Sweetly by Jackson Pearce hits stores in just five days, and when you read it, you’ll discover something … you really, really want to eat some candy! One of the most tempting parts of this book is reading about all the amazing sweets offered at the chocolatier. I wrote down a few of my favorites while reading, and tracked down some recipes online.
I highly recommend whipping up a few of these to have on-hand before you start reading Sweetly!
Coconut Cordials:
- 2 1/2 cups desiccated coconut
- 1 1/4 cup lite Karo corn syrup
- coconut oil
Heat corn syrup until warm. Mix with coconut, add a couple of drops of coconut oil, cover, and let stand for 1 hour. Roll into a ball and dip into chocolate, or press into lined candy mold. (Source)
It’s actually extremely hard to find a recipe for coconut cordials online (you mostly get drink recipes), but here is a recipe for chocolate cherry cordials. You can use the above filling instructions, and swap it out for the cherry in this recipe.
Chocolate-covered Potato Chips
- 1 pound high quality milk chocolate, chopped
- 8 cups ridged potato chips
Place about 3/4 of the chocolate into a heat safe bowl, and place over the top of a pan of simmering water. If you have a double boiler, use that. Heat, stirring occasionally until the chocolate has melted, then continue to heat the chocolate to 110 degrees F (43 degrees C), stirring occasionally. You may use a meat thermometer if your candy thermometer does not go that low.
As soon as the melted chocolate reaches temperature, remove it from the heat, and stir in the remaining chopped chocolate until melted. Continue stirring until the chocolate has cooled to 90 degrees F (32 degrees C). Touching a dab of chocolate to your lip will feel cool.
Use tongs to dip potato chips one at a time into the chocolate. Place on waxed paper starting at the point farthest from you and working your way in so as not to drip on your finished chips. Cool until set. You may refrigerate if you like. (Source)
Candied Orange & Lemon Peel
- 6 lemon peels, cut into 1/4 inch strips
- 4 orange peels, cut into 1/4 inch strips
- 2 cups white sugar
- 1 cup water
- 1/3 cup white sugar for decoration
Place lemon and orange peel in large saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil over high heat. Boil for 20 minutes, drain and set aside.
In medium saucepan, combine 2 cups sugar and 1 cup water. Bring to a boil and cook until mixture reaches thread stage, 230 degrees F (108 degrees C) on candy thermometer, or small amount dropped in cold water forms a soft thread. Stir in peel, reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Drain.
Roll peel pieces, a few at a time, in remaining sugar. Let dry on wire rack several hours. Store in airtight container. (Source)
Chocolate-Dipped Oreos
- 1 package (12 oz) semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 tbsp shortening
- 1 package preferred cookies, like chocolate sandwich cookies or pecan shortbread cookies
- Assorted sprinkles or small candies (optional)
- 1/2 cup white chocolate chips (optional)
1. Prepare a baking sheet by lining it with aluminum foil.
2. Combine the chocolate chips and the shortening in a large microwave-safe bowl, and microwave until melted, stirring after every minute.
3. Finely crush 3 or 4 cookies and set them aside to use for decoration.
4. Drop a cookie in the melted chocolate and submerge it slightly. Use a fork to remove it from the chocolate, and tap it against the side of the bowl to remove excess chocolate. Drag the bottom of the fork against the lip of the bowl to remove any remaining excess chocolate, and place the dipped cookie on the prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle the cookie with the cookie crumbs immediately, while the chocolate is still wet. You can also use sprinkles or small candies, or leave the cookies plain and decorate with white chocolate later. Repeat with remaining chocolate and cookies.
5. Place the cookies in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes to set the chocolate.
6. If desired, melt the white chocolate and drizzle it over the cookies for a decorative look. Briefly return the candy to the refrigerator to set the white chocolate before serving. (Source)
For the comments: What are your favorite candies to make at home? Share any recipes in the comments below!
