untouched position. Otherwise, you may break the form. After that, carefully remove the paper and let the parts stand a little longer.
In order to make roof tiles, roll out a very thin dough (2-3 mm) and cut it into small rectangles. If desired, you can use a curly knife or cookie cutter. You can also sprinkle the dough with sugar before baking.
Now it's time for assembly and decoration gingerbread house. From several options we will choose protein glaze, as it does not contain any harmful ingredients and is very easy to prepare.
- 1 egg white
- 1 cup icing sugar
- 0.5 teaspoon potato starch (for ductility),
- salt on the tip of a knife.
What should be done:
- Put the protein in a container and beat with a mixer, gradually adding powdered sugar.
- Pour starch and salt in the process. Starch will give the glaze plasticity, and salt will make it more dense.
- Beat until lush, thick mass (10-15 minutes).
To better fit the parts of the house to each other, you can “saw them up” on the sides a little using an ordinary grater. An angle of 45º will be optimal.
Using a pastry bag, write down the facades of the house, as well as the supply for it. Only after the icing has hardened, proceed with assembly. Glue all the details of the house, including the roof. Give the structure a firm hold. For insurance, you can back the walls with books, jars, etc. Stick on the tiles, decorate the house with snow-white snow. Our work of art is ready 🙂
Gingerbread cookie is a “classic” of New Year and Christmas cuisine. We suggest you bake delicious and crispy little men.
You will need:
- butter - 100 g,
- sugar - 100 g
- liquid honey - 100 g,
- eggs - 2 pcs.,
- flour - 400 g
- ground ginger - 2 teaspoons,
- ground cinnamon - 1 teaspoon,
- baking powder - 1.5 tsp.
Rub the butter and sugar thoroughly. Add honey to this mass. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs until foam is obtained, then pour them into a common container. Mix the spices thoroughly in a mortar. Sift flour through a sieve and add baking powder and spices to it. Begin kneading the dough by adding small portions of the dry mixture to the overall bowl. Make a ball, wrap it with cling film and refrigerate for 15 minutes.
Roll out the dough on parchment paper. If you want the gingerbread cookies to be crispy, then it should be thin, if soft, then roll thicker. Using a mold or a pre-prepared cardboard template, cut out the figures of men. Preheat the oven to 180º. Bake cookies until golden brown (approximately 12-15 minutes).
After the little men have cooled, decorate them with protein glaze or mastic.
- 1 tbsp. a spoonful of flour
- 3 eggs,
- 150 ml of brandy or brandy,
- vegetables and fruits:
- 250 g of black currant,
- 1 small carrot,
- 100 g of cherries
- 1 medium apple
- lemon zest,
- zest of orange
- dried fruits and nuts:
- 500 g of raisins
- 125 g candied fruit (mixture),
- 250 g of prunes,
- 200 g almonds
- 100 g of walnuts,
- 1 teaspoon cardamom
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg,
- a pinch of vanillin
To get started, prepare fruits and nuts. Rinse the dried fruit thoroughly and let the water drain. Grate the zest of lemon and orange, apple and carrots on a fine grater. Crush the nuts. Put all the fruits, nuts and dried fruits in a bowl and mix thoroughly.
Add all other ingredients to this mixture: crumbs, sugar, softened butter, flour, eggs, brandy or brandy, spices. Knead well with your hands.
Grease a heat-resistant form (you can take a regular metal bowl) with butter and put the prepared mixture into it.
Pour water into a large pot or bowl and place the “dough” form in it. The latter should not touch the bottom of the pan. To do this, you can substitute something at the bottom, for example, wine corks or something like that. Cover the pudding with parchment paper and a thick lid on top of it. Place the pot on a slow fire. It is necessary to maintain the water level in the pan and top up if necessary.
After 4 hours, remove the pudding from the "water bath", cover with a plate and gently flip. Let the finished dish cool.
It is also worth noting that this dish can be served very beautifully. To do this, pour brandy pudding or another strong alcoholic drink and set fire to it. Our Christmas beauty is ready!
Chocolate mousse is a special dish, the preparation of which gives a real freedom of imagination. Chocolate goes well with any fruit, but today we offer you to cook mousse with mint and skate, which will help to warm up a little in severe winter weather.
You will need:
- chocolate - 300 g
- cottage cheese - 150 g,
- cream - 150 ml,
- dried mint - 2 tsp
- cognac - 1 teaspoon,
- whipped cream,
- chocolate chips for decoration.
Grate the chocolate and place it in a “water bath”. Add chopped mint and brandy to the same bowl. In a separate plate, rub the cottage cheese and mix it with cream. Combine all the ingredients, beat well with a blender.
Arrange the mousse in glasses, garnish with whipped cream, chocolate chips and pieces of chocolate.
Spice plum pie is another Christmas dish that came to us from the UK. It is prepared very simply and quickly, and the result is simply amazing!
You will need:
- ¾ cup sugar
- 120 g butter,
- 2 eggs,
- 1 cup flour
- 1 teaspoon of baking powder
- 12 plums or prunes,
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon:
- ½ teaspoon cloves
- 1/3 teaspoon nutmeg,
- a pinch of salt.
Whisk softened butter with sugar. Add eggs and salt to this mass. Beat well again. Mix flour with baking powder and begin to gradually add it to the above mass, while mixing well. The dough should be thick but soft.
Preheat the oven to 180º. Grease the mold with butter and put the dough in it. Align it well with your hands. Divide the plums into halves and lay them in a circle on the dough.
In a cup, connect 2 tbsp. tablespoons of sugar with spices (cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg). Sprinkle with this plum mixture.
Put the future pie in the oven for 40-45 minutes and bake until crisp. The finished dish can be served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Bon Appetit!
- wheat flour - 540 g,
- sugar - 150 g
- dry yeast - 5 g,
- salt - 2 g
- lemon zest - 6 g
- vanilla - half a pod
- eggs - 3 pcs.,
- warm water - 170 ml,
- honey - 40 g
- softened butter - 250 g,
- ghee - 1 tbsp. a spoon,
- chilled butter - 1 tbsp. a spoon.
Lubricate the roll with cream, both outside and inside. Не стоит слишком выравнивать поверхность — она должна напоминать кору дерева. Украсьте по желанию. Отправьте пирог на 4 часа в холодильник.
Our French Christmas treat is done!
German cupcake "Stolen"
The shape of the adit symbolizes Jesus wrapped in swaddling clothes. Cook it 2-3 weeks before Christmasso that the cupcake can stand and acquire an incredible taste and aroma.
Stolen is a pastry that is made from a large number of nuts, fruits and butter. It can be stored in the refrigerator for a very long time (sometimes up to several months), becoming tastier and tastier every day.
This recipe is designed for a large batch of stollen.
You will need:
- dry yeast - 30 g,
- sugar - 0.5 cups
- milk - 380 ml,
- wheat flour - 1200 g,
- butter - 600 g,
- eggs - 2 pcs.
- salt - 1 teaspoon,
- icing sugar - 200 g,
- cognac (rum) or water - 4 tbsp. spoons
- nuts and dried fruits:
- raisins - 300 g
- candied fruits - 200 g,
- dried cranberries or lingonberries - 200 g,
- almonds - 300 g
- hazelnuts - 300 g
- vanilla essence - a couple of drops,
- cardamom - 0.5 tsp
- carnation - 2 crushed inflorescences,
- cinnamon - 0.5 tsp
- nutmeg - 0.25 teaspoons.
First you need to prepare dried fruits and nuts. To do this, chop the nuts and soak them together with candied fruits and dried fruits in cognac (rum) or water for 6 hours.
While the filling is steeped, prepare the dough. To do this, combine warm milk, yeast and a spoonful of sugar in a medium bowl. Stir until the yeast dissolves, then add 200 g of flour. Put the dough in a warm place for 20-30 minutes.
In a separate plate, mix the remaining sugar with the zest of lemon and lemon. Leave it for a couple of hours so that the sugar is saturated with aromas.
Sift 600 g flour into a large bowl and mix it with spices.
In eggs, add eggs and salt, mix thoroughly.
Now combine all the prepared ingredients in one container: dough, sugar, flour. Knead the dough thoroughly - it should be steep enough, but elastic at the same time. Cover it with cling film or a towel and let it sit in a warm place for 40-60 minutes. You will notice how the dough doubles.
After that, sift 400 g flour into 400 g soft butter in a separate bowl. Gently knead this mass in the dough and leave it for another 30 minutes.
Take ready-made baking dishes or make yourself out of foil.
Roll the dough thinly and sprinkle it abundantly with a nut-fruit filling. Fold it in an envelope, then knead evenly. Leave on for 20 minutes in a warm place. Divide the dough into several pieces. Mash each of them with your hands, focusing on the size of the form. The thickness of the cake should be 3-4 cm, and the width - 1.5 times more than the width of the form. Make a groove in the middle and fold the dough so that its edge reaches the hollow.
Preheat the oven to 190º and bake the stollen for 1-1.5 hours until golden brown.
Melt 200 g of butter over low heat and pour freshly baked muffins on it, sprinkle generously with powdered sugar on top. Put in the refrigerator for 2-3 weeks to stand the stollen. Sprinkle with powder again before serving.
Turron is a traditional Christmas sweet from Spain. In this country, it has a centuries-old tradition, and therefore is valued throughout the world. Turron is a Nougat with lots of nuts. However, now you can find more modern options, where chocolate, popped rice, pralines, etc. are taken as the filling.
But we will prepare a traditional turron with nuts, because it is not in vain for Spanish children that this dessert is the most long-awaited gift.
You will need:
- water - 0, 5 cups,
- sugar - 1 cup
- honey - 1 glass,
- egg whites - 6 pcs.,
- cream (33%) - 1 tbsp. a spoon,
- powdered sugar - 2 tbsp. spoons
- nut mixture:
- walnuts - 100 g,
- hazelnuts - 100 g
- almonds - 100 g
- pine nuts - 100g,
- cashews - 100 g
- cinnamon - 0.5 tsp
- a few grains of coriander,
- a few drops of vanilla essence.
Pour sugar in water and place the pan on a slow fire. Cook until all crystals dissolve. Add honey to the same container and continue cooking until the mass acquires a beautiful golden brown color.
Take chilled proteins and start whipping them with a mixer, gradually adding powdered sugar and cream. After this, pour the protein mass into the pan in which the sweet mixture is located. Also add cinnamon, vanilla essence and crushed coriander. Bring to a boil twice. After that, reduce the heat and cook the mixture for another 15-20 minutes.
While the base is boiling, prepare the nuts. To do this, clean them and fry a little in a pan without oil. Detail into medium slices. Pour nuts into a common bowl and remove the pan from the heat.
Lay out the mass in silicone molds and send to freeze in the refrigerator for a couple of hours.
Vienna Vanilla Horseshoes
At Christmas, the Austrians give each other chocolate and pastries, in particular vanilla horseshoes. This is a very delicate airy cookie that will decorate any Christmas table.
You will need:
- flour - 300 g
- butter - 200 g,
- sugar - 100 g
- yolks - 2 pcs.,
- hazelnuts - 50 g
- almonds - 50 g
- icing sugar - 100 g,
- vanilla sugar - 50 g
- a pinch of salt.
Pour boiling water over the almonds and peel it off, then dry well. Detail the nuts, so that by consistency they resemble small grains. Cut the softened butter into small pieces and mix it with the yolks. Sift flour into the butter, pour sugar, salt, nuts and mix well. Knead a gentle shortcrust pastry. Form a ball, wrap it with cling film and send it to the refrigerator for 2 hours.
From the dough, make tubules 2-3 cm thick and 7-8 cm long. Bend them in the shape of horseshoes and transfer to a baking sheet sprinkled with flour.
Place a baking sheet in a preheated oven to 180º. Bake the horseshoes for 10-15 minutes until they get a pleasant golden hue. Pour the finished cookies in powdered sugar mixed with vanilla sugar. Lay horseshoes in rows, lay each layer with parchment.