Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with candy

Give the gift that keeps on smearing

DarlingBri — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 13:53:24 -0800

[HomemadeCandyFilter] We made Chocolate-Almond Buttercrunch Toffee according to this recipe. The toffee part is great; the chocolate part appears to be a train wreck. Basically, it's break and spread nuts, spread toffee over top, break and spread chocolate, add another layer of nuts. Everything went flawlessly, including the making of toffee with our thrilling new candy thermometer. But the chocolate is not re-hardening at all. This is not good.

I used continental plain chocolate (74% cocoa) and it never occurred to me this might happen or that I needed particular chocolate. Is this stuff ever going to get hard or will I have to scrape it off and do this over again with some other chocolate?

Where did I go wrong and how do I fix this? We plan to give this stuff as packaged gifts so I do need to fix it. Thanks!

Honey Treats

mccarty.tim — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 20:07:58 -0800

Help me come up with candies and/or baked goods based on honey and/or comblike structures! This Christmas, I'm getting my sister a crocheted skunk doll, partly because she loves stuffed animals, and partly as an inside joke. Earlier this year, we had yellow jackets, and the ones under the ground were eaten by a skunk after we poured peppermint hemp soap down the holes, who left bits of comb on the yard. My mom and I were thrilled an animal took care of it for us, but my younger sister said that skunks were gross animals and that she didn't like having one near the house, voicing a lot of her concerns through her stuffed rabbit.

To complete the joke, I'd like to bundle the skunk with some kind of honey candy or other treat that's either based on honey and/or comb-like. I thought about comb honey, but that's not quite what my sister would like to eat (she's high-functioning autistic, so some more exotic textures like beeswax are daunting) and it's surprisingly expensive. If anyone has any suggestions for a treat that would be stable overnight under the tree (ie it won't melt/go stale), I'd like to hear it.

Bonus points if it can be quickly and covertly made, especially well in advance.

Personalized candy necklaces?

useyourmachinegunarm — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 14:37:15 -0800

I am looking for some sort of fun promotional item I can give out at a band's ep release party. But I haven't been able to come up with anything I can actually find and I am running out of time. Ideas? I was thinking something along the line of personalized candy necklaces with the band's name on it, personalized stickers or buttons. I don't think personalized candy necklaces exist, buttons are sort of boring and the band's name is sort of long to fit on a small sticker. I am looking for something a little bit out of the ordinary if possible - no personalized m&ms please. Any ideas for a personalized and fun promotional item we can give out that isn't too expensive and we can have on hand for the show by Jan 7, 2010?

I'm not looking for a Look.

Talia Devane — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 12:14:42 -0800

(CandyFilter) I'm trying to remember the name of a candy bar similar to Annabelle's Big Hunk without the peanuts. It was just the hard nougat with no chocolate or other coating. I think it may have had a red wrapper. They were available in New Mexico in the late 80's, but I think it was a much older candy that was available on the west coast (California).

Where to find candy supplies in Boston?

Dr.Enormous — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 18:12:00 -0800

Where can I find candy making supplies near Boston? Specifically, I'm looking for things like flavoring oils and dyes, and I'm hoping to avoid paying the shipping fees for a rush order from an online source.

Anywhere near Boston would be good, though if there's a place in the city proper or along Rte 1 anywhere that would be extra special good. Thanks.

Where to find Kinder Eggs in D.C.?

zxcvz — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 22:16:51 -0800

Where can I find Kinder Eggs in the Washington, D.C. area? I know they were technically banned in the '90s, but I used to see them in German delis around here long after that. This may be futile, but where should I hunt for them now?

How to store homemade chocolates

MeghanC — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 13:36:35 -0800

How can I tell what sort of homemade chocolates are safe to store at room temperature? Every year at the holidays, I make a bunch of assorted chocolates to give away as gifts. Previously this has been mostly limited to chocolate bars, chocolate-covered things, and things like coconut haystacks--things where all of the ingredients are safe to store at room temperature.

This year I'm looking to expand, but I'm having a hard time figuring out how to safely store things.

I'm hoping to make an assortment of truffles--the sort where you mix cream and chocolate, and then dip the ganache center into chocolate to coat it. Looking at recipes, I've seen everything from "store in the refrigerator" to "store at a cool room temperature". My house is kept at about 55--is that sufficiently cool? Does it change things that most of the recipes I've found are for uncoated truffles?

I'd also love to venture into things like bacon chocolate--would this need to be stored in the fridge? Cold storage isn't really great for chocolates (I'd rather they not bloom) and this would make them difficult to ship. Bacon chocolate bars aren't unheard of and are sold in supermarkets, so clearly there's a way to make them that leaves the chocolate shelf-stable, but is it something that can be accomplished at home, or does it only happen through the magic of factories and industrial equipment?

Obviously things like caramels (made with cream) can be kept out, but what about things like buttercreams?

Googling is getting me a lot of recipes and information from various chocolatiers about how to store their chocolates, but not a lot about storage of home production. Any tips, links, or opinions would be greatly appreciated.

Holiday Candy?

unlucky.lisp — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 15:00:23 -0800

Poor as Dirt Filter: Best Candy Recipes for Gift Giving? One year I did caramels, which were a great hit (and cheap to make) but I'm looking to branch out -- so I'm asking for your favorite candy recipes. They needn't be specifically related to the holidays, but if they are, that's cool too.

Thanks!

When yr only havin' seconds, I'ma havin' twenty thirds.

orville sash — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 12:46:08 -0800

Why do I want to eat candy so badly? Over the course of the summer, I starting watching what I ate and exercising a lot. This has paid dividends in the form of losing about 15 pounds, feeling a lot better, looking a lot better, et. al. Ideally, I'd like to lost another 15 pounds, but strangely, I have recently (as in the last month or so) developed an overwhelming urge to eat candy all the time. and I mean ALL THE TIME. Everytime I see a candy bar, I start salivating. Its not that I'm not getting enough sugar, because I eat bananas and stawberries for snacks, but I've broken down a couple of times and gotten some really crappy food.

Why am I coveting all this shitty food?

How do I keep myself from eating it?

Denver Smarties - the delicious nibble everyone loves!

paisley sheep — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 09:55:09 -0800

Where can I find Nestle Smarties in Denver? My folks live in the UK (I live in Denver), and they routinely send/bring back British treats for friends and family. The most requested treat is chocolate Smarties, so much so that people frequently ask me where they could find some locally. I would like to give them a better answer than "Uh... I'm not sure."

I know Cost Plus World Market sells some sweets -- I recall seeing Malteasers there awhile back, so I would assume they would carry Smarties as well.

Are there any other places in the Denver metro area that sell Smarties?

Caramels Om Nom Nom.

halogen — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 16:20:50 -0800

Can you recommend a recipe for chocolate-coated creamy caramels (with creamy being the operative adjective)? Also, your candy-making tips. I love Fran's (Seattle, WA) gray salt caramels in dark chocolate, but at USD12 for 7 delectable pieces, I can't really justify the expense when I go shopping. Combine that with my current state of unemployment and a passion for cooking = clearly I have to make my own.

One of the recipes I've found is this one, but it uses condensed milk. Fran lists cream as the first ingredient in her caramels, and since I usually have cream at home but not condensed milk, I'd like to adapt the recipe to omit the condensed milk somehow. Can you help with that? If that's a bad idea, can you recommend a different recipe for soft, buttery caramels?

Furthermore, I've never made any sort of candy (as opposed to, say, pastries). Do you have any secret tips or ideas on how to deal with the sticky caramel mess? I'm fully prepared to deal with the frustration (assuming it's anything at all like working with sushi rice), but surely people have figured out ways to simplify the process? Please share.

Bonus points if I can use our meat thermometer that only goes up to 220°F/105°C: obviously this is a bad time for me to invest in a candy thermometer.

Aero in Minneapolis

punishinglemur — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 16:54:08 -0800

Where can I buy an Aero bar in Minneapolis?

Pimp my fudge!

Bardolph — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 13:23:42 -0800

Looking to jazz up my plain-jane homemade chocolate fudge. What are some creative and delicious ideas for fudge flavors and additives? Lately, I've been getting into fudge-- or at least, getting as far as the Never Fail Fudge recipe from the back of the marshmallow fluff container. While I'm a fan of the nice easy, reliable chocolate version that produces, though, I'd like to start using the plain chocolate as a base for some more creative flavors, more like the sort of thing you'd find at a specialty fudge shop. I've done the classic chocolate-walnut, but so far haven't had the guts to try any other fruit/nut/candy additions.

So I'm looking for nominations for your most mouth-watering and/or unusual flavors of fudge. Ideally, I'd like to stick with chocolate-and-X types of flavors, but I guess I could be interested in other base flavors if there's anything particularly delectable out there. Also, bonus points if anyone can provide any hints on the logistics of adding stuff to fudge (e.g. what items are too wet/too dry/too melty, how and when to mix things in, etc.). Thanks!!

Too much coffee makes my stomach cry.

pseudostrabismus — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 13:03:27 -0800

Caffeinated candy suggestions? Please help me find the Blitz mints I want. I love Blitz mints. They come in a packs of 8, in a blister pack with a reflective silver cardboard sleeve. All I can find is the gum (nasty); I'm looking for the mints (sweet and tasty).

The mints look sort of like Tums: thick, dime-sized, powdery, round tablets. I found them at a 7-11 in Toronto and bought every pack in the store, but they haven't re-stocked, and I can't even find an image of them online. Even the Blitz website makes no mention of the mints, only the gum or the tiny hard mints. I want the big chewable powdery ones.

Anyone know where I can find more?
Or, (sigh) what other caffeinated mints I should try? Bonus points if I can find them in a store in downtown Toronto.

Thanks!

Melt in your mouth, not in Chicago?

HeroZero — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 14:57:31 -0800

Has anybody seen the limited edition coconut m&m's for sale in Chicago? If so, where? The official m&m's website appears to be broken (at least in safari and firefox), and my google-fu has not been useful. Please help me satiate my tropical sweet tooth.

What are the very best hard candies?

carterk — Fri, 01 May 2009 21:15:26 -0800

Looking for recommendations for high quality hard candies that a psychotherapist could leave out in a dish for clients. I'm thinking of fruit candies dusted with sugar, but other recommendations are welcome. I'm looking for something very classy and exquisitely tasty. Cost really isn't an issue.

Small drops of pure anise?

aspo — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 15:31:58 -0800

A few years ago I had these tiny little hard candy drops of pure anise that I'm pretty sure I got at Cost Plus, but Cost Plus no longer sells them. I remember they were round, about the size of a small lentil, came in small tin sort of like Altoid smalls, and very, very intensely anise flavored. What were they and where can I buy them now?

Candy shaped like musical notes

zainsubani — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 04:35:52 -0800

I am looking for small candies shaped like musical notes. Searches on Google and Froogle (Google Product Search) turn up nothing useful. Can anyone suggest a supplier, please?

We plan on giving the candy to the kids on the way OUT.

explosion — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 07:51:35 -0800

Where can we buy bulk candy on the cheap? Inspired by a wedding post on Maganda, we want to have a little candy shop as our wedding favors. Amazon has some decent deals on stuff like Haribo Gold Bears, but I'm hoping to find a better deal and more variety, as this may end up being a lot of candy. Are there suppliers who sell to candy stores that'll sell directly to a consumer? Online candy warehouse (dot com?)

Metafilter, help me find cheap (but still delicious!) candy in bulk!

ChatFilter Sub-question: What candies should we be sure to include? Relevant info: Wedding in Boston (no delicious, but hard-to-find regional candies, please!), our friends are mostly in their mid- to late-twenties, family members ranging from babies and children, to adults in their 30s-60s.

How can I win a gummy bear eating contest?

jwfree — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 13:02:13 -0800

Best strategy for a gummy bear eating contest? I've got myself into a 30 minute gummy bear eating contest. Winner gets a nice shiny bottle of Patrón and that makes it a very serious bet. Any tips from the gummy bear fiends out there? Swallow whole? Cup of water? A hand full at a time?

Your tips could very well make me a grand champion at work, just remember that.

Who has overestimated the American public's desire for chocolate this year?

doift — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 09:09:40 -0800

My favorite holiday, Half-Price Candy Day, happens four times a year: Nov. 1, Dec. 26, Feb. 15, and the day after Easter. I usually hit a chain drugstore or grocery store for my Conversation Hearts or Robin's Eggs, but it just occurred to me that I could probably do better. Where will I have the best luck finding discounted high-end candy this Sunday? I usually see a lot of extra holiday stock at Godiva, so that's going on the list. Have you walked into a store this week and thought "There's no way they're going to sell all these pink boxes before Saturday?"

I'm in New York City, so I'm particularly interested in local places, but chain and web stores are good too.

I'm still going to stock up on Conversation Hearts, though. I like the white ones.

wo finde ich diese Bonbons?

karizma — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 20:27:22 -0800

[FoodFindFilter] Where can I purchase German candy manufactured by Hitschler called "Sowas" in the Seattle area or online? My friend recently did a care package swap with someone from Germany and in the package she received was some chewy German candy called "Hitschler Sowas." The candy is tubular shaped, reddish-pink, fruit (Strawberry I think) flavored, gummy, and is covered in a sour sugary coating (similar to Sour Patch Kids). I love them. I must have more!

A picture of the candy package is here:

I'm hoping to find a retailer somewhere in the greater Seattle area that might sell this or as a last resort a website where I can order more. I have already checked Bavarian Meats in Pike Place Market and several Cost Plus World Market stores but so far no luck. I can't get any more from my friend's German swapping contact.

Can you help me find this awesome candy? Thanks!

Sweet Plus Spicy Equals Magically Delicious

piedmont — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 18:39:11 -0800

I need recipes for sweets to use a bunch of candied chillies. I'm about to wind up with a largish quantity of candied mild red chillies and perhaps the chili simple syrup they were candied in. I would like to include them in some sort of candy/pastry for gifts on Thursday. My first inclination is is towards a chocolate bark with something like dried cherries and a bit of cinnamon. I would love to hear other ideas though.
Measurements would help as well, I'll be in new territory with candy making, and I kind of suck at baking.

Other than patch a bark canoe...

M.C. Lo-Carb! — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 17:53:52 -0800

What should I do with five pounds of failed peanut brittle? I couldn't find our candy thermometer, and in a not-uncharacteristic moment of laziness I tried to wing it by dropping the liquid mixture into refrigerated water and observing the results. The tendency to crystallize, I had read on the internet, would indicate the mixture of corn syrup, sugar and water had reached the critical 300-degree temperature.

Needless to say, I wound up with three cookie sheets of not bad-tasting but texturally inedible toffee. I can't melt it back down and cook it further, because I've already mixed in baking soda, which makes this hideous brew foam up and catch on fire. So I've heard.

It seems like a shame to waste it, though. It's about $15 worth of tasty, if a bit resinous, calories. It has a little red chile mixed in for extra flavor. I can't really give it as a gift, as was intended, and I can't eat all that sugar and butter myself, but hate to waste it.

A useful solution, I was thinking, would be to feed it to birds. Do urban birds like or need sugar? Will that much sugar do them harm?

Any other ideas? Kids in the 'hood? Homeless shelter? Random homeless person on the street?

Trashcan?

Licorice Search in NYC?

bahama mama — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 08:49:40 -0800

I want some shockingly delicious black licorice candy! What NYC candy stores should I visit? Years ago, a friend came back from London with a small bag of fresh black licorice, and it was amazing – it felt like it cleared out my sinuses in one bite – kind of like wasabi. Since then, I have been searching for the same type of licorice candy but haven’t found it. I will be in NYC tomorrow and am looking for candy store suggestions. I am planning on stopping by Economy Candy and Dylan's Candy Bar – any other must go stores?